It’s SPRIIIIINNNNNNGGGGGGG TIME! Gosh, the warmth and sunshine is making me so freaking happy. It smells like spring, you know? I can’t explain it, but it just smells warm and fresh. Like all the trees are waking up and mustering up the energy to bloom. Ugh, I love it. We actually spent the weekend in Tahoe, where there is a ton of snow still lol. But it was so sunny! I was burning up during my ski lesson! Did I tell you I can ski now? Me! The girl that trips while walking on perfectly flat sidewalks. That girl can ski! Well, sort of. I can slowly ski down a small hill without falling! I’m pretty much in pizza position the entire time because I’m afraid to go too fast. I’m fine with that though because pizza position makes me think of Reuben’s pizza and I then I get hungry. French fries are great too though…

Wait, what am I talking about again?

Sorry, this beautiful weather turns me into that bubble headed kid that just likes to run around in a meadow picking daisies and spinning around in circles while staring at the sky. I have so much energy and just want to check off the bajillion things on my to-do list as quickly as possible so I have more time to frolic around in the park. It’s funny how the seasons impact the food that we make. In the winter we make hearty stews and braises that warm us up in the kitchen for a few hours. But then in the spring we’re making light and fresh dishes that come together quick, so we have time to go play outside!

This Mochi Chocolate Chip Cookie Cake isn’t necessarily spring time specific, because I would literally eat this 365 days a year, but it is so quick and easy to make that you’ll have plenty of time to enjoy the glorious sunshine! If you haven’t had a mochi baked good before they are so addictively chewy on the inside and slightly crisp on the outside. Mochiko flour creates the most magical texture. Did you know that mochiko flour is also gluten free?? So it’s practically health food in my opinion.

I got the inspiration for this recipe after my Pinterest was inundated with skillet cookie cakes for some reason. They just kept popping up and I wanted to add my own spin on a cookie cake without adding more noise to the internet. I started to think about the main components of a great chocolate chip cookie. That would be browned butter, brown sugar, quality chocolate, and a ton of flaky sea salt. I love a beautifully caramelized crisp cookie. Then I started to remember that when I was developing my Black Sesame Mochi Muffin recipe I started by making simple browned butter mochi cakes (which includes brown butter and brown sugar as main flavor components) and it reminded me so much of chocolate chip cookies but without the chocolate. I ended up halving that recipe so it would fit in my cast iron skillet, omitting the black sesame (although a black sesame and chocolate cookie cake sounds insanely good!), and heavily sprinkling the batter with chocolate chunks and salt. OMGGGGG I’m not lying when I say that this is one of THE BEST things I’ve ever baked. It so gooey, chewy, crispy, melty, chocolatey, and salty at the same. All the best -y’s! Plus the fact that from start to finish it takes less than 1 hour to make somehow makes it taste even better!

Typically when I’m testing dessert recipes I’ll limit myself to one portion before sending out into the world so I don’t end up eating the entire tray of brownies or cookies myself. No joke, I ate two big slices of this in one second and started to go in for my third before I had to force myself to stop and demand that Reuben take it into work. I still dream of that long lost third slice…

Carve out an hour of your day, make this insane Mochi Chocolate Chip Cookie Cake and save me a slice! Or send me a photo of your cake, that works too!

Happy Spring, friends!

Mochi Chocolate Chip Cookie Cake

Materials:

1/4 cup unsalted butter
1 cup of full fat canned coconut milk
3/4 cup evaporated milk
1 cup brown sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
2 cups mochiko flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
6 oz bittersweet chocolate chunks
flaky sea salt

nonstick cooking spray

1. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Spray a 10” cast iron skillet or cake pan with nonstick cooking spray. Set aside.

2. Melt butter in a saucepan over medium heat. Cook for about 4 minutes until it turns slightly brown. Turn off the heat and immediately whisk in coconut milk, evaporated milk, and brown sugar until evenly mixed and sugar has dissolved. Whisk in eggs and vanilla until smooth. Set aside.

3. Whisk together mochiko flour, baking powder, and salt in a large bowl. Slowly pour in butter mixture and whisk until smooth.

4. Fill skillet or cake pan with mochi batter. Sprinkle chocolate chunks over the top of the cake. Place in the oven and bake for 30-35 minutes until cake is just set.

5. Remove the skillet from the oven, immediately sprinkle with flaky sea salt and allow to cool for 15-20 minutes until cool enough to eat.

enjoy!