Purple Sweet Potato Mochi Cake

The inspiration of making this mochi cake came from a Korean mom that I talked to.  I never thought of adding sweet potato into a mochi cake until I tasted some that she made.  Hers was different with orange sweet potato and some other things that she added (she didn't give me the recipe though).  Since I LOVE the purple sweet potato because of the color and sweetness, I wanted to recreate her recipe and hence this recipe was born.  I was glad to say that it was a success and we all loved it very much.  On the day it was baked, the crust was crusty and the mochi was chewy with the sweetness from the sweet potato and a little sourness from the raisins, just perfect!  The crust will turn soft on the 2nd day but just as chewy and delicious!  This is definitely my keeper recipe that I want to make all the times.  Next time I want to try it with taro and play with this recipe a little.  Feedback to me if you ever try it!

Seriously it was so hard to stop at just one piece, got to have two!!  Self-control....self-control....

Before baking

Ingredients:

• 2 cups glutinous rice flour
• 1 cup white granulated cane sugar (can be reduced to 3/4 cup if you prefer it less sweet)
• 1 tsp. baking powder
• 1 1/2 cup 1% organic milk 
• 1 1/2 cup cubed purple sweet potatoes
• 1/4 cup raisins

Method:

1.  Microwave the purple sweet potatoes for 2 minutes or until soften.  My sweet potatoes were small and skinny so it only took 2 minutes.  Do not over cooked it or else it will become hard rock, if your purple sweet potato is big and fat, keep watching and heat it additional 1 minute at a time.  Poke it with a fork to determine doneness. Or you can steam it for 20 minutes.  Let cool, peeled and cut into cubes.

2.  Preheat oven to 350'F and spray your 9" round pan with cooking spray.

3.  In a large bowl, add in the first three ingredients, whisk to combine.  Then, add in milk and whisk to blend well.

4.   Add the sweet potatoes cubes, mix well.  Pour into the greased pan.  And then spread the raisins all over the mixture. 

5.   Bake for 45 minutes.  Cool in pan for 5 minutes and then invert it to cool completely on wire rack.  Store in an air-tight container and finish it within 2 days.  It will be finished on the day it was baked if you don't have self-control or feed more people.  :-)  Or you can freeze it for later.

Note:  When baked, the sweet potatoes seem to float to the top whereas some of the raisins sunk to the bottom.