Daifuku mochi from La Boulangerie |
The La Boulangerie bakery in Ellicott City has a fun display of cakes, cookies and other sweets, but I stopped by last weekend for fresh mochi based on Gabrielle's suggestion on a prior post.
Daifuku mochi is a Japanese dessert with a sweet pastry made from rice wrapped around a filling of even-sweeter red bean filling. That rice-cake mochi does many duties in Asian desserts, including as a topping on the tart frozen yogurt places that have popped up recently.
In La Boulangerie's daifuku, the mochi is almost floating away. It's a mild flavor and a light, almost fluffy texture. Imagine the texture of a steamed bun or a super-gourmet marshmallow. It's the fresh taste of just-baked pastry, and it is wrapped around a sweet, rich filling. Gabrielle is right that these are exceptional. Mochi can be an acquired taste, but this is the place to seek it out. Slice up the pieces, and serve them with fruit for a summer dessert.
Check out the photo above. I confirmed with Wikipedia, so I'm confident that I bought daifuku mochi. But the folks at La Boulangerie didn't recognize that name. I asked by name and even showed them the written-out word. They showed me "donuts" and "mochi." The mochi was the right choice -- although they're priced like other fresh-based pastries at more than $5 for four large pieces.