Yuzu black sesame mochi

Instructions

• Make the black sesame milk
• Place sesame seeds in a small frying pan over medium heat and cook, stirring or tossing occasionally until they smell fragrant and toasty. Let cool for a few minutes.
• Add milk and sesame seeds to a high powdered blender and blend until sesame seeds have broken up into small pieces. It’s okay if there are some larger pieces left, as they will be strained out later. (Alternately, you can grind the black sesame in a spice grinder separately, add the milk after, and then use an immersion blender after the next step).
• Place the sesame milk into a small saucepan over medium low heat and heat until steaming and slightly simmering. Turn off the heat, cover, and let steep for at least 10 minutes to allow the black sesame flavor to infuse. Remove from the heat, pour through a fine mesh sieve into a glass or container (it’s okay if there’s still little flecks in the milk), and refrigerate until cool.
• Make the mochi dough
• In a microwave save bowl, mix together the glutinous rice flour, sugar, cornstarch, and sesame milk until well combined and very few lumps remain. Cover tightly with plastic wrap, poke a few holes in the plastic with a knife, and microwave on high for one minute. Remove from the microwave, stir the mixture well, and return to the microwave for another 45 seconds to one minute. Stir again until you have a thick paste (kind of like mashed potatoes in that it will sit together in a glob, but will still be a bit misshapen)–it should not be liquidy but it’s fine if it doesn’t form a ball at this stage.
• Let cool until it’s cool enough to handle and then add in the vegetable oil, stirring it into the dough and then kneading it slightly. Dust your work surface very liberally with cornstarch or potato starch. You should have a full layer coating your work surface. Then, turn the mochi dough out onto the work surface and sprinkle more cornstarch to cover the top. Coat your rolling pin in some cornstarch as well, and very gently roll into an approximate 8″ x 12 “rectangle–you may need to sprinkle more cornstarch over the dough as you start to roll it out, to cover the newly exposed areas of the mochi.
• Coat a sharp knife in some cornstarch and cut the rectangle in an 4×3 grid, cutting the long 12″ side into four parts and the 8″ side into 3 equal parts so that you have 12 squares.
• Make the filling
• In a bowl, using an electric mixer or a whisk, combine the cream cheese, sugar, and yuzu juice, beating until the mixture is smooth and the cream cheese block is broken up. Separately, whip the cream until you have medium to stiff peaks and fold into the cream cheese mixture. Taste the filling to see if you want to add any more sugar or yuzu juice.
• Then fill a large gallon-size plastic bag with the filling, and snip off one corner to use it as a piping bag. Dust your hands with cornstarch, pick up a mochi wrapper, and place it in your palm. Pipe a small dollop of the filling in the center. Then, using a small spoon, just add a pinky-sized amount of the yuzu tea on top. Pipe another small dollop on top. Then gently fold the wrapper up over the filling and pinch the corners and seams together to seal. Using a sharp knife, slice off excess dough around the area of the seam, and then using your palms, gently cradle the mochi to help form a nice round shape. Continue to fill the rest of the mochi this way.
• Place on a plate with a layer of parchment paper or plastic wrap underneath, cover the top tightly with plastic wrap, and refrigerate for about two hours, until nice and set. These are best eaten the day they are made or the following day. They will keep for another day or two if well-covered in plastic.