CINNAMON MOCHI POCKETS WITH ORANGE GIANDUJA FILLING

Preparation time 10 mins plus 2 hours resting

Cooking time 10 mins Makes 20

1 cup peeled hazelnuts

200g good quality milk chocolate,

chopped

Finely grated zest of 2 oranges

2 tsp vanilla paste

150g glutinous rice flour (from the

Asian aisle of major supermarkets) 150g caster sugar

1’/” tsp ground cinnamon

’/” cup potato starch, for dusting Edible flowers, to garnish

STEP 1 Preheat oven to 150°C fan-forced (170°C conventional). Arrange hazelnuts on a tray and bake for 8 minutes, until pale golden. Put hot nuts, chocolate, zest and vanilla in the bowl of a food processor and process on high for 3 minutes, scraping side of bowl occasionally, until smooth (add 1 tsp hot water to bring mix together if needed). Set aside to fully cool.

STEP 2 Meanwhile, mix rice flour and 300ml water in a bowl, then press through a fine sieve into a medium saucepan. Stir in sugar and cinnamon, set over low-moderate heat and cook, stirring constantly with a heatproof spatula, until dough – which will be sticky – is thick and glossy. Transfer to a bowl and rest, covered, for 2 hours.

STEP 3 Dust bench well with potato starch, turn out dough and divide into 20 pieces. With well-dusted fingers, roll each piece into a ball and fla–en to a 9cm disc. Place 1˜/š tsp of chocolate mixture in centre of each disc, wrap dough around and pinch to seal. Dot chocolate mixture on top and garnish with flowers. Eat cold as a snack.

These balls are a favourite treat in Japan but almost unheard of Down Under. Rolled from a stretchy rice dough that’s easy to make , they can be flavoured, and stuffed, with almost anything. Classic fillings include red bean or black sesame paste, but to introduce them to ‘locals’, try gianduja – a choc-hazelnut paste. Sweet!