Butter Tteok (Crispy Butter Mochi), Maldon Chocolate Financier and Orange Financier by Noci Bakehouse

A new Korean style bakery just opened in Singapore with a completely new type of pastry that I had to try - the Crispy Butter Mochi or Butter Tteok, which is a Korean rice cake. I also took the chance to get their Maldon Chocolate Financier and Orange Financier, thinking they would just be high quality standard bakes, but I ended up being taken by surprise by certain interesting aspects and had to feature them as well. And after trying all 3, the most special thing about all of them was down to the same super interesting and surprising factor, which I learned from asking the staff later. 

Also, do note that the experience is very different depending on whether you consume them reheated or cold from the shelf due to the airconditioning. I review the cold experience first, then comment on how they tasted after I reheated them at home. My overall view is that the chef did the taste testing and pushed the boundaries for the level of salt while the pastries were still warm, so they were very bold but a lot more normal when warm. However, because the perceived saltiness changes significantly with temperature, the taste when cold under the aircon became so unusual. So perhaps some aspects of the taste were more of an unaccounted mistake than a planned innovation.

Butter Tteok or Crispy Butter Mochi

First, I'll describe the Butter Tteok. At first, the initial overall impression when it first hit my palate is that this butter tteok was quite similar to a canelé in both texture and taste, with a few key exceptions - it was less eggy (because instead of custard, glutinous rice mochi is used for the butter tteok) and had no rum. 

Or another comparison is actually the mochi bread that is common in Japanese bakeries, starting with the cheese mochi bread first invented in Brazil called Pão de Queijo, but later expanding to other flavours such as sesame or matcha. This "butter tteok" is in essence similar to that mochi bread, but seemingly with less flour, hence less bready, and because of the denser texture and chewyness when cold, actually resembles a canelé more in experience.

The mochi texture inside was also strangely like the canelé's spongy interior, except that the mochi was more spongy and chewy, and the bubbles or air pockets were much finer in the mochi compared to the canelé's larger bread-like air pockets. (If you zoom in on the photo below you should be able to see the texture more clearly - click to see the original with more details.)

Also, the crunch of the crust was a somewhat more delicate and fine sandy crisp on the surface, followed by a sandy crunch in the layers right below that initial crisp. The canelé's crunch is somewhat coarser and usually not so crisp. And this was despite me having the butter tteok cold and unheated. Another thing to note is that the crunch of the butter teok was only around the darkest brown shell-shaped outline, not in the middle flatter parts of the mochi, despite it looking kind of cracked and flaky in the photo below.

But the most impressive signature thing about this tasty morsel, in my view, was this rich and fragrant smokey burnt taste and aroma that came from the crust, which seriously reminded me of the burnt and crispy rice bits at the bottom of claypot rice cooked over charcoal. This was the star of the show.

Enhancing this was the clear savoury salted butter coating the crust. The mochi inside also leaned slightly savoury, like the salt level of a well-salted plain bread, and this was very satisfying. there was also a bit of sweetness in the crust, which I thought was nicely balanced.

Put together, all these elements such as the smokey burnt notes, the chewy mochi and the sweet-savoury balance, really me of a Japanese mitarashi dango (the skewered barbequed glutinous rice balls coated in sweet and savoury soy sauce), which was a surprise as I never expected such a flavour to come from a French-looking pastry.

After reheating it at home, it was much softer inside although still crispy on the edges, and came to resemble the Brazilian Japanese Pão de Queijo a LOT more, so it was no longer like a salty canelé or mitarashi dango. I would describe it as a smoky Pão de Queijo, with the salt and butter coming together much like the cheese in Pão de Queijo. In that sense, I felt thought that warming up made it much less unique, but provided a better texture experience overall with more buttery fragrance compared to the smokiness. 

Maldon Chocolate Financier

Next up, the financiers. They fascinated me as much as the butter tteok.

First is the Maldon Chocolate Financier. Due to the obvious salt flakes above, I believe Maldon refers to Maldon sea salt flakes, which are produced in Essex and known for a mild and clean taste as well as a crunchy but soft texture. They are less dense than table salt, and is typically used as a finishing touch in solid form to boost desserts or meats for its texture rather than dissolved in food.

For the taste, I'll write about it via my blind taste impression of the cold unheated version first, and at the end I'll explain what the secret ingredient is based on what the staff told me. 

I'll admit that I was completely surprised by my first mouthful and had no idea what ingredients were inside this. Maldon salt did not explain what I tasted at all - in short, it was like a very delicate, gourmet and smoky version of a salted caramel peanut chocolate, such as Mars or Snickers, without any cloying sweetness and with a much darker and nuttier body.

The first thing that hit me was a dense, nutty, earthy and toasty almong powder cake - I seriously thought there might be some kind of peanut or peanut butter in there (but there was none, as I learned later). 

Immediately after, the dark chocolate ganache's rich flavours hit me in a surprising way - it was not only dark and rich, but also seemed to have that same rich burnt smoky charcoal aroma as the butter tteok. It was so smoky that it literally reminded me of the Hickory barbeque smoke taste from barbequed sauces or meats. This was unexpected as I never associate financiers with smoky flavours usually found more in mains and savouries. The dark chocolate was also sweet, and there was some salty element coming through. At first, I wondered if there was some super thin layer of burnt salted caramel under the chocolate (but there was also none, as I heard later).

Because all these flavours combined and I couldn't pinpoint the sources, I wondered if the smoky aspect came from dark roasted peanuts or peanut butter, or perhaps a smoky caramel.

The texture was dense, but otherwise not too different from a normal financier that has a very slightly crunchy but thin crust from reheating. (I had mine cold, however.) The photo of the texture inside is also similar in appearance to normal financiers.

In all this, I initially did not recognise the typical wheat, butter, egg and almond taste from typical financiers, and even after knowing the special ingredient, I still cannot map it back. 

That said, after I reheated it in the oven at home, it was a lot more recognisable as a very buttery, nutty and dense financier with very bold flavours that rested on typical but mild financier almond-wheat cake body. It was also much less salty, since cold foods taste saltier than warm foods, which made the financier cake flavour come through better. That's why I suspect that the salt and overall taste balance were adjusted and maxed out for the warm version, whereas the financiers from other bakeries tend to be much less savoury and to optimise balance for the room temperature version. As a result, the cold version ended up being rather atypical and surprising.

Orange Financier (photo with the Maldon Chocolate Financier above)

Next is the orange financier. After the surprising experience with the Maldon Chocolate Financier, this one nonetheless managed to surprise me yet again.

The Orange Financier was also, unexpectedly, quite salty and smoky, but not in an unpleasant way. This was the first thing that struck me because it was so unusual. Salt and dark chocolate is expected these days, but not salt and candied orange. The savoury taste was like malty caramel-like notes, and once again, I seriously thought about mitarashi dango sweet and salty soy glaze. But this leaned more caramel-like than soy. Because of the malty or grainy notes, however, it had a kind of satisfying roundedness and fullness to the body that is present in soy sauce but not in caramel.

The smoky flavour was either not as prominent as the previous pastries I tried, or else I was a bit dulled to it by this time. But it was clearly present.

After that, I noticed the very fragrant orange and citrus peel notes, which were really quite lush and prominent but not too heavy handed or cloying. These top notes sat very well on the caramel-mitarashi body, and the slight herby bitter notes of the orange peel also blended well with the darkness of the burnt element, whatever that was.

Like the Maldon Chocolate Financier, this Orange Financier also did not seem to have the typical wheat-butter-egg taste of normal financiers.

However, the texture was notably different from the Maldon financier. The crust was crispy unlike any financier I had before, strangely similar to the butter tteok's crunch or a crispy canelé's crunch that is a bit chewy. I couldn't explain this either, except perhaps for the super thick and sticky glaze (see the first photo with the 2 financiers: the orange one is very shiny and towards the near side of the financier it is clear that there's a thick layer of about 1mm that the light refracts through). I never figured out what caused this, however, even after learning of the special ingredient.

Finally, just a quick note also that the texture of the cake itself was somewhat coarser and more crumbly, a difference you can see clearly in the 2 texture photos above. 

After reheating it, the financier wheat-and-almond taste was a lot more prominent and it was a lot less salty, so it felt like a very dense and moist orange almond tea cake, and it was a lot less unique and surprising. The crunch also became more delicate and less like burnt mochi, much more in line with a normal financier crunch. The glazing didn't seem so thickly slathered over anymore, and it seemed to have been absorbed into the cake to make it a more normal financier on the moist end of the spectrum. These were more signed to me that the chef perhaps optimised too much for the warm version and only did taste testing when it was warm.

PSA: Temperature makes a bigger difference than normal for these

I think because they really pushed the boundaries on the salt and other bold flavours, the experience when it is cold tends to drop off the edge of normal expectations, especially for saltiness, so it ended up being so reminiscent of mitarashi dango or other types of snacks. If you like bold and unusual experiences and a higher level of savoury in your pastries like I do, then consume it cold at least once.

Otherwise, if you prefer something more within the boundaries of the expected, either have them warm it up or bring it home and warm it up for yourself and your guests. Then it will be like a dense, moist and very boldly flavoured financier, not some completely novel taste. Or better still, just go for something safe and classic like Henri Charpentier or Chihiro Sweets Shop, which can now be purchased from Chocolate Origin in Singapore.

So what's the special ingredient?

After asking the staff various questions, it was clear that there was no caramel, glutinous rice powder, soy sauce, mitarashi sauce or peanut butter in the financiers.

What emerged instead was the use of brown butter! And instantly, all these weird observations made sense, along with the temperature differences after my second try. I am guessing that it was a very unique brown butter that was very salty, very thick, and very brown to the point of being smoky. It would also explain why the butter tteok was so smoky, because they probably used the same brown butter (although I didn't enquire about the butter tteok's ingredients).

This would totally explain the caramel and smoky notes (from the burning of the butter), as well as the mitarashi notes and nutty notes (from how they combine with the malty or grainy notes of the wheat flour and almond powder). 

I have tried brown butter financiers before, even an orange peel one that also had crunchy sugar bits, but it tasted nothing like these. I think the amount of caramelisation, burning and salt, and also temperature optimisation, must have been the key to the drastic emergent differences in taste. And this made me realise the vast possibilities of different types of brown butter. It was a real eye opener indeed.

I still haven't figured out why the orange financier had the strange crispy mochi crunch for sure, but I'm guessing that the glazing having a slight crunch that hardened further and unexpectedly after it became cool.

Here is the store display with the 2 financiers. At S$4.80 - $4.50, they are by far the most expensive financiers I've had, more so than my favourite Chihiro Financiers, but I feel that the novel and unique experience and innovation is well worth the price for trying once or twice. I do plan on trying them again, maybe with the original flavour, just to see if I experience them differently or notice more things.

Finally, just a note on packaging - don't expect them to be individually packed like at most bakeries despite the sky-high price. They just give it to you in a sloppy recycled burger box and paper bag without even a handle.

Discover more unique financiers

• (mentioned) Brown Cultured Butter Financier, (Candied) Orange Financier and other premium gourmet French bakes by Noix de Beurre, Japan
• (mentioned) Cultured Butter, Hazelnut and Earl Grey Financiers by Chihiro Sweets Shop
• (part 2) Pistachio and Dark Chocolate Financiers by Chihiro Sweets Shop
• Maple Financier by Gateau Festa Harada
• Annou Satsumaimo Sweet Potato "Oimo Financier" by Imokawa and Minamimachi Coffee, Tokyo
• Gateau Pistachio by Pista & Tokyo, Japan
• Tigresse (almond powder cake with chocolate ganache) by Gateau Festa Harada