[Japanese Recipes] Dorayaki - Red Bean Pancake

A classic Japanese confection, Dorayaki is made of honey pancake sandwich with sweet red bean filling. It’s wildly popular amongst the children and adult alike in Japan.

Dorayaki (どら焼き) is best described as a dessert with red bean filling between two slices of sweet fluffy pancakes. If you are familiar with Japanese cartoon from the 70’s, you probably know this dessert from the anime character Doraemon who is crazy about this snack and falls for any trap involving them.

Different Types of Dorayaki

Besides Doraemon, my entire family including my children and husband all love this snack. This traditional Japanese confectionery is most commonly filled with sweet azuki red bean pastes; however, custard cream (recipe), chestnuts (kuri), and cream (matcha cream, cream with fruits, etc) are also popular.

Homemade Custard Cream

The soft moist honey pancake with sweet red bean filling goes perfectly with warm and slightly bitter Japanese green tea. I am drooling just thinking about these tasty pancake snack.

Golden Brown Dorayaki Pancakes

For perfect golden brown pancakes, make sure to wipe off all excess oil on the frying pan’s surface. If you leave oil streaks on the pan, the pancakes will not turn into nice golden color without spots. Don’t worry if the first few don’t turn out perfect, just keep going and you’ll get the hang of it very quickly.

Most of the Japanese confectionery stores in Japan carry these traditional sweets. Here in the U.S., Japanese and Asian grocery stores carry packaged dorayaki. They taste good, but homemade ones are very easy to make and I hope you give this homemade recipe a try!

Dorayaki (Japanese Red Bean Pancake)


A classic Japanese confection, Dorayaki is made of honey pancake sandwich with sweet red bean filling. It’s wildly popular amongst the children and adult alike in Japan.

INGREDIENTS
1x2x3x

▢4 large eggs (50 g each w/o shell)
▢⅔ cup sugar (⅔ cup + ½ Tbsp to be precise)
▢2 Tbsp honey
▢1 ⅓ cup all-purpose flour (plain flour) (If you're using a cup measurement, please follow this method to measure. Otherwise, the amount of flour tends to be more than you need. 1 cup should be 120 g. Use gluten-free flour for GF)
▢1 tsp baking powder
▢1-2 Tbsp water (adjust 1-2 Tbsp)
▢1 tsp neutral-flavored oil (vegetable, rice bran, canola, etc) (for cooking each batch)
▢1.1 lb red bean paste (anko) (you can make homemade anko)

INSTRUCTIONS

Gather all the ingredients.

In a large bowl, combine eggs, sugar, and honey and whisk well until the mixture becomes fluffy.

Sift flour and baking powder into the bowl and mix all together. Keep in the fridge to rest for 15 minutes.

The batter should be slightly smoother now. Stir in 1 Tbsp of water. Depends on the size of eggs and how accurate your flour measurement is, the water amount may vary but it should be 1-2 Tbsp.

Heat a large non-stick frying pan over medium-low heat (close to low). It's best to take your time and heat slowly. I keep the heat setting to the lowest for 5 minutes. Dip a paper towel in vegetable oil and coat the bottom of the pan with the oil. Then remove the oil completely (that's the key for evenly golden brown dorayaki surface). With a ladle or a small measuring cup (I use a 4 Tbsp measuring cup), pour 3 Tbsp of the batter from 3" (8 cm) above the pan to create 3" (8 cm) diameter pancakes.

When you see the surface of the batter starting to bubble, flip over and cook the other side. With my stovetop and frying pan, it takes 1 minute and 15-30 seconds to cook one side and 20-30 seconds on the other side). Transfer to a plate and cover up with a damp towel to prevent from drying. You do not need to oil the pan again. Continue making pancakes (you can make about 12 pancakes).

Make sandwich with red bean paste. Put more red bean paste in the center so the shape of dorayaki will be curved (middle part should be thicker). Wrap dorayaki with plastic wrap until ready to serve.

To Store
The leftovers can be wrapped in plastic and stored in a cool place for 2 days. They also can be put in a freezer bag and stored in the freezer for a month.

This recipe and image sources are referred in website: Justonecookbook.com. Thanks so much!