A classic Japanese confection, Dorayaki is a honey pancake sandwich filled with sweet red bean paste called anko. It‘s a wildly popular snack and dessert among children and adults 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 cartoons from the ’70s, 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 paste called anko; however, custard cream (recipe), chestnuts (kuri), and cream (matcha cream, cream with fruits, etc) are also popular.
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 snacks.
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!
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Dorayaki (Japanese Red Bean Pancake)
Video
Ingredients
- 4 large eggs (50 g each w/o shell)
- 140 g sugar (⅔ cup + ½ Tbsp)
- 2 Tbsp honey
- 1⅓ cups all-purpose flour (plain flour) (weigh your flour or use the “fluff and sprinkle“ method and level it off)
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1–2 Tbsp water (adjust to achieve the desired batter consistency)
- neutral oil (for greasing the pan)
- 1.1 lb sweet red bean paste (anko) (you can make Homemade Anko)
Instructions
- Before You Start: I highly encourage you to weigh your ingredients using a kitchen scale for this recipe. Click on the “Metric“ button at the top of the recipe to convert the ingredient measurements to metric. If you‘re using a cup measurement, please follow the “fluff and sprinkle“ method: Fluff your flour with a spoon, sprinkle the flour into your measuring cup, and level it off. Otherwise, you may scoop more flour than you need.Gather all the ingredients.
To Make the Batter
- In a large bowl, combine 4 large eggs (50 g each w/o shell), 140 g sugar (⅔ cup + ½ Tbsp), and 2 Tbsp honey. Whisk well until the mixture becomes fluffy.
- Sift 1⅓ cups all-purpose flour (plain flour) and 1 tsp baking powder into the bowl with the egg mixture and mix until combined. Put the bowl in the refrigerator to rest the batter for 15 minutes.
- After resting, the batter should be relaxed and slightly smoother. Now, stir in half of the 1–2 Tbsp water and check the consistency. It should be similar to pancake batter. Add more of the water, as needed, until you achieve the right consistency. Depending on the size of the eggs and how accurate your flour measurement is, the water amount may vary.
To Cook the Honey Pancakes
- Heat a large nonstick frying pan over the lowest heat setting for 5 minutes. It‘s best to take your time and heat the pan slowly. When it is thoroughly heated with no hot spots, increase the heat to medium low. Dip a paper towel in neutral oil and coat the bottom of the pan with oil. Then, use another paper towel to remove the oil completely. This is the key to evenly golden brown Dorayaki pancakes. With a ladle or a small measuring cup (I use a 4 Tbsp measuring cup), pour 3 Tbsp of the batter from 3 inches (8 cm) above the pan to create a pancake that‘s 3 inches (8 cm) in diameter. Cook one pancake at a time.
- When you see the surface of the batter starting to bubble, flip the pancake over and cook the other side. (With my stove and frying pan, it takes 1 minute and 15–30 seconds to cook one side and 20–30 seconds for the other side.) When done, transfer it to a plate and cover it with a damp towel to prevent it from drying out. Grease the pan between batches, as needed. Continue making the rest of the pancakes; you can make about 12 pancakes.
To Assemble the Dorayaki
- Assemble the Dorayaki by making sandwiches using two pancakes and a scoop of the 1.1 lb sweet red bean paste (anko) as filling. Put more red bean paste in the center of the pancakes so the sandwich‘s middle is thicker than the edges and the Dorayaki's overall shape is curved. Wrap the 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.
Nutrition
Editor’s Note: The post was originally published on October 28, 2011. The new post includes updated images and the new video.
Hi Nami, thanks gain for a great recipe. However, I need your advice : the first three pieces of the pancake had the beautiful even brown colour like shown in your pic, but the rest of it turn out to have mottled surfaces.
Does this mean i turned it too soon? I kept applying the coat of oil after every pamcake is done, and i never adjusted the stove. Can you advice on this? The taste is great, just that it looks terrible, hahaha.
Hi Berryblur! From what you told me, I can advise a few things.
1) Whisk the batter before pouring to the frying pan to keep the good consistency.
2) Make sure oil is wiped off and not visible on non-stick frying pan.
3) The pan is probably hotter than first three batches. You can wait to cool down a bit, or wash the pan cleanly and start over again.
Hope this helps. 🙂
Aaah, I see. The hot pan could be the problem in my case. I will try it out again. Thanks for the advice, Nami!
I have never had Dorayaki before, i went on youtube and saw some videos and i thought i would make one. They all have different recipes for Dorayaki batters so I had to do more search on Google and I came across your website and found your Dorayaki recipe. I picked your recipe with no hesitation. I made the red bean paste from scratch because I’m not a big fan of canned products and I thought it would probably taste even better. My Dorayaki came out so perfectly (First attempt), and on top of that, it tasted so so good. I sliced some strawberry to eat with and as well as green tea!! It was just awesome and I had to comment! I just made these yesterday, wished I could post pictures on here! It’s really easy, just time consuming (If you are making red bean paste).. I cant wait to try your other recipes!! ^__^
Hi Anita! Thank you so much for trying my recipe after seeing many dorayaki recipes. I feel flattered! I’m so happy to hear you enjoyed dorayaki. It’s a bit more time consuming than store bought ones, but the homemade is always so delicious! Thank you very much for your feedback! 🙂
By the way, I share readers’ pictures of food they made from my blog on facebook fan page. If you have facebook account, you can share it on the page yourself, or you can send me the picture so I can share it on the fan page. 🙂
https://www.facebook.com/justonecookbook
hi, i’m looking for a new recipe to try and i found your dorayaki. it remind me of doremon 🙂 . thank you for sharing this wonderful recipe..it so fluffy and taste so good. i end up eating the pancake without the redbean .thank you.
Hi Yana! I’m glad to hear you enjoy this dorayaki recipe! I should make these soon… I miss eating it! p.s. I watched so many doramen shows while I was in Japan as my kids rented all the doraemon movies to watch. I still think it’s fun to watch. 😀
The Dorayaki turned out delicious! Although I did burn the first one, the rest turned out fine (I lowered the heat to low and flipped it sooner). Thank you for the recipe~
Thank YOU for trying this recipe Klaudia! I’m happy to hear it turned out great! Thank you so much for your kind feedback. 🙂
haha, I watched Doraemon when I was a child, and always been curious about this pancake. I though it was crispy when I watch TV, then one day I saw a curb side food court selling it for a crazy price, I happily bought it without doubt. after the first bite, I was so disappointed. It was way much different than I thought.
Hi Lindsay! Ohh it must have been a very disappointment when you found out it’s something different from what you imagined!
Could you please add taiyaki and takoyaki to your list of goodis possibly please? 😀
HI Chanel! One day I have to make Taiyaki mold pan… 😀 I love Taiyaki too! I’m working on Takoyaki recipe… work in progress (but it might take a while till I write a recipe and photograph etc…). Thanks for writing!
this website is really cool!!!!!!! i learnt the dorayaki in one day. i love it!!!!!!!!!!
thank you for helping me.
Thank you Riya! Hope you enjoy it. 🙂
Thank you for sharing the Japanese cooking recipes.My husband loves Japanese foods,with your easy step by step cooking instructions,I think I could make a Japanese dinner for him at home.
Hi Connie! Thank you for reading my blog and I hope you and your husband enjoy eating Japanese food at home! 🙂
Hi, Just have a quick, probably stupid lol, question about the recipe. It calls for “Sugar” I’m assuming you are referring to confectioners sugar since it’s a confection right? Really want to try my hand at these for my friends. Also same question but referring to the home-made sweet red bean paste as i’ll be making that from scratch as well.
Hi Andy! I use regular white sugar, or we call it granulated sugar. Confectioners sugar is more refine than granulated sugar. Same for red bean paste, use granulated sugar. 🙂
Hope you enjoy Dorayaki!
I’m making these for a school project. But can I use Nutella?
Hi Alana! Yes, you can use Nutella! 🙂
Hi there!
I made these yummy little Dorayaki for breakfast! They were really delicious, and filling.
Thanks for sharing your recipe
🙂
Thank you Nataly! I’m happy to hear you liked it! 🙂
I made the dorayaki yesterday! It’s very important not to overmix because my first batch was flat and hard. But my second batch was ok because i actually left lumps of dough before i stopped mixing. The lumps prevented the batter from spreading in a perfect circle though.
However, i find the dorayaki much too sweet as compared to the ones I have eaten before. If I were to just reduce the sugar, would it change the texture of the dorayaki? I also made custard cream to go along with the dorayaki, tasted great!
Hi silei! Thank you for trying the recipe and your feedback. Great suggestion about not over-mixing the batter.
You can reduce the amount of sugar and/or honey (but do not omit honey completely). Hmm custard cream sounds so good! 🙂
This looks delicious! Is there a way to seal the edges so the filling won’t spill out though? I’m actually thinking of adding ice-cream to it as well if it is possible to seal the edge >.<!
Hi Sam! Thank you. 🙂 Hmm… since each of pancake is pretty thick, they won’t close it tightly, unfortunately. You can wrap it with plastic wrap to keep it close, but with ice cream… hmmm… little tough I think. It’s a great idea though. One way you can do is you make sandwich while you eat it. That might be possible… 🙂
I loveeeeeeeeeee sweet bean cakes!!
It’s hard to find around here, so when I go to NYC Im always stocking up.
I’ll try making it next time on my own though! (Though, it kinda sucks but around here the red bean paste is getting more and more expensive….)
But thanks for the recipe!
Hi Lizzy! Heehee me too, I love anything red bean! 🙂 I’m curious if you can find red bean (azuki) and is it cheaper than a can? I always wanted to do anko (red bean paste) recipe, but I’ve been so busy that I didn’t have a chance making it from scratch (takes like 2 hours)… You can freeze the red bean paste if you have leftover. 🙂
Nami, I wanted to make sure I looked at all my resources before answering.
And from what I can tell, no (at least in Buffalo). =(
We’ve only been able to find it in a can (and then it wasnt that delicious brand you used, we can only ever find that brand around New Years), but needless to say…
it was delicioussss!! I followed your tip with the laddle and they came out soooooooo perfect!! My boyfriend is Japanese and was really,Really, REALLY impressed!!! If you ever make it from scratch do share! I’ll buy online if I have too! Thanks Nami!!!!
I’m sorry red bean paste in can is not as popular there because I can get it anytime here in SF… I’m so happy to hear you impressed your Japanese BF! Well I’m happy to hear he approved my recipe. 😉 Yes I will definitely share once I get to photograph the steps…. step by step photos sometimes made me discourage to write up a post sometimes (just a long and tedious project). I’ll remember to take pictures!
Where can you get ogura-an in the Bay Area? I’ve been looking for it!
Any Japanese supermarkets or Chinese markets (in Japanese section) should have it.
{Japanese markets in the Bay Area}
Nijiya: San Francisco Japan Town, San Mateo, Mountain View, San Jose
Mitsuwa: San Jose
Suruki: San Mateo
Marukai: Cupertino