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.
I think one indigrient is missing in recipe which is milk or cream???
I don’t use milk or cream in the recipe (maybe other people might use it?). Just in case… In the picture you see in the measuring cup.. that’s sugar. 🙂
Thanks for quick answer! I was convinced that I see on video some kind of milk/cream added and thats just sugar 😉 Now I can make my one dorayaki 🙂
No problem! A lot of people use cups here to measure, so I put the sugar in a cup to weigh on a scale and check on the cup measurement. It does look like milk. 😀
Hai Nami! How wonderful to see original dorayaki recipe here. I grew up with Doraemon series on tv, and they are STILL paying the series now (more than 15 years later). And oh how i was so curious about how dorayaki tastes like. Here where i live (Jakarta, Indonesia) i rarely see dorayaki vendors. And now i can make ’em on my own! I love your recipe, however, i found that it’s a bit too sweet for my taste. I think i’ll make some adjustment on the sugar and honey next time. But it was fun making it eventhough my anko was a bit burnt haha.. Thanks Nami for the recipe!
Hi Laksmi! Thank you so much for trying this recipe! Please feel free to adjust the sweetness. Depends on honey the sweetness could be different too, and it’s best enjoyed with green tea. 🙂 My kids are enjoying watching Doraemon now. 🙂 Thank you again for your feedback!
Hi Nami,
I want to ask you if we keep the in the freezer, how can we eat for later ? Just thaw it until room temperature or you reheat it in pan or microwave it ?
Thanks !
Hi Erny! Just defrost naturally at the room temperature. 🙂
I am Japanese and i learned this from my grandma. You dobt use AP flour. You use japanese cake flour.
Hi Matt! In Japan we use cake flour (hakurikiko) for a lot of sweets. I make dorayaki with both all-purpose flour and cake flour, and both are great in my opinion. 🙂
Hai thx again for the great recipe , i got few question though , i made dorayaki alot by now but 1 problem is when there is left over and i must put them in the fridge they get hard , even when i warmed them it still hard , do you have any suggestion why and how to fix it ? little tweak in the recipe or someway to warm it maybe ?
thx in advance
Hi Amuro! If you don’t eat it on the same or next day (keep it in a cool place), wrap the dorayaki in plastic wrap and put in a Ziploc bag to store in the freezer for up to a month. When you put in the fridge, I think it gets dry out unless you put in airtight container. I usually eat within 2 days (I keep in cold place of the house and don’t put it in the fridge) or freeze them. I never had any issues with hard dorayaki before and I make dorayaki often too. 🙂
i see so the key is wrap em and not put them in fridge , i always put them in fridge lol
thx
Hi Amuro! Well, it depends on the climate you live in. If you live in high humid climate, it’s safe to keep the food in the fridge in general, including dorayaki. 🙂 It shouldn’t be dry as long as you wrap each dorayaki with plastic wrap (tightly). 🙂
thx for the great recipe , few question though , 1st can i make the dough at night and cook them in the morning ?
2nd is about the red bean paste , i’ve been making them from scratch few times but it seems i can’t get all of them to smooth , there is always some ( if not many ) is still hard , i try cook them more than 2 hours or soak them longer but no big difference , i even try to stir them every 5 mnts once to make sure they cook evenly.
any suggestion ? is it maybe the bean ? i use only local red bean because there is no azuki bean in my area
thx before 😀
Hi Amuro! Yes, you can make the batter the previous day and keep in the refrigerator. If you didn’t use azuki beans it’s hard for me to know what went wrong. I never used red bean other than azuki beans for cooking so I don’t know how the texture or taste is… Sorry I wish I could help more. 🙁
I see , oh well i’ll figure it out somehow , the red bean i used is bigger than azuki according to the research i conduct , apparently there’s 3 types of red bean out there >.<
thx again 🙂
This looked easy, so I tried it and my first attempt wasn’t bad! I was so inspired by some of Nami’s other recipes using match powder that I replaced 2 tbsps of the flour with matcha powder to make green tea dorayaki. It worked well I think 🙂 The colour on them isn’t as pretty as yours, Nami, as I had to experiment a little with how long to leave them on before flipping and how high to have the temperature on my finicky stovetop, but by the end I figured it out and will definitely try this again.
A pic of my green tea Dorayaki, inspired by Nami.
http://i.imgur.com/twxEuvh.jpg
Hi Maria! I’m so glad you tried Matcha version! I’m hoping to give it a try very soon too! The colors can depend on matcha itself. Thank you so much for trying this recipe! 🙂
What is the secret to get even round shapes ?
Hi Olivia! Secret for the round shape is to pour the batter from high, about 6″ (15 cm) above the pan to create 3″ (8 cm) diameter pancakes. 🙂
I have been searching the internet for the perfect dorayaki, to which all of them have not surpassed my expectations, but yours, they are perfect, every time, light, fluffy, and i can cut them in half and make little pancake sandwiches! thank you so much!
Hi Julie! I’m so glad to hear you enjoy my dorayaki recipe! Thank you so much for writing your feedback! xo 🙂
hi…….. i just read the recipe. hope i will try it today evening………. and hopes it comes out good. will try my best. having my fingers crossed, still having belief for good outcomes………… anyway thanks for the recipe!!!!!
Good luck, Fathima! I hope my instruction is clear. Please let me know if you have any question. 🙂
Omg!!!! I tried this just now and it turned out perfect!!!! Just remember to flip it when bubbles appear!! Like when a few bubbles appeared, you have to flip it!! Okay it was really light and fluffy!! I used peanut butter as a filling and i am going to try later :))! Thanks
Hi Yanling! I’m so glad you enjoyed this recipe. Thank you for your feedback! 🙂
Thank you for the recipe. It looks very easy to make but I don’t know if I can make the taste right ;0
but I will try!
Love all images, they are beautiful!
Hugs,
Pammoe
Thank you Pammoe! Hope you like the recipe! 🙂
Hi, these quantities are for 8 dorayaki or for 8 pieces that will become 4 dorayaki?
thanks
Hi Shiva! It means 8 dorayaki. Hope you enjoy! 🙂
Thanks for the reply, I made them and are amazing! 😀
http://14th-division.deviantart.com/art/Dorayaki-449782928
So sorry for my late response! I’m glad you tried this recipe already and came out so well! Your dorayaki look amazing!!! Thanks so much – I just shared your link on my facebook page. 🙂
i used to always go to Seico-Mart in Japan whcih was down the street from my grandparents house to get dorayaki…its been 5 yrs since i visited them in Japan
OH AND BTW I USING THIS RECIPE FOR A LANGUAGE ARTS PROJECT SO I CAN BRING SOME TO GIVE PEOPLE IN CLASS
Hi Aiko! Thanks for trying this recipe! Hope your classmates will enjoy this. 🙂
Very sad that this recipe didn’t seem to work for me :/ I’ve done dorayaki before (a few years ago after first returning from Japan), and I managed to do them perfectly. Now I didn’t have a recipe so I decided to google it and found your website! When I pour the dough on the pan it doesn’t seem to bake… I have no idea why it’s happening! My guess is that I had to use baking soda instead of baking powder, but I’m not entirely sure.
But I love your blog though! Can’t wait to try a few other recipes here! 🙂
Hi Anna! I’m sorry this recipe didn’t work for you. 🙁 Was the batter too thick? I don’t think using baking powder or baking soda is a big issue. But if the consistency for batter is not right, then you get the different result. Make sure to use the right size eggs and measure other ingredients correctly. 🙂 Hope you enjoy other recipes. Thank you for writing!
I have to say, I saved the dough in the fridge because I thought it would be a waste to throw it away and I tried adding a little more water to it and it worked! 😉 Didn’t realize it would make such a difference, I thought I put 2 tbsp of it in the batter. At least I manage to make the pancakes this time and they were delicious! Served it as a dessert after a katsudon dinner 🙂
Hi Anna! Glad you saved it! 🙂 Even small amount of water the batter changes very quickly (so in the future, when you want to make the batter more smooth, put liquid very small amount at a time). What a nice dessert after katsudon. <3
Great recipe!
No really, I loved, I did it today for the first time and it turned out better than I thought
Hi Emilio! Thank you so much for trying this recipe!! I’m glad to hear you enjoyed this recipe. 🙂