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.
Thank you so much for the recipe. I tried it this morning. The kitchen smelled so good. I’m going to bring these Dorayakis to school tomorrow and share them with friends! Here is a picture
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10153782463544853&set=a.10150168735564853.350396.514289852&type=3&theater
Hi Yun! WOW, they look AMAZING!!!! I love how you folded it. It’s very cute and good size for little snack! I hope everyone at school enjoyed these beautiful treats you made! 🙂
Hi so I’ve been following all the steps correctly, but my pancakes are still very unevenly browned >_< The insides aren't fluffy and also the surface is a little dry as well… Your pancakes look so perfect! XD please help me xd
Hi Chu! I mentioned in the recipe, but I highly recommend to use a kitchen scale first to be exact. And American large egg is about 50 grams.
What type of frying pan do you use? If the batter is made correctly, it’s now about tools and skills that are next questions. You know, it’s really hard to pin point what went wrong without me being there as I don’t know how you make it.
Many people have tried this recipe for the past years and they turned out very well so I’m sure you can do it!!!! If you really need help, I will need more detail explanations and pictures or vidoe so that I can help better…
yes i do ( my fav cartoon till now 😀 ).
will give it a try
i really love to read recipes with step by step picts 🙂
I hope you enjoy this recipe, Ika! It’s easy, but controlling the heat is most important. 🙂
Made these for breakfast, used 3/8 cup (slightly more than 1/3) of sugar instead of 2/3 as a test to make sure it wouldn’t be too sweet for me. Turned out perfect.
Funny because when I was making the pancakes, when it started to bubble and I flipped it and it was dark brown and burnt. Thought the heat was too high (it was only medium low) so tried it again, bubbles formed, flipped, still burnt. 3rd pancake to 14th pancake, poured batter, didn’t wait for bubbles to form instead after 15-20 sec* of cooking started slowing sliding spatula around the edges and under pancake, once completely under, flipped over, turned out nice and brown (not a circle though because my oven burners are slightly tilted so the batter runs to the side a bit)
*Dunno know if it was really 15-20 sec but it didn’t seem that long and after a while I kind of just knew it was time to start sliding the spatula around and under the pancake to check the doneness
Hi Hondo! Sorry for my late response. Thanks so much for your detailed feedback. Since the batter includes honey, it gets burnt quite easily. I’m glad you figured out your stove and yours came out well! 🙂
LOVE the flavored creams ones and the custard dorayakis. I’m printing this recipe, but simply for the basic hot cake recipe hahaha i’m on the hunt for the perfect Japanese hot cake recipe! I miss Okinawa’s pancake houses (especially one named Jakkepoes, they’d make everything to order, even the batter and it was perfection).
Hi Audrey! These “pancakes” are sweet with sugar and honey, so they get burnt easily compared to regular pancakes. It’s more moist and cakey than regular pancakes. I’d say it’s a bit different from Japanese hot cake. I have to try that pancake house when I visit Okinawa! 🙂
My second attempt was much better! I got the consistency right and warmed up my Korean red bean paste to soften them lol! They still ended up a little burnt but I think it’s because my stove is old. Even so they are delicious!!!
Hi Carmina! I’m so happy to hear your update and thanks so much for taking your time to let me know! It’s easy to burn because of sugar/honey in the batter.
One suggestion. Keep the wet cloth next to the stove. When the pan is getting too hot, it takes too long for the pan to cool down even though you lower the heat. Then that’s when you burn the pancake. When you feel the pan is getting too hot, move the pan over to the wet cloth and let the bottom of the pan cool a bit and continue cooking. Hope this helps!
So, I tried to make this. I think like your notes said I had too much flour. Then medium heat burned the outside but the middles weren’t done. Lastly my red bean paste (from a can) was more like red bean soup. I chopped it up a little with a mixer but when I ate one some of the beans were hard? Is there anything I should do for the beans if they aren’t paste? Should in warm them up or something? That’s ‘s for your help!!
Hi Carmenina! First of all, please understand that I can’t give full advice as I wasn’t in your kitchen and I don’t know exactly what and how you made your Dorayaki, but I’ll do my best to help from your explanation. 🙂
1) I think you left a comment on FB, maybe? I kind of remember talking about it. I probably advised it’s too much flour because you said the batter is too thick and inside wasn’t cooked (right?). Please check the video and see the consistency of the batter. You probably need to practice a few times to see how much water is necessary for your batter to get the right consistency. If it’s runny, then flat pancakes. Usually dorayaki pancake has some thickness, not too thin.
2) Each stove is slightly different and depends on the frying pan’s material, the cooking varies. We don’t have the exact same cooking gadgets so adjustment will be necessary. The batter has honey so it’s easy to burn if the heat is strong. It doesn’t hurt to cook slowly – per se. It’s better than cooking too fast, and inside is doughy. Make sure the pan is oiled (even though you have to wipe it after). If you leave the oil, the pancake won’t be nice and smooth texture, but it doesn’t mean you don’t need oil on the pan.
3) What kind of red bean paste did you use? I hope it’s cooked azuki beans. This red bean cannot be other types of beans (for savory food). It should be cooked (beans will be mashed easily) and sweetened. I feel like yours weren’t cooked for some reason, as you said it was hard.
I only know Japanese brand red bean paste can, and if it’s other kinds, maybe it wasn’t the right one. If you can email me the picture, I can help.
Here’s what you should look for (in Asian or Japanese store):
https://www.justonecookbook.com/pantry_items/anko-red-bean-paste/
It should be ready to use.
Hope this helps. If you have any quesition, feel free to ask me. 🙂
Hi Nami!
That was a lot of info thanks! I used Kabuto brand canned red beans…I’m not sure if they were cooked or not but they weren’t mashed. It was the beans in a soupy mixture. I hadn’t commented on facebook but that’s what happened to mine, the outside got burnt while the inside was still undone. The cakes seemed to be the right thickness. I meant your note about flour here on your blog, about fluffing it right? And I did the oil thing, I think my heat was just too high. I didn’t watch the video for consistency but I will next time! I ate a little bit of one of them and even for such a screw up it was good so I’m excited to get it right! I’ll comment when I try again soon. I’m not too surprised, I can cook but making sweets always gives me trouble even if it’s from the box lol!
You’re welcome. 🙂 Yeah, probably the heat was too strong. Yes, fluffing the flour is important before scoop out with a spoon to a measuring cup. I Googled the Kabuto brand’s red bean paste and it looks like a Korean brand but should be similar to Japanese. Maybe cook a little bit to reduce the liquid so the paste will be stickier and more mushy. Hope next one will turn out well! Good luck! 🙂
Hi there. Enjoyed your video and made dorayaki last evening. I used gluten free All-purpose flour & instead of white sugar, I used rice syrup. Wanted a healthier version but it turned out hard like leather. 🙁
Haha. I shall follow ur recipe to a T. Btw does it remain soft after being refrigerated overnight?
Hi Jocelyn! Thank you so much for watching my video and trying my recipe! I’ve never used GF flour for this recipe or rice syrup so I don’t know how you could improve with these ingredients. Sugar is important to keep the cake soft. With this recipe, the cake stays moist and soft for several days. Maybe you can try adjusting gradually? That way, you know how to control the right amount for certain ingredients. 🙂
Thanks for your reply. Can i use brown sugar, instead of white sugar?
Sure! 🙂 Make sure to use lower heat as it gets burn easily. Enjoy!
Hi Nami,
Is it possible to use baking soda instead of baking powder? 🙂
Hi Karen! Use 1/4 teaspoon baking soda (plus an acid) for every 1 teaspoon of baking powder in your recipe. Details in this post:
http://www.wikihow.com/Make-Substitute-Baking-Powder
Hope that helps! 🙂
thanks for your reply! 🙂
You wrote that this recipe makes 6 pieces. Is that 6 whole dorayaki (12 pancakes each) or 3 droayaki (6 pancakes)?
Hi Callum! It’ll be about 6 dorayaki (12 pancakes). I edited the recipe to clarify that part. Thank you for pointing that out. 🙂
Hi Nami,
Just wondering can I use cake flour instead of all purpose flour? Which one has a better result in your opinion?
Beautiful blog and recipes btw. ☺️
Thanks
Hi Venice! Sure, you can use cake flour. Cake flour is more refine texture – it’s really personal choice, but for us in the US all purpose is definitely a quick and easy choice. 😀 Thank you for your kind words, Venice! 🙂 xo
Hello Nami,
I just have a quick question regarding this recipe. I remembered i read somewhere on your blog that instead of red bean paste, i can use nutella as a substitute, is that still true? Or the taste would be weird?
Thanks for your answer.
Hi Thuyanh! Yes, you can fill with custard, nutella, whip cream (with fruits, or matcha etc). The pancake part tastes sweets and honey flavor, so make sure you adjust the sweetness of pancakes, if you feel Nutella adds too much sweetness to your liking. 🙂
I hope you can answer this Nami! I’ve tried this recipe twice now and both times, I followed the instructions exactly as outlined in the recipe (weighed the dry ingredients with a digital scale and everything) but both times, my batter turned out a lot thicker than yours in your video. This resulted in my pancakes being a lot thicker (judging by how thin yours looked in the final result in the video, I would say mine are 2 -3 times thicker) and thus the middle to be raw even though the outside was nearly burnt. I’ve already tried to turn my stove down to the lowest heat setting so the pancake can cook longer on but I still end up with a slightly raw middle. Please help!
Hi Dora! Thank you for trying this recipe! At step 3, did you put 1 or 2 Tbsp. of water? I sometimes use 1 Tbsp. and some days 2 Tbsp. because even though I measure my ingredients correctly, somehow the batter is different therefore I mentioned 1-2 Tbsp. water. Maybe in your case (if you tried with 2 Tbsp), you might need even more water. Feel free to judge and add more water if you think the batter is thick. The egg size is American large egg, but I don’t usually measure the egg, so it can be different in your case as well. It looks like all you need is to thin out the batter. Let me know if adding water helps and resolve this issue. 🙂 Good luck!
Thanks for your reply Nami! I’ll definitely try again this weekend!
I tried to do this recipe the other day, and it was delicious!
Thank you so much for the recipe !
Hi Sofia! I’m so happy to hear you tried this recipe and your dorayaki came out well. Thank you for your kind feedback! 🙂
Introduced to Japanese food by and friend and his family while at college. Thank you for your site.
Hi James! I’m so happy to hear you were introduced to Japanese food. 🙂 Hope my blog will inspire you with new Japanese foods! 🙂