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!
Wish to learn more about Japanese cooking? Sign up for our free newsletter to receive cooking tips & recipe updates! And stay in touch with me on Facebook, Pinterest, YouTube, and Instagram.
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.
How do you heat it up if it’s been in the freezer?
Hi Chris! Keep it out on a counter and defrost naturally. Don’t unwrap the package because moisture will evaporate. Or you can microwave it if you want to eat dorayaki hot/warm.
Thank you so much for sharing this amazing recipe!
I’m wondering if the texture of the “pancakes” will be different (or not as fluffy as yours) if the batter is refrigerated for longer, say 1 hour?
Hi Pear! Hmm I’m not sure but it should be okay. Make sure to mix well so the batter is even (no deposit on the bottom of the bowl). 🙂
Thank you for your kind reply 🙂
Is the batter needed to be refrigerated? Or refrigerating the batter improves the pancake texture better rather than leaving it to rest at room temperature?
At the step 2, I recommend to keep in the fridge to rest for 15 minutes. It might help, so try it next time. 🙂
Thank you and yes, will do x
Your creation on your food is beautiful, astonishing n delicious. Tq for sharing..
Thanks so much for your kind words, Ann!
Is it possible to make it vegan?
Hi Marko! I don’t know how to make this recipe into vegan. Sorry I can’t help… However, I’ve found some recipes on other Japanese sites:
http://cookpad.com/recipe/3355057
http://happyneko.jugem.jp/?eid=326
These two don’t include ingredients that are only available in Japan, so maybe you can give it a try? Use Google Chrome to translate to your language. 🙂
Thank you for posting this wonderful recipe! I made these for the third time today, but with a surprise. On my last trip to the Asian grocery store, we purchased a different brand of red bean paste. Upon closer inspection, it is ‘rose flavored’. I can’t imagine that such a thing existed. It turned out that the rose pairs with the honey in the cakes nicely, but readers beware!!!!
Hi Gina! Rose flavored red bean paste? WOW, I never knew either! Was it made in Japan? I’m surprised too! Thanks for writing!
hoi Nami, i’m from indonesia, today i try your dorayaki, my daughter said it is very yummy, but t think it is too sweet, is it right the sugar 140 gr? even without the filling is already too sweet.
Hi Monna! They look like pancakes but they are actually dessert (Japanese version of cake or cookies) and supposed to be sweet. However, you can reduce the amount of sugar to your liking. It shouldn’t affect the outcome too much. 🙂
I made these this morning because I had a craving and wow, this recipe is amazing!!! Absolutely delicious!! And very easy, as well. I’ll definitely make these again! Thank you!
Hi Asa! Yay!!! So happy to hear yours came out well. Thank you for trying this recipe and for your kind feedback. xo 🙂
Helo Nami, I think your step by step making dorayaki ;instruction pictures) are copied by chefpy.com.. See its recipe of dorayaki. I don’t know if they have asked yiur permission, i’ve tried to find your website as their source, but i couldn’t find it. When i saw their picture soon i could recognize it that it’s yours, then i open your website to compare it, their identical… Please check, i can be wrong toom if i am wrong, i am sorry.
Hi Lidwina! Thank you so much for letting me know. I just filed a DMCA to Google and hopefully they will take down their site from search engine. It was very kind of you to let me know about this. I’ve never heard of Chefpy.com before but it’s really sad to see they think it’s okay to take someone’s hard work and just use it as their own work. 🙁 Thank you again! I’m sorry for my late response. I’ve been traveling and didn’t read your comment till now…
Hi Nami
I fell in love with Dorayaki when I first tasted it in Kyoto when I was there for a holiday. As it is very difficult to get this in my country i decided to try and make them. I am so glad I found your website with dorayaki recipe and decide to give it a go.
They turned out beautifully… round and golden brown. The only thing is that it is not a fluffy as yours. Mine is moist and soft but not fluffy and slightly on the flat side. I followed your measurement exactly. Is it due to my beating it too much or not enought? Any suggestion is much appreciated.
Thank you
Kim
Hi Kim! I’m happy to hear you tried this recipe and came out beautifully! It’s hard to pin point what was missing to make the “fluffy” pancakes, but it’s important to sift the flour nicely to incorporate air, whisk nicely to include air, keep in the fridge to make the batter set… each step is important. As I wasn’t there I can’t tell what was missing… Sorry! 🙁
Thank you Nami for your reply. I will definitely try again and hopefully it will turn out better.
Kim
thanks! i just made the dorayaki using your recipe and sooo happy with the result! better than the normal american pancakes that call for dairy. in fact, i used gluten free flour and they turned out well. i just have a quick question, do you think it’ll work if i replace the eggs with “chia eggs” (chia seeds + water) coz my youngest is allergic to eggs 🙁
HI Audrey! I’m so happy to hear your dorayaki came out well! Thanks so much for letting me know gluten free flour option! I’m sure other readers will appreciate your feedback. I’ve never used chia eggs before (it’s actually first time hearing it). I’m not sure how it will turn out, as it’s hard to guess…
This recipe was great and your tips were extremely helpful. They came out amazing!! It made exactly 12 pancakes for 6 dorayaki total. On my pan I had to cook them on each side a bit longer, however I was able to get the hang of it quickly. Thank you!
Thank you so much for your kind feedback! I’m so happy to hear yours came out very well! Yay!!! Thank you!!
Hi, so there is no oil added to te batter right?
Hi Agatha! Thank you for confirming. No oil in the batter. I edited the recipe, saying oil “for cooking”. Thank you for clarifying! 🙂
hi..interested to your dorayaki recepi.May I know the all purpose flour can replace to other flour? like plain flour,pancake flour?
Hi Tracy! I haven’t tried, but you can give it a try. I think plain flour is all purpose flour though. Many Japanese use pancake flours to make Dorayaki, but if you do, please adjust the amount of other ingredients. 🙂
Thank you for this recipe, and also for adding the freezing/storage tips! I find that things like these are a lot of work to make regularly, so it’s good to know that they can be made in bulk and then stored for later! Thank you, again! ^-^
Hi Oleander! Yeah totally! It’s same amount of work so it’s good to make extra!
Hi Nami, i already made frozen red bean paste (wrapped with size a scoop of ice), now i will make dorayaki and fill in with red bean paste. How to warm the frozen red bean paste (whether by steaming) ?
I don’t have a microwave. Need your advice : )
Hi Kenken! Sorry for my late response. You don’t have to reheat it – you could defrost and keep at room temp, or you could add a little bit of water (so you don’t burn anko) and frozen anko in a pot and reduce to the thickness/consistency you need. 🙂