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.
[…] have seen them featured in Japanese movies or dramas, such as Dango (団子 skewered mochi balls), Dorayaki (どら焼き mini pancakes sandwiching a sweet filling), or Sakura Mochi (桜餅 cherry blossom […]
[…] What type of Japanese desserts have red bean paste as filling? Mochi of course! The sweet red bean paste is inside of all types of mochi, like you see in Daifuku, Strawberry Mochi, Kashiwa Mochi, Sakura Mochi. Also in flour cake batter like in Dorayaki and Taiyaki. […]
[…] but the shops in Tokyo and the fantastic-looking desserts are all real. There are anmitsu, dorayaki, mitsumame, shaved ice cream, parfait, caramel pudding and so on to make you […]
[…] image from http://www.justonecookbook.com/dorayaki-japanese-red-bean-pancake/ […]
[…] bean paste without much hassle. Once it’s cooked, you are set to make all sorts of mochi or Dorayaki and […]
Is it possible to double the recipe? I wanna make a large batch.
Hi coffeecandies! Yes, you can. 🙂 Hope you enjoy this recipe!
Like…we’re talking beans here right? Like bean beans?? Kidney beans or something??
I’m just being extra sure because I’m very curious to try it but it just seems soooooo….ahhh unexpected??
I keep thinking it’s a sweet middle like a jam or nutella or something lol
Hi P! Yes, in Asian cuisine, certain beans like Azuki beans are used in sweets. It’s almost strange for us to think of Azuki beans being used in savory dishes (except for a few exceptions). It might be hard to imagine sweet beans dessert without trying it. It’s common in Chinese, Japanese, and Korean sweets, as you may find inside mochi etc. By the way, you can use jam or nutella for dorayaki too.
[…] is a delicious treat which combines Purin (Japanese custard pudding/no-bake Creme Caramel) and Dorayaki (red bean filling pancakes). It was first created by Kikuya (お菓子の菊家), a […]
Would it be okay if you let me know why water is added to the batter? Thank you!
Hi M! To loosen the thickness. You can add milk or other liquid if you prefer. I add after resting so that you can control the thickness of the batter.
This recipe is amazing! I often buy packaged dorayaki from a Japanese supermarket in Central London but making these…. they taste exactly the same maybe even better! I’ve used chocolate ganache, nutella, lemon curd, whipped cream and custard as fillings! I can’t wait to keep making these to try with new fillings! Thank you so much Nami!
Hi Connie! Thank you so much for trying this recipe, and I’m so happy to hear you enjoyed it! Ohhh lemon curd filling! That’s what I’d love to try… sounds so delicious. Thank you for your kind feedback, Connie! xo
Hi! Thank you for this wonderful recipe. I ate some dorayaki on a trip to Japan and I miss them so much! Now I will be able to make my own! I was a little bit curious about the quantity of eggs, it seems to me that there are a lot? I was also wondering why there is no milk in the recipe?
Thank’s
Hi Émilie! You can replace water with milk if you like. 🙂 I have only tried making dorayaki with this recipe (with the number of eggs I specified)… so I haven’t tried using less.
My pancakes have spots all over it instead of a smooth surface. I played around with the heat and still getting same results. Is it my frying pan or is it the quality of my flour?
Hi Lawrence! That’s an easy fix. 🙂 You need to wipe off the oil. As long as you use a non stick, and did apply the oil on the pan first, you can remove it. You won’t see it but it’s greased. 🙂
Well, it’s not exactly spots of uneven colors, it’s more like pockets of air bubbles, or holes if that makes sense. I did clean off the surface from oil to the point of not being able to see it, but still no improvement.
Hi Lawrence! Sorry I misunderstood. So it’s like a bumpy surface. Maybe the air bubbles ended up with holes and bumpy surface? Or was your batter not smooth (lumps of flour left?)? I had never encountered this case before and I’m curious too. What kind of frying pan? Too thin that heat is not evenly distributed? If you end up trying this recipe with different approach, let me know how it goes. I’d love to know how you could solve the issue in case someone else has same issue. 🙂
How many calories are in each dorayaki?
Hi Renee! I’m sorry but I don’t know…
Great receipe. Easy to follow. Succeed to make my favourite snack in my first try. Many thanks to JOC for sharing this wonderful receipe.
Hi Jenny! I’m so happy to hear you enjoyed this recipe. Thank you so much for your kind feedback, Jenny!
Hi Nami, Can you please explain why it is necessary to leave the batter for 15 mins in the fridge? With cakes, it is not advisable to delay placing the cake in the oven.
Thanks, Susan
Hi Susan! Relaxing the gluten makes it more tender after cooking, and it’s same process when you make western pancakes. Japanese do the same – rest the batter for 30 mins to half day when making dorayaki. 🙂