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.
There is a very beautiful Japanese movie tells a lovely story and involves the making of the Dorayaki. It is called Sweet Bean and I highly recommend watching it. Here is the Imbd lin that will tell you more about it. https://www.imdb.com/title/tt4298958/
I LOVED this movie (and my favorite actors in it)! Thanks for sharing it with us!
Why was the pancake to the doroyaki not fluffy and soft? Forgot to sift flour and was that the reason for the pancakes not to be soft?
Hi Grace! Thank you very much for trying Nami’s Dorayaki recipe!
Sifting flour makes a difference! We highly recommend it.
We hope you will give it another try! Happy Baking!
I just made these for my son after he saw them on tv and they were perfect! I halved the recipe and they turned out delicious. Thank you for another great recipe!
Hi Emi! Thank you very much for trying Nami’s recipe and for your kind feedback!
We are so glad to hear you enjoyed homemade Dorayaki!😊
Thank you for this recipe. My mom made dorayki for me growing up. I did not know it took patience and skills to make these, so I appreciate these treats even more.
My first attempt turned out okay. They were delicious, but the pancakes didn’t look evenly cooked like yours. I think I need to weigh the flour and eggs to get proper portions. I enjoy eating dorayaki with ocha.
Hi Jean! Thank you very much for trying Nami’s recipe and sharing your cooking experience with us!
Yes! We highly recommend meagering the ingredients with scale for a recipe like this. We also recommend checking your cooking pan and cooktop are distributing the heat evenly.
We hope this helps!
Ha!
You make it look so easy. Those little pancakes take some skill. I think many people will cry because they can’t match your beautiful dorayaki))
Hi Ted! Thank you very much for reading Nami’s post!
We hope Nami’s detailed instructions and video helps to make yummy Dorayaki! Please give it a try! You can do it!💞
Happy cooking!
Thank you so much for such detailed info.
It even worked using a stevia/eritriol mix instead of sugar.
My whole family is so happy we can now make dorayaki at home!
Hi Miyuki! Thank you very much for trying Nami’s recipe and sharing your experience with us!🤩
We are happy to hear you and your family enjoyed homemade Dorayaki!
I use JOC all the time, like probably around once a week or once every two weeks. This recipe is probably the first one I struggled with.
First, I wish this recipe was a little less sweet. I still think it tastes good! It’s more just about eating that amount of sugar.
So, I basically made it this recipe in three batches. Using around 3 tbs of batter for each pancaking using a 4tbs cup to measure, like the instructions suggest, I ended up making 17 pancakes. Most of them I would say were larger than 3” in diameter.
My first batch, I followed the instruction with the pic as the instructions say. I’m not really sure if I understand putting in the oil then wiping it off… I did that and I had to scrape the dorayaki off and I did use a non-stick. The next batch I tried without wiping the oil off the pan and sure they didn’t turn out perfectly circular. They came off easier but definitely didn’t have the smooth dorayaki surface. Which was what I was expecting. The third one, I wiped but it looked like there was a light dusting of oil. One came out smooth and the others didn’t but this worked the best for me.
Maybe I wasn’t cooking at high enough heat, but I also feel like I had to cook the dorayaki waaaay longer than the suggested time. They were still so runny I couldn’t pick them up. Maybe I added too much water but also the recipie doesn’t really say much about the consistency of the batter when you add the water so I wasn’t sure what to look for.
Hi Andie! Thank you very much for trying many of Nami’s recipes!
We are sorry to hear that this recipe didn’t turn out well for you.😔 We hope this response and Nami’s cooking video will be helpful. If you have a moment, would you please watch her video? There, you can see the consistency of the batter and how she applied the oil to the pan.
The amount of water Nami recommending in this recipe is 1~2 Tablespoons and should be no more than that. Hopefully, this gave you an idea of how much water is needed for the batter.
As for the oil on the pan, it’s best to take your time and heat the pan slowly first. The heat setting should be lowest for 5 minutes. Then using a paper towel, please coat the bottom of the pan with vegetable oil, then remove the oil completely with a paper towel(this is the key for evenly golden brown dorayaki surface). If the batter is sticking to the nonstick pan, probably the pan wasn’t at the right temperature. We recommend heating up a little longer next time.
We hope this is helpful.🙂
I made this for the first time a few days ago and they turned out perfect! I also used your instant pot anko recipe (I’ve tried to make red bean paste so many times and this is the only recipe that has worked PLUS it’s the easiest), and used it in the dorayaki. My family loved it and it’s already gone haha.
Hi Emily! Yay! We are so happy to hear you and your family enjoyed the homemade Dorayaki!
Thank you very much for trying Nami’s many recipes!🥰
Hello Nami,
Your recipe is delicious. My family liked the dorayaki and thank you for giving the measurement for each pancake, They were perfectly round and all of them were the exact size. I would like the pancakes to be a little thinner, although my family likes it the way it is. Any suggestions on what to do to make it a little thinner but the same size. It’s not a problem, just my preference. Have a good day, and thank you for all the delicious recipes.
Hi Andrea, Thank you very much for trying Nami’s recipe!
We are so happy to hear you and your family enjoyed the Dorayaki.
To make the pancake thinner, you can pour 2 Tbsp of batter instead of 3 Tbsp, and you can swirl them into a thin layer using the bottom of a ladle or spoon. It will cook faster, so please make sure to adjust the cooking time. We hope this helps!
Thank you. I will try that.
You are welcome, Andrea! We hope it turns out well for you!
Hi Nami! I just tried your recipe. Not sure where it went wrong cause the pancakes turned out harder than expected. What could be wrong? Insufficient whisking of eggs? Or over-mixing of ingredients? Or over cooking? I didnt flip it until i see many bubbles.
There is browning of the pancakes, just like dorayaki. However i noticed that the brown side is more ‘crispy’ than the underside which isnt brown.
Please help!
Hi PS, We are sorry to hear it came out harder than you expected. It could have higher heat than you need and slightly overcooked the pancake. We also like to recommend using the tips Nami mentioned in the recipe card to measure your flour (The link attached in the recipe card under the ingredients). You can also use the Metric system measurement by clicking the box in the recipe card and measure the flour in grams. We hope this helps!
Hi Nami! Thanks for replying and the advice you gave. Yes i did use the metric system in the recipe card to measure all my ingredients, even eggs which i tried to keep them at a total of 200gm as my eggs were smaller than 50gm each.
Yes the heat might have been higher even though i had turned it down to the lowest to cook. Problem probably lies in my nonstick Tefal pan which is non iron cast, thus thinner with higher heat being distributed.
Im thinking of substituting all purpose flour with cake flour. Would you recommend such solution? If so, are you able to advise on the amount of cake flour and baking powder to use for such a change?
Many thanks in advance!
Hi PS, I see… If that is the case, You can try the Heat Diffuser under your pan for heat control for slow/low heat cooking. It may be a good option.
As for the cake flour, We haven’t tried this recipe with them before and unsure how much baking powder you need to give a perfect texture. Let us know how it goes if you try it!🙂
Hi Nami, thanks again for sharing a great tip for an even heat distribution. Didnt cross my mind on that. Will try that with your recipe again. Hopefully i see bubbles forming from the outside first and my dorayaki will be properly cooked.
I will be back to update should this approach work or if i have to end up trying with cake flour. Thank you!
You are welcome, PS! Good luck!
The dorayaki recipe is far too sweet and I don’t know why it totally burned before it set for flip over, however I have used the lowest heat already… could it because of too much honey?
Hi Rebecca, Thank you very much for trying this recipe. We are sorry to hear your dorayaki came out far too sweet and burned.
It could be the type of sugar or honey you used for this recipe.
We hope you will give it another try by adjusting the sugar amount for your liking.
Thank you for this recipe, I just made my first dorayaki ever, filled with homemade tsubuan anko following your recipe! I just reduced the amount of sugar for the dorayaki and it is simply oishii!!!
Hi Silvia!
Thank you very much for trying this recipe and for your kind feedback!
We are so glad to hear you enjoyed homemade Dorayaki with the sweetness you like.
Happy Cooking!🙂
Can I make this version but with chocolate hazelnut spread? Thank you
Hi Fateemer!
Sure! It sounds yummy.😁
This recipe makes delicious dorayakis. My brother absolutely loved these, so from now on, I will be using this recipe instead of normal pancakes!
That being said, oh god, what a ride!
I use an induction stove, and I started making the pancakes at a low/medium low heat and I wasn’t getting anywhere after like 4 minutes on the first side. They browned, although not much and they were dense and I wasn’t getting any bubbles (I guess it wasn’t hot enough to activate the baking powder) and even if I managed to cook them on both sides without spilling, they were raw on the inside. The problem, as you may guess, contrary to everyone’s problem, was that it wasn’t hot enough. It’s a shame that it took me 3 tries to figure out what to do.
My solution was to increase the heat to medium-medium high heat and using a lid, which helped tremendously when it was time to flip them, they didn’t stick and/or tore either.
Moral to the story: Know your stove (and trust your gut)
Hi Basha!
First of all, Thank you very much for trying this recipe and for your kind feedback! We are so happy to hear you and your brother love this recipe.
Thank you for sharing your experience with us, especially about the induction cooktop. Nami’s stove is a gas stove, and it takes longer than the induction cooktop to heat up. Yes. Everyone’s stove is different, and adjustments are necessary sometimes. Thank you for sharing your tip with us!☺️
Hi! It’s been years since you made this recipe but I was hoping to ask if using bread flour would make a difference in the dorayaki. I read that dorayaki is made like castella which uses bread flour. Thinking of trying this soon I’m so excited!!
Hi Tomomi! I’ve seen dorayaki made with cake flour and bread flour. I haven’t tried it with bread flour before. If you end up trying, keep us posted! I’m curious to know. 🙂