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.
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. 🙂
It was really good, but I’d recommend bringing it down by one egg. 3 eggs are enough to get the good texture and they don’t make you full too quickly. Also, instead of adding water, I added milk to make it creamier. That’s all!
Hi Skiii! Thank you so much for trying this recipe and for your detailed feedback!
I will try Dorayaki pancakes, today!
Thank you for the great presentation.
A🍀
Hi Adriana! Hope you enjoy(ed) the recipe! 🙂
How do I make it fluffy? Mine comes out so dense the taste is there just not fluffy. What am i doing wrong?
Hi Jenny! Most likely I think you mixed too much that gluten formed. Give it rest for a while. You don’t want to have tough cake by mixing/stiring too often. 🙂
I tried you recipe and i loved it! i would like to try adding matcha to the recipe. How much do recommend I add to the recpie?
Hi Vina! Thank you for your kind feedback. I’m so happy to hear you enjoyed this recipe! Hmmm Maybe 1 Tbsp at a time to see?
I made the recipe as written and another time substituted Bob’s Red Mill 1-to-1 gluten free flour for a wheat-free version, which turned out well. This recipe is delicious and brought back happy memories of living in Japan. ありがとうございます。
Hi Teresa! Yay!!! Thank you so much for trying my recipe and letting me know! I’ll mention that in my recipe notes! THANK YOU!!!
Hi,
If I wanted to try a matcha version of this recipe, how much matcha do you think I should add?
Hi V! I haven’t tried it so I’m not too sure… I hope to make it one day soon! 🙂
These turned out great! Super easy recipe. My dad requested these for his bday instead of a bday cake. It did not disappoint. Thanks Nami.. Hope you guys are doing well.
Hi Judy!! So happy to hear from you (and on my recipe post!) 😍 I’m so happy to hear you and your dad liked this recipe! Thank you for trusting and trying my recipe! Happy belated birthday to your father! 🤗
Hi Nami, my 9 year old son made these last night and they were fantastic! He even followed your anko recipe as well. Yum! The question he had was his pancake bottoms had “feet” on them. They were not flat like the top. Can you tell us where we went wrong? Thank you!
Hi Michelle! Your 9-year-old son!!!! WOW I’m impressed! Thanks so much for trying my recipe! I know what you’re talking about. If I “guess”, I think your heat is a bit too strong and rising the dorayaki too fast so the center goes upward creating the edge that is touching the pan mostly. Do you think that can be the reason?
I’ve been looking for apple dorayaki for years and was finally able to recreate it. I live in Hawaii and they used to sell them at Shirokiya. They had cubed up apple pie filling inside and were folded over like a taco.
I think I over mixed it a little so they were a little chewy. With canned apple pie filling…tasted just like I remembered. Will definitely be making these again! 😊
Hi Vicky! Wow, what a delicious filling!!! I’d love to eat that. Thanks for sharing the fun idea/recipe with us! I’m glad to hear you enjoy the recipe. Thank you so much for your kind feedback. xo
I tried the recipe and it was delicious! Maybe too much honey because I found the pancakes very sweet and sticky (it was difficult for me to flip them nicely).
Hi Emilie! Thanks so much for trying this recipe and for your feedback! Please reduce the amount of honey next time. I’d like to keep the taste and texture as authentic as possible, but feel free to adapt to your liking. Hope you enjoyed the recipe. 🙂