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Hero shot of Dorayaki cut in half.
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Dorayaki (Sweet Red Bean Pancake)
Prep Time
15 mins
Cook Time
10 mins
Batter resting time
30 mins
Total Time
55 mins
 

One of the most famous Japanese sweets, Dorayaki (Sweet Red Bean Pancake) is made of two pancakes sandwiched together with Sweet Red Bean Paste. Dorayaki is a sweet that has been loved by all generations for its exquisite combination of Western-style pancakes and the Japanese sweet bean paste.

Cook Time assumes you cook one pancake at a time. Total Time does not include the time required to make tsubu-an.

Recipe Type: Dessert
Cuisine: Japanese
Keyword: Fluffy Japanese Pancakes, Japanese sweets, sweet red bean paste
Serves: 2
Author: Yumiko
Ingredients (tbsp=15ml, cup=250ml)
  • 1 egg at room temperature
  • 40g / 1.4oz caster sugar (superfine sugar)
  • 1 tsp honey
  • ½ tbsp mirin
  • ¼ tsp baking soda
  • ½ tsp water
  • 45g / 1.6oz flour
  • 60g / 2.1oz tsubu-an (Sweet Red Bean Paste, note 1)
Instructions
Pancake Batter
  1. Beat egg in a bowl, add sugar and mix well. Do not whip hard as too many bubbles cause slow cooking of the batter.
  2. Add honey and mirin to the bowl and mix well.

  3. Add baking soda in ½ tsp water, add to the batter and mix.

  4. Add sifted flour to the batter and quickly mix until lump free.

  5. Cover the bowl with cling wrap and rest it in the fridge for 30 minutes.

  6. Check the thickness of the batter by scooping it with the beater. If you see the trace of the batter dropped on the surface before the surface of the batter becomes smooth, it is the right consistency. Add some water if too thick, some flour if too loose.

Cooking Pancakes

  1. Heat a non-stick frying pan or a hot plate to 180°C / 356°F. Add oil and wipe it off. (note 2)

  2. Drop batter gently into the pan and make a circle with 8cm / 3⅛" in diameter.

  3. Cook until bubbles start forming (see the photo in the post, note 3). Turn it over and cook for 15 seconds. Prolonged cooking makes the pancake hard and dry.

  4. Transfer to a plate, covering with a wet towel or kitchen paper to stop the pancakes from drying out.

Assembling Dorayaki

  1. Place a pancake with the wrong side up (the side that was cooked after flipping) on a plate with a smooth surface (note 4).

  2. Spread half of the tsubu-an over leaving a small margin around the edge of the pancake.

  3. Place another pancake, right side up on the bean paste to make a sandwich.

  4. Wrap the Dorayaki with cling wrap to secure the shape while gently pressing the round edge of the pancakes together to close the gap.

  5. Unwrap the cling wrap and serve.
Recipe Notes

1. Please see my recipe, Sweet Red Bean Paste (Anko) for how to make tsubu-an at home.

Alternatively, you can buy a can/bag of sweetened Red Bean Paste (Coarse) from Japanese grocery store or on-line.

2. Heating the frying pan to the right temperature is a bit of challenge. I used an infrared thermometer to get  the approximate temperature. I used the 2nd largest gas burner set to medium low.

Wiping off the oil is critical to making the surface of the pancake brown with no patches.

3. You will need to wait until the larger bubbles come up and almost pop or pop open.

4. The surface of the pancake, particularly the right side, is very delicate. It easily makes a dent or scratches.

5. Nutrition per Dorayaki.

serving: 81g calories: 226kcal fat: 0.2g (0%) saturated fat: 0g (0%) trans fat: 0.0g polyunsaturated fat: 0.1g monounsaturated fat: 0g cholesterol: 0mg (0%) sodium: 170mg (8%) potassium: 50mg (2%) carbohydrates: 54g (18%) dietary fibre: 1g (3%) sugar: 35g protein: 2.8g vitamin a: 0% vitamin c: 0% calcium: 0.6% iron: 6.7%