Name: Japanese Dorayaki
Prep time: 30 min
Cook time: 10 min
Total time: 40 min
Ingredients: 2 eggs; 40 gr sugar; 1 tbsp honey; 1 tsp vanilla extract; 90 gr flour; 3 gr baking powder; 1 gr baking soda; 2 gr salt; 20 gr milk; 2 eggs; 45 gr sugar; 1 tbsp honey; 1 tsp vanilla extract; 90 gr flour; 1 tbsp cocoa powder; 1 tsp charcoal powder; 3 gr baking powder; 1 gr baking soda; 2 gr salt; 20 gr milk; 3 egg yolks; 50 gr sugar; 20 gr flour; 250 ml milk; 15 gr butter; 10 gr cornstarch; 20 gr Red bean paste

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This is a super easy Japanese Pancake Dorayaki recipe with fillings like red bean paste and custard that you can try at home! It is a very nice dessert from Japan, that is now popular worldwide.

A photo of several pairs of Japanese dorayaki with custard and red bean fillings.

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Dorayaki

Dorayaki is a popular Japanese snack that’s super easy to love. It’s made up of two fluffy, pancake-like cakes with a sweet filling in the middle, usually anko or red bean paste. The cakes are a bit like pancakes but softer and more moist. The combination of the sweet, earthy red bean paste with the light, spongy cakes is just delicious. Whether you’re in Japan or somewhere else, dorayaki is a treat that’s sure to bring a smile to your face. It’s a classic snack that people of all ages enjoy.

Why You Will Love This Recipe

QUICK AND EASY – You will whip the batter quick and easy using this recipe and get the dorayaki on the table for breakfast or afternoon snack real fast.
AUTHENTIC – You will find this very authentic to the one you get in Japan.
VERSATILE – This recipe is very versatile, you only have to add charcoal or cocoa powder to make it into a different flavor.

Recipe Ingredients

a photo collage of dorayaki and custard cream ingredients.

Ingredient Notes

Baking powder and baking soda – These two items will be needed to ferment the batter for a while. Fermentation will create beautiful pores on the pancake.

Honey – a small amount of honey to make the batter subtly sweet.

Vanilla extract – Add a bit of vanilla extract to make the batter fragrant with vanilla.

Cocoa powder or charcoal powder – a different variation to show you how versatile the recipe can be. You can add pandan extract, matcha powder, or taro essence to make a different kind of dorayaki.

Be sure to check out the full recipe and ingredient list below

Variations

There are many variations of Dorayaki. The recipes I am about to share is the original version and the black charcoal one. You can be creative, add matcha powder to the batter and you’ll have Matcha Dorayaki.

As for the fillings, the most commonly found is Anko (red bean paste) but you can just use any filling that you like; be it custard cream, kaya coconut jam, cheese, or Nutella.

How to Make

First we’re going to make the custard cream. If you plan to use the store-bought red bean paste, skip these steps, go to step no. 7. Pour milk into sauce pan. Add butter. Put on low heat. Stir until the butter melts. Set aside to let it cool. (image 1)
In a bowl, put in egg yolks and sugar (image 2). Whisk well (image 3). Sieve in flour and cornstarch (image 4).

photo collage of step by step ways of making the custard cream.

Add in a little bit of the warm milk. Whisk. This is called tempering. (image 5)
Transfer the batter into the sauce pan. Stir well. (image 6)
Put on low heat, keep stirring with a spatula until it becomes curd (image 7).
Pour into a bowl, use cling wrap to cover the surface and put in the chiller for a while. (image 8)

photo collage of heating the custard cream to become curd.

Whisk egg, sugar, and salt together (image 9). Beat with low speed until sugar dissolves (image 10). You can use either a whisk or a hand mixer.
Sieve in flour, baking powder, and baking soda (image 11). Whisk well.
Add in honey, milk, and vanilla extract (image 12). Whisk until incorporated.
Leave the batter covered for 15 minutes at least (image 13).
Repeat the same way for chocolate/charcoal batter (image 14, 15, 16, 17, 18).

photo collage of mixing ingredients of japanese dorayaki, setting it for fermentation.

photo collage of mixing the charcoal batter and roasting the pancake batter on a pan.

Put a non-stick pan on low heat. Do not use oil or butter.
Use a ladle to scoop the batter, pour in the center of the pan (image 19, 20).
Let the batter cook for 2 minutes, you can see some pores forming on the surface.
Flip it gently. Let the other side to cook for 1 minute. Set aside. Continue until all batter is finished. (image 21, 22, 23, 24)

photo collage of flipping the pancake and filling it with custard cream or red bean paste.

Take one piece of dorayaki. Scoop the custard or red bean paste. (image 25)
Cover with another piece of dorayaki (image 26). Press the sides firmly so they stick together. Slice the dorayaki in the center to see the beautiful pores. Enjoy!

Pro Tips

Remember not to use any oil or butter in the pan. Butter or oil will not make the surface of the dorayaki smooth.
To get many pores on the pancake texture, you need to let the batter stay still for 15 minutes before pouring on the pan.
Toasting on the pan only takes a few minutes. Do not leave it unattended. It takes 2 minutes to wait for the pores to come out, and the other side only needs 1 minute.
Any kinds of fillings can be used. The most common one is red bean. You can also use custards, Nutella, chocolate or cheese filling.

Storage

Keep dorayaki in a small plastic bag. It can stay fresh in the chiller for up to 5 days. I would highly recommend eating freshly made dorayaki. But if you have to keep it for later, just put it in the chiller wrapped or contained.