Dorayaki (どら焼き)

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •Nonstick skillet or well-seasoned cast-iron griddle
• •Fine-mesh sieve
• •Small ladle or 2-tablespoon scoop
• •Paper towel for wiping the pan

Instructions

1. 1

   Mix the eggs

   Whisk the eggs, sugar, honey, and mirin in a bowl until smooth and glossy, about one minute. You are not trying to whip in much air. Dorayaki should be soft and even, not proud and cakey like a little hat.

2. 2

   Add the flour

   Sift in the cake flour, baking powder, and salt, then fold until no dry flour remains. Stop there. Overmixing wakes the gluten and makes the cakes tough, and this sweet should yield gently when you bite it.

3. 3

   Rest the batter

   Cover the bowl and rest the batter for 15 minutes at room temperature. It will thicken as the flour drinks. Stir in water, one tablespoon at a time, until the batter falls from a spoon in a smooth ribbon that settles slowly back into itself.

   The rest is not ceremony. Hydrated flour gives you a rounder pour and a finer crumb, which is why the finished cakes close cleanly around the anko.
4. 4

   Heat the pan

   Warm a nonstick pan or well-seasoned griddle over low to medium-low heat. Wipe on a whisper of oil, then wipe nearly all of it away with a paper towel. Too much oil freckles the surface. The smooth brown face is part of the pleasure.

5. 5

   Cook the rounds

   Pour about 2 tablespoons batter for each cake, letting it spread into a round about 8 cm across. Cook until small bubbles appear and the edges look set, about 90 seconds, then flip once and cook the second side for 30 to 45 seconds. Keep the heat modest so the first side browns like polished chestnut before the inside dries.

   If the first cake is mottled, wipe the pan cleaner and lower the heat. The test cake is your teacher, and a quiet one.
6. 6

   Keep them soft

   Move the cooked rounds to a plate and cover them with a clean towel while you cook the rest. This traps just enough moisture to keep the cakes supple, so they bend around the filling instead of cracking at the edge.

7. 7

   Fill and shape

   Pair the cakes by size. Spread about 50g anko in the center of one cake, slightly mounded, then press a second cake on top and pinch gently around the edge. The middle should be generous, the rim neat. Nothing needs to spill out to prove it is there.

8. 8

   Rest briefly

   Wrap each dorayaki in plastic or a clean beeswax wrap for 10 minutes before serving. This small rest lets the cake and anko settle into each other, and the surface stays tender for tea.

Chef Tips

• •Use good anko. Tsubuan, with partly whole beans, gives a gentle bite; koshian is smooth and more refined. Either is honmono, so choose by texture, not by fear.
• •Cake flour gives the tenderest crumb. If you only have all-purpose flour, use it, but mix lightly and stop early. That is a sensible stand-in, not a new dish.
• •Wipe the pan almost dry between batches. A shiny film of oil leaves pale spots and rings, while a nearly dry pan gives the calm, even brown we want.
• •Eat dorayaki the same day if you can. The cakes are softest after a short wrapped rest, then begin to firm as the hours pass.

Advance Preparation

• •The anko can be made several days ahead and kept refrigerated, well covered. Bring it to room temperature before filling so it spreads without tearing the cakes.
• •The batter can rest up to 1 hour at cool room temperature. If it thickens too much, loosen it with a spoonful of water before cooking.
• •Finished dorayaki keep one day at room temperature, wrapped individually. For longer storage, wrap and freeze up to one month, then thaw at room temperature.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 105g)