Recipe
🍰 DESSERT
Dorayaki
Two fluffy honey-scented pancakes sandwiching sweet red bean paste, a classic Japanese teatime treat.
Japanese · easy · serves 6
prep 15 min · cook 20 min
~249 cal · 6g protein · 50g carbs · 3g fat · 1g fiber · 26g sugars · 1g sat fat (estimated, per serving)
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AI-generated illustration
Dorayaki are one of Japan's classic wagashi-style sweets, two small, castella-like pancakes sandwiching a filling of sweet azuki red bean paste (anko). Their name is said to come from dora, a gong, which the round cakes resemble.
The batter, enriched with honey and mirin, bakes into pancakes that are fluffy and slightly springy, with a distinctive glossy brown surface. Cooled and filled with a generous layer of anko, they are an everyday treat, famous the world over as the favourite food of the cartoon cat Doraemon.
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Make it yours
✓ Naturally vegetarian and dairy-, nut- and pork-free. No swaps needed.
Toggle a diet and the ingredients rewrite themselves with regional substitutes.
🥕 Vegetarian
🌱 Vegan
🌾 Gluten-Free
🥛 Dairy-Free
🥜 Nut-Free
🥚 Egg-Free
🐖 Pork-Free
Dietary labels are a cooking guide, not allergen-safety advice. We track dairy, egg, gluten, tree nuts and peanuts (we count coconut as a tree nut, following FDA labeling), fish, and shellfish; we do not screen for sesame, soy, mustard, celery, or sulphites. If you have a food allergy, read the label on every product you use, and note that a kitchen can cross-contaminate in ways a recipe cannot control.
Ingredients
US
Metric
Serves 6
1 1/2 cups flour
3 eggs
3 tbsp honey
1/2 cup sugar
1 tsp baking powder
1 1/2 cups sweet red bean paste (anko)
Instructions
1
Whisk the eggs, sugar, and honey until pale, then fold in the flour and baking powder with a little water to a smooth, pourable batter; rest 15 minutes.
2
Cook small round pancakes on a lightly oiled pan over low heat until bubbles form, then flip.
✎ Chef’s note
Cook them low and slow for an even, glossy brown surface. Too hot and they colour blotchily before the centre sets.
3
Cool the pancakes completely.
4
Sandwich pairs with a mound of red bean paste, doming it in the centre.
Japanese wagashi tradition.
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🌏 While it simmers, know your destination
📍
Tokyo (Kanto). Edomae sushi began as fast food. Before refrigeration, fish from the bay was cured, marinated or lightly cooked before it went onto rice, and it was sold from stalls to be eaten standing up in a couple of minutes. What now costs a great deal is a twentieth-century refinement of a street snack.
🗺️
Japan. Japanese cuisine (washoku) is a UNESCO-recognized art of seasonality, precision, and restraint, from sushi and ramen to simmered one-pots and delicate kaiseki. Dashi stock, soy, miso, and rice form its backbone, and presentation is considered part of the flavor.
🌍
Asia. Fermentation is the thread that runs the whole way across: soy sauce and miso, Korean doenjang and kimchi, Southeast Asian fish sauces, the soured batter behind an idli. Chilli is the newcomer among them, arriving only after 1500 with Portuguese and Spanish traders, which makes the heat in Sichuan, Thai and Korean cooking far younger than the fermenting underneath it.
The story behind this dish is up top, worth a read while the pot works.
More from Japan
Osaka-Style OkonomiyakiA crisp-edged cabbage pancake griddled with pork belly, painted with sweet-savory sauce and mayo.
Goya ChampuruOkinawa’s signature stir-fry of bitter melon, firm tofu, pork, and egg, humble food from the island of long life.
Sapporo Miso RamenSnow-country ramen: a rich miso broth with wok-seared vegetables, springy noodles, and butter melting on top.
Browse all Japan recipes →
Good to know
You’ll need: Whisk.
Storing it: Best fresh and hot. Keep batter covered in the fridge for up to a day, and rewarm cooked ones in a dry pan.
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Frequently asked questions
What is Dorayaki?
Two fluffy honey-scented pancakes sandwiching sweet red bean paste, a classic Japanese teatime treat.
Where does Dorayaki come from?
Dorayaki is a Japanese dish from Tokyo (Kanto), Japan.
Can Dorayaki be made vegan, gluten-free, or dairy-free?
This Dorayaki recipe includes substitution suggestions for vegetarian, vegan, gluten-free, dairy-free, nut-free, egg-free, and pork-free versions, including several at once such as gluten-free and dairy-free together. Treat them as a starting guide rather than a guarantee, and see the allergen note below.
Is Dorayaki safe for people with food allergies?
Our dietary labels and substitutions are a cooking guide, not medical or allergen-safety advice. We track dairy, egg, gluten, tree nuts and peanuts (we count coconut as a tree nut, following FDA labeling), fish, and shellfish, but we do not screen for sesame, soy, mustard, celery, or sulphites. If you have a food allergy, always read the label on every product you use, and remember a home or commercial kitchen can cross-contaminate ingredients in ways a recipe cannot control.
How long does Dorayaki take to make?
About 35 minutes total (15 minutes prep, 20 minutes cooking), serving 6.
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