Which Japanese confection sandwiches sweet azuki bean paste between two small pancake-like patties? Dorayaki is the answer.
Dorayaki is a Japanese wagashi made from two small, soft patties of castella-style cake surrounding sweet azuki bean paste. The patties are cooked like small pancakes, but the finished confection is a filled sweet rather than a breakfast pancake. The name is often interpreted as “gong cake,” from dora, the Japanese word for gong.
The original form reportedly had only one layer. The familiar two-patty version was created in 1914 by the Usagiya confectionery in Tokyo’s Ueno district. In the Kansai region, dorayaki is also commonly called mikasa, a name linked to its round shape and the moon.
Dorayaki is often confused with taiyaki, which is fish-shaped and cooked in a mold, or manjū, generally a steamed or baked bun with a flour-based skin. Modern dorayaki may contain chestnuts, fruit, pudding, or other fillings, but sweet azuki paste remains the classic choice.