What Are the Basic Ingredients Needed to Make Dorayaki?
Dorayaki has long been loved as a staple of Japanese wagashi.
The secret to its deliciousness lies in ingredients blended in a simple yet exquisite balance. The basic ingredients are three: eggs, sugar, and flour. Adding honey or mirin to these produces the moist texture and fragrant flavor.
Modern dorayaki is influenced by the hotcake introduced from the West, and has evolved differently from those made before the Edo period.
In the world of wagashi artisans, a blending ratio called "sandowari" is considered fundamental. This is a method of blending eggs, sugar, and flour in equal amounts, serving as a guideline for making dorayaki of consistent quality. In practice, however, each shop adds its own ingenuity to differentiate itself.
The Sandowari Blending Ratio and Applied Techniques
In the basic sandowari, the equal-amount blend of 100g egg, 100g superfine sugar, and 100g cake flour is fundamental.
By adding 10g of hon-mirin, 10g of honey, 2g of baking soda, and 35g of water to this blend, a fluffy batter is completed. The quantities make about 6 dorayaki of 10cm diameter, making it a blend that is easy to attempt at home too.
Thoroughly mixing the eggs and sugar until pale and thick is the first step to making a smooth batter!
After that, add the honey and mirin and mix further; once the whole becomes fluffy, add the cake flour and baking soda. What to watch for here is that you do not need to whip it until you can draw distinct lines like a sponge cake. Once you have mixed just until no dry flour remains, cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let it rest at room temperature for about 20 minutes, so the batter settles and finishes moist.
How to Choose Leavening Agents and Points on Using Them Selectively
What is essential for making dorayaki batter rise fluffy is a leavening agent. Baking soda is generally used, but its amount and how it is used greatly affect the finish.
Baking soda gives the batter a distinctive flavor and has the effect of producing a beautiful browning. However, since adding too much brings out bitterness, it is important to keep it to about 1–2% relative to the flour. The basic recipe recommends a blend of 2g of baking soda per 100g of cake flour, which achieves moderate rise and fragrance.
By dissolving the baking soda in water before adding it to the batter, you can disperse it evenly. In addition, resting the batter in the refrigerator for at least an hour lets the baking soda blend throughout the batter, and you can also expect the effect of improved texture in the finished bake.
Types of An and Tips for Choosing
Another factor that determines the deliciousness of dorayaki is the an.
Generally, tsubu-an (chunky) and koshi-an (smooth) are used, each with its own appeal. Tsubu-an lets you enjoy the texture and flavor of adzuki beans, while koshi-an is characterized by its smooth mouthfeel and refined taste. Which to choose comes down to preference, but koshi-an is recommended if you prioritize unity with the batter, and tsubu-an if you want a textural accent.
At Minoyo, we offer the finest white an, such as Toku-ichigo Sarashi-an and Fujijirushi Sarashi-an, in a 12kg spec, and carry a wide range of raw materials needed for wagashi production. Sarashi-an is characterized by its clean, refined sweetness and smooth mouthfeel, of a quality used even at premium wagashi shops.
As for the amount of an, about 50–60g per piece is considered appropriate for a 10cm-diameter dorayaki. Too much throws off the balance with the batter, and too little leaves you wanting, so it is important to gauge the right amount.
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Temperature Control for Baking Up Fluffy
The most difficult part of making dorayaki is the baking step.
Without appropriate temperature control, it will not rise and will not brown. With a frying pan, it is important to heat it thoroughly over medium heat for 20–30 seconds; with a hotplate, at around 200°C for 1–2 minutes. Once heated, lightly coat with oil and heat a further 10–20 seconds. With a frying pan, lower the heat at this point.
After coating with oil, the point is to lightly wipe it off with kitchen paper. If there is too much oil, spots form on the surface of the batter. This is the same principle as the spots that form on the surface when baking a hotcake; wiping off the oil droplets thoroughly lets you bake evenly.
When pouring in the batter, the tip for finishing in a beautiful round shape is to drop it at a single point without moving the spoon to try to make it round. Dropping it decisively all at once naturally produces a clean circle.
Choosing Tools to Finish the Browning Beautifully
The beautiful golden-brown color of dorayaki baked at a shop can be achieved precisely because it is baked using a copper plate.
At home it is difficult to use a commercial copper plate, but using a copper tamagoyaki (rolled-omelet) pan produces a surprisingly beautiful browning. If you use a slightly larger tamagoyaki pan of about 21cm, you can bake 2–4 pieces at a time.
Also, to shape the batter into a clean round, the tip is to use a rounded spoon. A tablespoon you have at home is sufficient, but using a dedicated "dora-saji" produces an even more beautiful shape. If the frame of a frying pan or hotplate gets in the way and you cannot flip the batter well, using a frameless hotplate or a rimless crepe pan lets you flip the batter smoothly and without stress.
Timing and Technique for Flipping the Batter
The timing to flip the batter is when small bubbles begin to open on the surface.
Miss this timing and the batter dries out too much and becomes hard. When flipping with a spatula, it is important to insert it all the way to the center of the batter. Inserting the spatula only at the near edge makes it unstable and prone to breaking apart, so when flipping, rotate it 90 degrees sideways with a snap of the wrist. Right-handed people flipping to the left, and left-handed people flipping to the right, tend to succeed.
The underside is fine in a short time. Lightly press the surface so it is of even thickness, and cover the baked batter with plastic wrap so it does not dry out. Since prolonged exposure to air causes the batter to dry out and become dry and crumbly, when letting it cool on a cake cooler, it is important to always cover it with a firmly wrung-out damp cloth.
Summary: Points on Ingredient Blending and Baking
Success in making dorayaki depends on both the ingredient blend and the baking.
It is important to keep the basic sandowari blend while adding flavor with honey and mirin, and giving it moderate rise with baking soda. Resting the batter in the refrigerator for at least an hour finishes it moist, and paying attention to temperature control and the amount of oil when baking achieves a beautiful browning.
Choose the an from tsubu-an or koshi-an by preference, and sandwiching the right amount completes a delicious dorayaki with a good balance against the batter. It is delicious freshly made, but by the next day the moisture of the an transfers to the batter, letting you enjoy an even moister texture.
At Minoyo, we offer a wide range of raw materials needed for wagashi production across seven categories—from the finest sarashi-an to various starches and our original "Tomo" Series—carrying ingredients of the quality that professional wagashi artisans seek.
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