A classic Japanese Dessert Dora Cake or traditionally called Dorayaki Cake, is a sweet treat made with two pancakes that are sandwiched using sweet red bean paste. I’m eagerly excited to teach you this delicious confection.
Dora cake is a highly popular dessert originating from Japan. Everyone, including kids and adults, loves this dessert. You may also know this dessert from the cartoon Doraemon who is an ardent fan of Dora cake.
The pancakes are soft and fluffy in texture and are made using honey. The filling called tsubuan is quite unique as it’s made with red bean paste which is sweetened with sugar.
I love making desserts that come from different parts of the world. You get an insight into various traditions, techniques and flavours. Now who would have thought of using sweet red bean paste as a filling to sandwich pancakes, right?!
Although traditionally and popularly, tsubuan is used as the filling. However, new flavours like custard pudding, matcha crème and chocolate filling are also used sometimes in different countries.
Why You’ll Love This Recipe?
- New and Unique: You must have eaten pancakes almost every day but never like this. You get to eat a delicious classic dessert that is unique and new to the palette.
- Simple Ingredients: The dessert does not require any fancy ingredients or tools. All the ingredients are almost always readily available in the kitchen.
- Popular Among Kids: All the kids have seen Doraemon, and they all know very well how crazy Doraemon is for this cake. I’m sure if you make these for them, they all will gobble them up.
- Easy to Make: The dessert is so simple and easy to make. We definitely know how to make pancakes(we make them daily!). All you have to do is make the filling and use it as a filling to sandwich two pancakes.
Important Ingredients Used In The Recipe
- Eggs: pancakes, when made with eggs, give them an excellent aeration. They become soft, fluffy and delicious.
- Honey: Although sugar is also present in the pancake batter, honey is used to provide some sweetness, and the flavour goes well with the filling.
- Baking Powder: Baking powder helps make the pancakes incredibly soft. You may find some bubbles on top when you pour the batter into the pan. The aeration that baking powder provides makes them very fluffy.
- Red Beans: We need raw red beans as we will be cooking them to make them soft. Use good quality beans.
- Castor Sugar: it is used to make the red beans sweet and also used in the pancakes for the same reason. However, it helps trap the aeration inside the batter in pancakes so that the air bubbles do not escape.
How To Make Dora Cake
Preparation: since we will be making two elements for the dessert, collect all ingredients and tools needed to make them.
Method for Pancakes
Beat Eggs and Sugar: Start by beating the eggs using an electric hand beater with medium speed. Add the sugar gradually and continue beating until it becomes light. We are looking for ribbon consistency here.
Add Dry Ingredients: First, sieve the dry ingredients, flour and baking powder. Fold them into the egg mixture using a spatula. Be sure to use the cut-and-fold method, as we do not want to deflate the batter by mixing vigorously.
Add Water and Honey: Now add the water along with honey and make a smooth batter.
Make The Cakes: Prepare a pan by keeping it at a low flame and brushing it with some oil. Now, add 1 tbsp batter and let it spread on its own. Cook till you see bubbles on top. Once the bubbles appear and one side seems golden in colour, flip to cook the other side as well.
Cool: Remove the pancake from the pan and keep it aside to cool down. Repeat the same for the rest of the batter.
Method For Filling
Cook Red Beans: Wash and put the red beans in a pressure cooker. Add water and sugar to it and put the lid on. Cook the beans until they become mushy and soft.
Grind the Beans: Once the beans have cooked thoroughly, let them cool down a little. Now, transfer them to a mixer jar and grind them until you get a fine paste.
Method for Assembly
Take a cooled pancake and apply some filling in the centre as well as on the sides. Now place another pancake on top of it and press the sides to get a bump in the centre. Repeat the same for the remaining cakes.
Chef’s Tips For The Recipe
Tip for Pancake Batter
To adjust the consistency of the batter, you can add more water. We need thick yet pouring consistency.
Tip For Red Bean Paste
Red beans are pretty thick and sticky in nature. If required, you can add water to the paste so that it becomes spreadable.
Thick Pancakes
Do not spread the batter on the pan too much. We don’t need thin pancakes. Instead, we require them to be thick and fluffy.
How To Store Dora Cakes
Assembled Dora Cakes must be made and served fresh. I do not feel they must be stored for long, as pancakes tend to get soggy.
Still, you can cling wrap and store them in the fridge for a day or freeze them for a week.
However, if you store them separately, pancakes will stay good in airtight in the refrigerator for 3-4 days, and the tsubuan n filling for a week.
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Frequently Asked Questions
The traditional dessert from Japan is called Dorayaki Cake. However, they are popularly known as Dora cakes.
You can use crème custard, chocolate or Nutella or any fruit jam as the filling.
Well, you can always use any eggless pancake recipe and use them for Dora cakes.
