A Twist on a Japanese Favorite: Sesame Dorayaki

I remember visiting Japanese shopping centers with my mom when I was younger. The underground level was always a bustling food court that had everything from shabu shabu to beautifully decorated mochi. I could easily spend hours wandering the food halls and sampling a myriad of snacks.

Sesame Dorayaki

One of these delicious desserts was Dorayaki. Dorayaki was basically sweet red bean paste filling sandwiched between two small sweet and fluffy pancakes. These were usually freshly made and served hot.

I made Dorayaki with a sweet sesame paste filling instead. They turned out so well that I told myself I would be making these again soon (with ice cream).

Sesame Dorayaki
Makes about 4 Dorayaki
Ingredients

• 1 egg
• 90g of all purpose flour
• 70g of sugar
• 1/2 tsp of baking soda
• 1/2 tbsp of honey
• 1/2 tbsp of melted butter
• 20g of cold water
• 20g of milk
• Cooking spray
• Sesame filling: 1/2 cup of roasted black sesame, 1/8 cup of brown sugar, 1/8 cup of softened butter

Recipe

1. Beat egg in a medium bowl until bubbly. Add sugar and honey. Continue to beat until thickened slightly. 
2. Add baking soda and milk into the bowl and mix well.
3. Sift flour and add flour to mixture. Let it stand for 15 minutes.
4. Add butter and water to the mixture and stir until well incorporated. 
5. Heat a small nonstick pan over medium heat and coat pan with some cooking spray. Ladle 1 tbsp of batter onto the pan and let it cook until the surface begins to bubble. Flip and cook the other side until the pancake is well browned. Repeat with remaining pancakes.
6. With a mortar and pestle, mix sesame filling ingredients together until well incorporated. Taste and adjust sugar or sesame level if necessary. 
7. Spread some paste on top of one pancake and cover with a second pancake. Enjoy your Dorayaki!