Dorayaki

Ingredients

• large eggs2
• granulated sugar1/3 cup
• honey2 tbsp
• mirin1 tsp
• cake flour3/4 cup
• baking soda1/2 tsp
• water2 tbsp
• neutral oilfor the pan
• sweetened azuki bean paste (tsubuan or koshian)1 cup

Steps

1. 1

   Whisk eggs and sugar.

   Whisk eggs and sugar in a bowl until pale and thick, about 2 minutes. Whisk in honey and mirin.

2. 2

   Fold in cake flour and rest.

   Sift the cake flour over the egg mixture and fold gently until just combined. Cover and rest at room temperature for 15 minutes — this is what gives dorayaki its tender crumb.

3. 3

   Add baking soda mixture.

   Dissolve the baking soda in the water and fold it into the rested batter. It should ribbon thickly off the whisk.

4. 4

   Heat and oil the skillet.

   Heat a nonstick skillet over low. Wipe with a lightly oiled paper towel — the surface should be barely greased so the tops stay smooth.

5. 5

   Cook batter into pancakes.

   Drop 2-tablespoon pools of batter into perfect circles. Cook until bubbles cover the surface and the underside is evenly bronzed, about 90 seconds, then flip and cook 30 seconds more.

6. 6

   Keep pancakes soft.

   Stack the cooked pancakes under a clean kitchen towel to keep them soft and pliable as you finish the batch.

7. 7

   Assemble pancakes with azuki paste.

   Pair pancakes by size. Mound a heaping tablespoon of azuki paste on one cake, slightly domed in the center, and gently press the second cake on top so the filling peeks out at the edge.