Fluffy pancakes sandwiching sweet adzuki bean paste reminded Jack of snacks grabbed on bike rides home from early mornings of fishing or birdwatching when he lived in Japan. Happy memories.

Taking stock of my freezer, I noticed I still had some sweet adzuki bean paste left from  my twisted adzuki bean rolls. We love the flavor of these sweetened beans. Eating beans makes you think you are eating something good for you. They are packed with fiber and protein… but, there is quite a bit of sugar in this confection. The batter for the pancakes is sweeter than the pancakes I usually make, but the portions are smaller which alleviates guilt. I scaled the original recipe down to make only seven dorayaki. The odd number will give you one to mess up or one to “test” your batch before you serve it to your guests.

Dorayaki – aka Japanese Pancakes Stuffed with Sweet Adzuki Bean Paste

Ingredients

• 2 large eggs
•  1/3 cup sugar
•  1 tbsp honey
•  ½ cup and 2 tbsp all-purpose flour
•  ½ tsp baking powder
•  ½ tbsp water
•  ½ tsp vegetable oil
•  6 oz homemade sweet red bean paste (see recipe below)

Directions

1. In a medium bowl, whisk together eggs, sugar, and honey.
2. Sift flour and baking powder into bowl with egg mixture and mix well.
3. Let dough sit for 15 minutes.
4. Stir in 1/2 tbsp water to dough in order to thin slightly.
5. Heat a non-stick frying pan over medium heat.
6. Take the vegetable oil and coat the frying pan. Wipe pan off to remove the oil. This will prepare surface to cook dorayaki evenly.
7. Pour 3 tbsp of batter onto center of frying pan. In order to have pancakes come out the same size, I used a large cookie scoop to collect consistent amounts of dough to pour on the pan. The pancakes should be about 3 inches in diameter (8 cm).
8. Cook pancake for about a minute. You will see bubbles appear on surface.
9. Flip pancake and cook for another 30 seconds. Both sides should be golden brown.
10. Pair up pancakes. Spread sweet adzuki bean paste on one pancake. Sandwich its pair on top of the adzuki covered pancake.
11. Enjoy this delicious snack right away or pack it in plastic wrap to take on the road.

Sweet Adzuki Bean Paste

Ingredients

• 1 cup dried adzuki beans
• 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
• water

Directions

1. Place beans in a medium pot and add 3 cups fresh water. Cover, bring to a boil, then lower heat and simmer for 1 1/2 to 2 hours. Add more water if needed. Beans should be covered by water during cooking.
2. Beans are finished cooking when they are easily squashed between thumb and finger.
3. Discard water but leave beans in pot.
4. Add sugar to the pot.
5. Cook beans and sugar on medium high heat, stirring constantly.
6. In about 10 minutes beans will form a thick, glossy paste.
7. Paste can be stored in the refrigerator for a few days or indefinitely in the freezer.