Dorayaki

Dorayaki (どら焼き, どらやき, 銅鑼焼き, ドラ焼き^?) is a type of Japanese confection, а red bean pancake which consists of two small pancake-like patties made from castella wrapped around a filling of sweet red bean paste.

It originally only had one layer, and the current shape was invented in 1914 by the Ueno Usagiya.

In Japanese, dora means "gong", and because of the simililarity of the shapes, this is probably the origin of the name of the sweet.

Legend has it that the first Dorayaki were made when a samurai named Benkei forgot his gong (dora) upon leaving a farmer’s home where he was hiding and the farmer subsequently used the gong to fry the pancakes, thus the name Dorayaki.

Inside of Dorayaki

A Doraemon toy with a dorayaki.

Another name

In Kansai area, such as Osaka or Nara, this sweet is often called mikasa（三笠）. The word originally means triple straw hat, but also an alternative name of Mount Wakakusa, a low hill with gentle slope located in Nara. Many local people picture the shape of this hill while eating a mikasa. In Nara, a larger mikasa of about 30 cm in diameter is famous.

In popular culture

The Japanese manga and anime character Doraemon loves dorayaki, and it has been a plot device several times throughout the series. This is a kind of pun, though his name comes not from "dorayaki" but from the word "doraneko" (stray cat.) Since 2000, the company Bunmeido has been selling a limited version of dorayaki called Doraemon Dorayaki every year around March and September.

See also

• Japonesa - a similar confection eaten in Gibraltar

References

External links

• About.com's dorayaki recipe