I found these were half price at the local Japanese supermarket and snapped them up.They are what the Japanese call "dorayaki", small round pancakes filled with red bean, soy bean or chestnut paste. There are 5 individally wrapped cakes in a plastic tray inside the bag.
These have red bean paste and little bits of crushed chestnuts poking through.
The pancake itself is dark brown and when broken in half is quite thick, but you can also see the air bubbles of where the cake has risen, so it's nice and fluffy. The filling is really generous too and is the right amount of paste to cake ratio.
The cake was dry enough but not too dry, so that with the bean together as a sandwich it became a nice moist texture without being too sloppy. The main taste of this dorayaki is red bean, and only by biting down on a piece of chestnut or actually picking out a piece and eating it, can I really taste it in there.
This was great for me as I'm not a huge chestnut fan but I love azuki, so it was nice to try something a little bit different for me while being within my comfort zone.These were great served with a cup of tea, my husband and I really enjoyed them. It was a nice sweet without being overly sweet.
The maker - Marukyo - make other such dorayaki treats that I have also seen around, so maybe I will try another type from them next time.
