300 year old Japanese confectioner gets ’serious, for real’ with a vegan, gluten free dorayaki

Historic confectioners aim to make sweet treat accessible for everyone with new recipe.

Dorayaki are Japanese sweets made with two pancake-like layers of castella cake, usually with a big dollop of red bean paste sandwiched in the middle. They’re simple but delicious, so much so that Doraemon is famous for his love for dorayaki.

But while robot cats from the future can enjoy eating dorayaki as much as they’d like, the same can’t be said for everyone else. One of the main ingredients in dorayaki is eggs, and flour containing gluten is often a key ingredient as well, meaning people who are gluten intolerant or vegan aren’t able to enjoy a traditional dorayaki.

And while there are recipes online with suggestions on how to make your own home-made vegan-friendly or gluten-free dorayaki, nothing beats dorayaki bought from a shop that specialises in wagashi (traditional Japanese sweets). Daitokuya Chokyu, based in Mie Prefecture, is one such wagashi shop. The store has a rich history, having first opened its doors to customers over 300 years ago, back in 1716.

Daitokuya Chokyu have teamed up with Enny Corporation, a company that aims to promote lesser-known Japanese food culture worldwide, to create a vegan, gluten-free dorayaki. 

The treat is called the ‘Honki Dorayaki’ (‘seriously for real dorayaki’) and is made without using gluten, dairy products, or other animal products. Dorayaki made without eggs and using gluten free flour don’t tend to come out as soft and chewy as regular dorayaki, but after repeated trial and error, Daitokuya Chokyu were able to create a delicious, fluffy dough. The Honki Dorayaki also uses natural sugar and organic blue agave instead of white sugar in the red bean paste filling, making it even more healthy and delicious.

The Honki Dorayaki is available with three different fillings to choose from: azuki red bean paste (which is the standard dorayaki filling), matcha paste and hojicha (roasted green tea) paste.

Honki Dorayaki can be eaten in a variety of ways. Of course, it can be enjoyed as is, but the company recommends chilling one in the freezer for the perfect summer treat. Alternatively, heating it up in the microwave makes it feel like it’s freshly made.

You can order a box of five dorayaki, which contains two red bean, two matcha, and one roasted green tea dorayaki, for 2,980 yen (US$21.90). We think they’d make the perfect after dinner snack for these vegan instant noodles, or this vegan teriyaki burger.

Source: Honki Dorayaki via PR Times
Images: PR Times
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