A classic for a reason

Red bean and whipped cream dorayaki

Brand: 7-11

Price: 194 yen

Place of purchase: 7-11

Rating:

Dorayaki feel so safe and accessible to me -- they're one of the first Japanese sweets I tried when we first moved to Japan, and I love the myriad of variants they come in. Many would probably regard the classic filling to be red bean paste, and this option from 7-11 with red bean paste and whipped cream brings some Western flavors to the standard traditional version. I feel like it's quite a filling sweet treat -- probably owing to the bean paste providing a level of protein -- and I do appreciate that it's not cloyingly sweet. The red bean paste and whipped cream work together so well, with the milky sweetness helping to offset some of the trademark earthiness of the red bean paste.

This does contain tsubu-an (the chunkier type of bean paste) as opposed to koshi-an (the smooth type). My personal preference leans towards koshi-an, but I don't mind tsubu-an from time to time. If you're not a fan of textural bean paste, then this might not be the most appropriate dessert choice for you. That point aside, though, there's a reason why variants of this dorayaki filling seem to pop up all the time at different convenience stores. Red bean and whipped cream work together really well, and I'm sure it's popular for that reason!