It has been a minute since I made dorayaki, but since I procured some hidden rose apples(very seasonal apple with naturally pink flesh), I wanted to do some desserts that utilize it, while also revisiting some old desserts that I have not made in a minute. Hidden rose apples are only available 2-4 weeks in the year, so I made sure to make as many recipes as I could with them while they were still in season(they are normally available between November and December, but if you can’t procure anything, you can always just settle for either regular apples or food colored apples). Dorayaki, for those unfamiliar with it, are these soft pancakes that sandwich usually a red bean filling. In this case, I wanted to do something a little more complimentary to the apple, and I went with a whipped cream cheese filling, just to give it a more apple meets cheesecake-kind of vibe. Even though the apples are pink, hidden rose apples still taste like a granny smith, albeit a little sweeter. So I wanted to capitalize on that gorgeous color, by doing slices of it, and embedding that into the dorayaki pancakes themselves. The idea of these golden-brown pancakes with these pretty pink slices of apple, which I cut to resemble blossoms, contrasting that was too good of a potential visual to pass up on! The dorayaki are stuffed with the aforementioned cream cheese filling, and some roasted cubes of pink apple, just to bring it all together.

I will be honest – this was very challenging. Controlling the shrinkage of the apple slices as they cooked in the pan versus the cooking rate of the pancakes was an experiment in itself. I either burned the pancakes, burned the apple slices, burned both, or somehow undercooked the pancakes during this testing process. I even ended up with pancakes where the edges were cooked, but the middle looked weirdly uneven in the color, because the apple slices still shrank as the pancakes seared, causing the middle to be a lot blonder than the edges. What I eventually found to have worked is simply cooking the apple slices on low heat first, just to lightly dehydrate them, then cranking up the heat to medium-low, adding in your batter, and then cooking the pancakes like that. Between rounds of apple and pancake batter, I recommend getting a wet towel, and placing the pan onto that, just to bring down the temperature of the pan so that the next round of apple slices/pancakes won’t burn(like mine did several times). Trust me, the amount of burnt pancakes I yielded trying to figure this recipe out was both hilarious and embarrassing. I probably had more burnt than successful because I was trying to figure out how to properly cook the pancakes with the bloody apple slices embedded into them. The entire rest of this recipe is so easy in comparison that I recommend focusing a lot of time on the pancakes. Using a griddle instead of a nonstick pan definitely would help this process suck less, so if you own a pancake griddle, this would be the recipe for you!

Makes 8 dorayaki sandwiches(16 separate pancakes)
For the roasted apple:
1/2 hidden rose apple, peeled, cored, and cut into small dice
1 tbsp granulated sugar
1 tbsp melted unsalted butter
a pinch of salt

Saute everything together on medium heat until the apples are soft to the touch. Allow the apples to cool down before attempting to use.

For the pink apple slices:
1/2 hidden rose apple, peeled and cored
water
salt

On a mandolin with the thinnest setting, shave the apple into slices. Cut out 1/4-inch flower shapes and store those in lightly salted water in the refrigerator for up to 4 days.

For the dorayaki pancakes:
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1 egg
1/4 cup sugar
1 tablespoon honey
1/3 cups warmed milk
oil
pink apple slices

Whisk together ingredients, sans oil and apple slices, to form a batter. Line a nonstick pan with oil. Place down 3-4 apple slices onto the pan first, keeping the pan on low heat at this point. Let the apple slices cook on low for 30 seconds, but no more than a minute. Pour about 1 tablespoon of batter onto the pan and cook on medium-low heat for about 1 to 2 minutes, or until the pancakes are browned evenly on the pan-facing side, while it has formed bubbles or craters on the other side. Once so, flip and allow the pancakes to cook on the bubbled/cratered side for another 20 seconds. Allow the pancakes to cool before using in the assembly.

For the whipped cream cheese:
1/4 cup heavy cream
4oz cream cheese
1 teaspoon confectioner’s sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
a pinch of salt

In a bowl, whip everything together to stiff peaks. Transfer to a piping bag.

To assemble:
Start with one pancake, cratered side up, pipe on 1.5oz of the filling. Press in 4-5 cubes of the apple and place on top another pancake to form a dorayaki.