Ever since I bought a taiyaki pan, I only ever used it once. And not even to make traditional taiyaki batter! Hilariously, back in college, I did make taiyaki a few times when I borrowed a classmate’s pan. However, I did not own a pan of my own until 2023, and even then, I totally neglected to use it after doing one experiment with it. So I figured now is as good a time as ever to try making taiyaki with a pancake batter, as it was intended to be made. Traditional taiyaki is filled with either red bean paste or custard, but I wanted to so a fun take on that, by essentially making a pumpkin pie filling meets a pastry cream, which takes on similar qualities to both the custard and red bean paste fillings. This recipe only has two components, being the pumpkin pastry cream, and the pancake batter. The batter itself is the same one I would use to make dorayaki pancakes with, while the pumpkin pastry cream is made by taking a thickened custard, flavoring it with pumpkin puree, brown butter, and pumpkin pie spices to really drive home that pumpkin pie flavor! From a technical standpoint, I will be honest: cooking the taiyaki was tricky. I found that medium to medium-low heat was the best way to get the exterior to be that perfect golden-brown color. I had to burn a ton of taiyaki to figure that out, but just a PSA to future Fred and anyone else attempting this recipe.

For the pumpkin pastry cream:
3oz pumpkin puree
4oz whole milk
2 egg yolks
1/4 cup granulated sugar
a pinch of salt
2 tbsp cornstarch
2 tbsp unsalted butter
a pinch of ground cinnamon
a pinch of ground nutmeg
a pinch of ground clove
1 tsp vanilla extract

In a pot, whisk together the pumpkin puree and whole milk and heat on a low flame. In a bowl, whisk together the egg yolk, sugar, salt, and cornstarch. Pour half of the heated pumpkin puree milk onto the egg yolks while whisking those. Then return the egg yolk mixture into the pot and whisk on medium heat until the mixture clings to the sides of your whisk, Pass the custard through a sieve to remove any lumps. In a nonstick pan, cook the butter, cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves until the butter fully melts and turns amber-brown. Pour that into the pumpkin custard and whisk with the vanilla until everything is combined. Place into a bowl and press cling wrap on top. Store in the refrigerator until completely chilled.

For the batter:
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
2 egg whites
1/2 cup sugar
1 tablespoon honey
3/4 cups warmed milk

In a bowl, whisk everything together until combined. Take a taiyaki pan and heat it up on one side on medium heat for at least 5 minutes. Then lower the heat to medium-low right before you actually fill the pans. Line your taiyaki pan with cooking spray. Fill the heated half of your taiyaki pan 1/3 the way full. Then place into the center of each pan about 2 to 3 tbsp of the pastry cream. Pour just enough batter over the pastry cream to cover it, then close the pan. Allow it to cook on that one side for another minute. Then flip the pan and cook for another 3 minutes. Repeat this process until you have used it up all of your batter and filling.