Name: Taiyaki (Fish-Shaped Cake with Red Bean Filling)
Prep time: 35 min
Cook time: 10 min
Total time: 45 min
Yield: 6 servings
Cuisine: Japanese
Ingredients: 150 g cake flour; 1 tsp baking powder; 40 g sugar; 0.25 tsp salt; 1 pc egg; 200 ml milk; 1 tbsp honey; 15 g melted butter; 200 g sweet red bean paste; 2 tbsp neutral oil

Ingredients

6servings

Batter
cake flour · plain flour works150 g
baking powder · without it they stay flat1 tsp
sugar40 g
salt · it is what makes the bean paste taste sweet0.25 tsp
egg · at room temperature1 pc
milk200 ml
honey · optional; keeps them moist once cold1 tbsp
melted butter · optional; flavour, and helps them release15 g
Filling
sweet red bean paste · straight from the fridge; 25-30g each200 g
For the iron
neutral oil · brushed onto both halves2 tbsp

Steps

Divide the bean paste into 6-7 portions and shape each into a bar — the same long shape as the fish — then put them back in the fridge, so the filling reaches from head to tail.
⏲ 5 min
Sift the dry ingredients together (flour, baking powder, sugar, salt). A lump of baking powder rises in one spot and tastes bitter there.
⏲ 2 min
Beat the egg with the milk and honey, pour it into the dry mix and stir only until no dry flour shows. Beating it smooth builds gluten and toughens them. Melted butter goes in last.
⏲ 3 min
Rest the batter 20 minutes. The flour hydrates, the consistency settles, and the bubbles come out even. Keep the paste chilled meanwhile.
⏲ 20 min
Heat the taiyaki iron over medium-low and brush both halves with oil — a drop of water should skitter across it.
⏲ 3 min
Fill the lower mould about 60% full. Fill it to the top and there is nowhere for the paste to go.
⏲ 1 min
Lay a chilled bar of paste along the body, keeping 1cm clear of the head and tail. That margin is what the batter seals.
⏲ 1 min
Cover with more batter so it just spills over the rim — the overflow is what bonds the two halves.
⏲ 1 min
Close the iron, leave it 90 seconds, then turn the whole thing over. Turn it sooner and the top layer of batter runs off.
⏲ 2 min
Three minutes on that side, then turn back for another 2-3. They are done when the colour showing at the seam is deep brown and the cake springs back when pressed.
⏲ 6 min
Lift them out and trim the batter that squeezed out of the mould with scissors. Some old shops leave it on, so suit yourself.
⏲ 1 min
Cool them standing up on a rack for 5 minutes. Flat on a plate, the trapped steam softens whichever side is down. The paste inside is extremely hot.
⏲ 5 min

Tips & Variations

Variations

Change the filling: custard, chocolate, sweet potato, cheese and whipped

cream are all ordinary. Avoid wet fillings (fresh fruit, loose custard) — they boil and force their way out before the batter sets.

Bungeoppang. Korea's fish-shaped cake is generally held to descend from

taiyaki, brought over during the colonial period. They have diverged: the Korean batter carries less sugar and is thinner, so it comes out crisper, while taiyaki is closer to sponge cake — moister and sweeter. Same bean paste, different texture, and the difference is the sugar and the thickness of the batter.