i believe taiyaki, or japanese fish-shaped pancake requires no further introduction. it must be one of the most common snacks around that i don't even take second glances whenever i pass by stalls selling them, at least not until some of the interesting flavors like chocolate banana and pumpkin started appearing.


i was lucky to get my hands on a two-cavity taiyaki pan. compared to the single one, it means better efficiency. my main aim is to try out the pan and not to experiment with flavors for now so i just picked a very basic recipe for the batter. its nothing fanciful, plus i didn't have anything on hand except peanut butter so i filled the taiyaki with that. they tasted good, but only when they're hot. the crispiness of the exterior gave way to fluffy innards and gooey peanut butter. but when cool they hardened considerably (might be coz the recipe doesn't contain any oil or butter) and the egg odor was quite apparent. i'm also not sure why the print of the fish wasn't very obvious, i need to experiment with different recipes or perhaps try the hot cake recipe i used recently.

you can fill them with anything you want - jam, nutella, custard, koshi-an, or even savory fillings like sausage, cream cheese or ham. if you're filling them with a savory filling i recommend cutting down on the sugar for the recipe.