Custard Taiyaki

Add 45g egg yolks into a large bowl, add 36g granulated sugar, and whisk until the egg yolk color turns lighter. Add 15g cake flour and whisk until smooth with no lumps. First add one-third of 210g milk (about 70g), mix well, then add the remaining milk and mix well. Add 2g vanilla extract, mix well, then strain once through a sieve into a small saucepan.

Heat the saucepan over low heat, stirring constantly at the bottom to prevent burning. When the batter starts boiling, you can remove it from the heat briefly, stir thoroughly, then continue heating until deep lines appear, turn off the heat and keep stirring. Finally add 7g unsalted butter, stir until fully melted; the cooked custard should be smooth and slightly thick.

Pour the cooked custard into another bowl, cover it with plastic wrap pressed directly against the surface to prevent drying, and let it cool before placing in the refrigerator for later use.

Pour 25g unsalted butter into a heat-resistant container and melt it using a hot water bath, set aside. In a large bowl, pour 150g whole eggs, add 22g granulated sugar, 68g milk, and 15g honey, mix well and strain once. Sift in 160g cake flour and 5g baking powder together, whisk until smooth with no lumps. Add the melted unsalted butter and mix well.

Cover and let the batter rest for at least 1 hour (or overnight in the fridge) for a softer texture. After 1 hour, stir the rested batter well and pour into a piping bag. Since the batter is runny, cut a very small tip, then place it upside down in a measuring cup. Take out the chilled custard, whisk until smooth, and put it into another piping bag; since custard is thicker, cut a larger tip.

Grease the upper and lower taiyaki molds lightly with vegetable oil, turn on the taiyaki maker to preheat. When the green light turns on, pipe a thin layer of batter along the fish shape from outside to inside (tilt the machine to help cover evenly). Pipe custard in the center (keep away from edges, make fish body thicker and tail thinner). Finally cover with a thin layer of batter to completely cover the fish body. Close the lid, flip the machine, shake to distribute, flip back after a few seconds, bake for about 3 minutes 30 seconds, remove with chopsticks, and trim excess edges.