Coffee Jelly (コーヒーゼリー) is a cold jellied dessert made throughout Japan from black coffee and gelatin. As Coffee Jelly is not too sweet, although you can adjust the sweetness however you like, and rather light, it is a perfect after dinner dessert.
Japanese Strawberry Shortcake (いちごショートケーキ) is a western-style layered cake with whipped cream and strawberries. It is the most popular kind of western cake in Japan for everyone. It is said the Strawberry Shortcake was “invented” by a pastry shop in 1920s, but it became more popular in the 1950s. And since then it still is often the best seller in any bake shop.
There are a lot of western (mostly French) cake shops everywhere in Japan. Some cake shops sell more delicate and sophisticated concoctions, and others simpler, everyday snack types. Wherever you go, though, you will definitely find Purin (プリン) in most shops in Japan. There are often millions of new cakes and other desserts to choose from there, but people always come back to something they ate in childhood. Purin is exactly like that. It is a comfort dessert for Japanese people.
Dorayaki is one of the most popular Japanese confectioneries. It is Anko (sweet red bean paste) sandwiched between sweet pancakes. It is a Japanese sweet beloved by the old and young. It may be perfect for people who have never had any traditional Japanese sweets because it doesn’t have any unusual ingredients. Dorayaki is also called Mikasa, from Mt. Mikasa in Nara which is next to Osaka. I presume that Dorayaki is the name used more in eastern part of Japan.
Anko (sweet red bean paste) is the crucial ingredient for Japanese traditional confectioneries. It is a paste made with Azuki (red beans) and sugar. It is used in a lot of different forms of dessert in Japan. It could be used as is in cakes like Dorayaki (Anko sandwiched between sweet pancakes), but also jellied and molded into Yokan, or made into a soup called Zenzai.