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Earlier this week, we took a look at some very gourmet blue chocolate ice cream. But what if you like your snacks sweet, blue, and Japanese in origin? Then you, adventurous/hard-to-please eater, need to get your hands on one of these aqua-colored sweet bean dorayaki cakes, with a flavor as unique as their vibrant hue.

Since 1940, Osaka-based confectioner Akanemaru has been in the business of making anko, the sweet bean paste that shoes up in a plethora of Japanese confectionaries. As we’ve mentioned before, anko makes everything better, but it’s particularly tasty when sandwiched between a pair of palm-sized cakes in the traditional Japanese snack called dorayaki.

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Akanemaru’s dorayaki have proven so popular that the company has sold over 70 million of them since its founding. Another impressive milestone the confectioner is celebrating is its 75th anniversary, and it’s decided to celebrate by creating its very first blue dorayaki.

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Initially, traditionalists inside the company were opposed to the unorthodox coloring, but after the blue anko itself went on sale May 12, it received such a positive reception from customers that Akanemaru decided to make dorayaki with it as well.

So why is this anko blue? Throughout the year, Akanemaru releases a number of limited-time anko flavors, but the majority of these special products are offered in the fall and winter. Sweets fans in Japan are always on the lookout for the next big thing, and as such, Akanemaru saw its sales dipping in the summer months.

Wanting to make something both unique and appropriate for the season, the company settled upon Ramune, a refreshing soda that people in Japan have been enjoying and associating with summer for generations.

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Ramune itself has only the faintest of color, and some brands are basically clear. Still, the tinted glass commonly used for the drink’s bottles, plus its association with the clear skies of a midsummer day at the beach or mountains, means that when most Japanese people think of Ramune (which tastes a little like Sprite), they imagine it as sky blue.

Akanemaru’s Ramune anko dorayaki doesn’t just look the part, the confectioner also says it has the refreshingly sweet taste of the nostalgia-tinged soft drink. Between that and the dollop of whipped cream, Akanemaru says the Ramune anko dorayaki can be enjoyed both at room temperature (the norm for dorayaki) or chilled.

The eye-catching, limited-time treat goes on sale June 1 for 216 yen (US$1.80) exclusively at Akanemaru’s main branch in Osaka’s Tennoji neighborhood.

Shop information
Akanemaru main branch / 茜丸本店
Address: Osaka-fu, Osaka-shi, Tennoji-ku, Daido 2-13-15
大阪府大阪市天王寺区大道2-13-15
Open Monday-Friday 9 a.m.-5:30 p.m., weekends/holidays 10:30 a.m.-5:30 p.m.
Website

Source: Japaaan
Top image: Akanemaru
Insert images: Akanemaru (1, 2), Saito Inryo