We’ve been fans of this cheese tart specialist’s sweets for years, and now we’ve got a whole new way to enjoy them.

“Pablo” might seem like a strange name for a Japanese confectioner to pick for itself, but the Osaka-based sweets chain specializes in cheese tarts, a dessert with decidedly Western origins. Having grabbed hold of the hearts of Japanese sweets fans, Pablo is now stretching out a hand to team up with another purveyor of occidental cuisine that’s found success in Japan.

On October 11, KFC Japan added a new Pablo-designed Krushers dessert drink to its menus. Its lengthy official name is the Krushers Apricot Sauce Tappuri Cheese Tart, with tappuri being a Japanese word that means “ plenty of.”

True to its word, KFC adds a generous pour of apricot sauce to the whipped cream topping, The bright orange color makes for a tantalizing contrast with the opaque off-white of the drinkable cheese tart, which revealed a satisfyingly thick texture as we poked our extra-large-diameter straw into the cup.

We took a sip, and as soon as the mixture worked its way up through the straw and onto our taste we knew this was something special. The rich, milky flavor of cheese immediately brought us back to the last time we ate, and loved, Pablo’s signature cheese tarts. Meanwhile, the tart apricot sauce made a sophisticated, refreshing contribution to the flavor profile, with the whipped cream helping to smooth everything into a harmonious combination. There was even a pleasant bit of crunch provided by the bits of baked crust used for Pablo’s cheese tarts, which are mixed into the beverage.

▼ Though we decided to give everything an additional stir to make sure the apricot sauce would stick around until the last sip.

We honestly can’t think of anything to complain about, though we do have a request. See, Pablo makes a great green tea cheese tart, and in the past KFC has offered a matcha green tea Krushers, so we’re keeping our fingers crossed that a Pablo matcha Kurshers is waiting for us at some point in the future. For now, though, we’re more than happy to have the Krushers Apricot Sauce Tappuri Cheese Tart, which will be around for a limited time this fall and is priced at 480 yen (US$4.30).

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