For when you love someone so much that you want them to eat your face.

The traditional Japanese dessert called dorayaki is a pretty simple thing. It’s basically two small, sweet pancakes with anko (sweet red bean paste) sandwiched between them for a palm-sized treat.

▼ Dorayaki

But in order to create a truly memorable moment for foodies in Japan, presentation is important, as we’ve seen with the beautiful rainbow milk gelatin cake and hydrangea parfait. So online shop Iina Stores wanted its dorayaki to stand out visually from other confectioners,’  and they’ve definitely succeeded…but it’s debatable whether they’ll warm the heart or chill the spine.

Iina Stores calls them “Kao Dorayaki,” and even if you’ve never studied the Japanese language, you can probably guess that kao means “face.” The company doesn’t think the face on the above dorayaki is so charismatic that it’ll boost sales itself, though. Instead, you’re supposed to supply Iina Stores with a photo of the face you want on the dorayaki when you place your order.

Now, if your reaction to these photos is less “Yum!” and more “Agggggghhhhhh!”, you might wonder why Iina Stores is offering the Kao Dorayaki now, when even the earliest Halloween celebration, and thus the need for scary sweets, is at least a month away. It’s not October 31 the company is recommending Kao Dorayaki for though, but September 21, when Japan celebrates Respect for the Aged Day. The most popular photo choice is of smiling grandkids who grace a batch of Kao Dorayaki sent as a present to grandma ad grandpa. IIna Stores says they’ll be an especially appreciated gift this year, when so many extended families are unable to see each other in-person due to pandemic-related social distancing (because if you can’t see your grandkids, eating their faces is arguably the next best thing, right?).

A box of five Kao Dorayaki is priced at 2,800 yen (US$26) here through Rakuten, or if you think the recipient can’t get enough of your appetizing visage, a box of 10 is available for 4,000 yen. IIna Stores promises that people who receive Kao Dorayaki smile three times: once when they open the box, once again when they eat the sweets, and one more time when they remember receiving them. Again, deepening on personal aesthetic tastes that could also mean that they’ll scream in terror three times, but either way, they’re unlikely to ever forget the present you gave them.

Source: Press release
Top image: Rakuten/Iina Stores
Insert images: Wikipedia/Ocdp, press release, Rakuten/Iina Stores
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