Annual autumn treats are showing up in time for the tail end of summer.

Many people in Japan will tell you that it’s autumn that offers the most delicious seasonal foods and flavors. Because of that, every year there are a lot of foodies who’re chomping at the bit for summer to be over and fall to start, and they’re about to get their wish, confectionarily speaking, with the release of Mister Donut’s latest batch of sweet potato donuts.

Sort of like the cherry blossoms, the arrival of Mister Donut sweet potato donuts is an annual event in Japan, since roasted sweet potatoes (called yaki imo) are one of Japan’s favorite autumn treats. This year’s lineup consists of five different items, a mix of returning favorites and one brand-new for 2023.

Starting with those coming back for an edible encore, there’s the Satsuma Imo-do Mitsu Imo (satsuma imo and mitsu imo both being ways of referring to sweet potatoes in Japanese), with a soft, airy texture, flavored with sweet potato-flavor syrup.

Also returning are the Satsuma Imo-do Daigaku Imo and Satsuma Imo-do Sweet Potato, the former coated with sweet syrup and sprinkled with black sesame seeds and the latter sorting a circle of sweet potato cream…

…and the Satsuma Imo-do Mitsu Imo Brulee, a sweet potato donut take on creme brulee, with a top layer of crunchy, caramelized sugar.

The theme for this year’s Mister Donuts sweet potato donuts is the question “How close to a roasted sweet potato can you make a donut?”, and there’s a pretty convincing answer in the form of the all-new Satusuma Imo-do Maru de Yaki Imo, or the “Sweet Potato Donut that’s Just Like a Sweet Potato.”

The oblong proportion and purple glaze are evocative of the shape and skin color of Japanese sweet potatoes, as is the black sesame, a dash of which is commonly added to the spuds in Japan. The Satusuma Imo-do Maru de Yaki Imo, though, is actually a Danish, and is made with a bit of sweet potato paste in its dough (the other donuts use a small amount of sweet potato powder in their dough instead).

Prices range from 165 yen (US$1.15) for the Mitsu Imo and Daigaku Imo to 176 yen for the Sweet Potato, 187 yen for the Imo Brulee, and 220 yen for the Maru de Yaki Imo. They all go on sale August 30, which is still pretty far ahead of when actual roasted sweet potatoes reach their annual popularity peak in Japan, but they’ll be available until late October, and should help keep sweets fans happy while they wait for the Pokémon Psyduck donuts coming to Mister Donut later this year.

Source: PR Times via Entabe
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