An unusual pie with a very unusual filling. 

On 24 April, McDonald’s added a new sweet to its menu in Japan called the Maple Butter Hotcake Pie. Priced at 200 yen (US$1.28), this new menu item is part of the chain’s “Kissa Mac” series, which takes its inspiration from Japanese kissaten, or retro coffee houses, which gained popularity in the mid 20th century.

According to McDonald’s, this new sweet is like a pancake turned into a pie, adding a crunchy twist to the usually soft and fluffy mouthfeel. It was an odd combination that we were interested in putting to the test, so we purchased one to see what it tasted like.

The packaging instantly turned our mind towards the flavour of pancakes, but when we opened the package and lifted the top of  the pie to see what was inside, we were able to appreciate the finer details.

Picking it up in one hand, this seemed thicker and heavier than a regular apple pie, but that’s to be expected, given that there are three types of filling inside it — maple syrup sauce, salted butter sauce, and pancake batter.

The coexistence of fluffy pancake filling and crunchy pie casing was truly a new sensation. The pancake batter had a fine texture but a robust flavour that allowed it to stand up against the crunchy pastry casing, and when combined with the salted butter and maple syrup sauce it created a sublime mixture that truly tasted like…pancakes! The salted butter sauce is made with Lorraine rock salt and fermented butter, so it did a particularly good job of tightening the sweetness of the pie as a whole.

▼ Personally, this is one of the top five delicious McDonald’s pies we’ve ever eaten. 

The Maple Butter Pancake Pie will be on sale until late May, while those wanting a savoury option can opt for the Bacon Potato Pie, which is also available during the same period.

▼ Does this count as a balanced meal?

The Pancake Pie takes everything we thought we knew about pies and turns it on its head in the best way, so we can’t wait to see what other unusual fillings McDonald’s has in store for us in future!

Photos © SoraNews24
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