Sweet potato, chestnut, and probably pumpkin donuts roll out at Krispy Kreme.

Right now, looking for seasonal sweets in Japan feels a bit like shopping for seasonal clothing. Typically, apparel stores start stocking fall coats and sweaters before the temperature actually starts to dip very much, and similarly, even though it’s still hot and humid in Japan, confectioners are starting to offer fall-themed sweet treats.

Krispy Kreme isn’t tiptoeing into autumn either, as it’s rolling out three new donuts simultaneously.

First up is the Sweet Potato Tart, with a sweet potato-flavor coating in a purple color reminiscent of Japanese sweet potatoes and a sweet potato cream swirl in its center. What makes this one really special are the pieces of candied sweet potato prepared kanroni style (simmered in a sweet syrup).

The Mont Blanc Cream takes its inspiration from Mont Blanc, a perennial Japanese dessert cafe favorite of candied chestnut cream. Krispy Kreme promises an enticing interplay between the sophisticated flavor of the chestnut and milky vanilla creams, and places a few candied chestnuts atop the ring for a bit of tasty visual flair.

Finally, the Caramel Pumpkin Pudding (363 yen) is a bit of a mystery. Krispy Kreme describes it as having a pumpkin coating decorated with lines of caramel, plus a mild caramel filling and a pumpkin seed placed where the stem would go on an actual pumpkin. However, usually desserts in Japan billed as “pumpkin” flavor are actually recreating the flavor of kabocha, a type of squash that’s often referred to as Japanese pumpkin but which tends to have a more pronounced natural sweetness than the Western pumpkin used for things such as American-style pumpkin pie. In its Japanese-language description of the Caramel Pumpkin Pudding, though, Krispy Kreme makes sure to refer to the flavor as pampukin (the Japanese pronunciation of “pumpkin”), and doesn’t use the word kabocha even once, so this might be a rare case of a legitimate pumpkin-flavored dessert in Japan.

▼ Krispy Kreme’s new donut is also orange, while kabocha (like this one we sliced up when making our Halloween jack-o’-lantern nikuman steamed buns) are green on the outside.

The Sweet Potato Tart and Caramel Pumpkin Pudding are priced at 363 yen (US$2.45), and the Mont Blanc Cream 385 yen, and if you’re looking for an economic justification to eat all three, a bundled pack of one of each is just 1,078 yen, saving you 33 yen compared to buying them separately.

▼ It’s just a smart financial decision.

The whole lineup is on sale as of September 10 and will be available until early October, so yes, if you’re looking for a drink to pair with them, Starbucks Japan’s surprise-release autumn Frappuccino is an option.

Source: Krispy Kreme Japan
Kabocha photo ©SoraNews24
All other images: Krispy Kreme Japan
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