We try the new Christmas doughnut range from Krispy Kreme Japan before its release

Come with us as we take a look inside the cream-filled presents and snowman-shaped doughnuts ahead of their official release.

Every year, Krispy Kreme joins other sweet retailers around Japan with a lineup of cute holiday-themed collections for special days like Easter and Halloween. Christmas is one of the biggest dates on the annual calendar, and we got to try this year’s limited edition festive range before it officially geso on sale around the country. The new Holiday Gift Dozen contains star-topped doughnuts, wrapped “box” packages, and a couple of smiley snowmen. Cute on the outside and delicious on the inside, these come filled with a variety of sweet cream fillings.

Let’s begin our journey into the tasty wrapped package selection with the White Caramel Box (230 yen [US$2.07]).

This doughnut is delightfully plump, with a rich white chocolate coating and a sprinkling of shiny green sugar pearls. The whole thing is “wrapped” up in a cute ribbon of red icing.

Inside is a gooey dollop of caramel cream, which has been mixed with a pinch of Lorraine rock salt from France. The saltiness is surprisingly pronounced in the caramel cream, giving it a lovely, salty-sweet flavour, while the sugar pearl topping provides a nice crunchy element to the soft and doughy texture of the treat.

Next up is the Chocolate Custard Box (210 yen), which has a beautiful, glossy coating, all tied up in a white-and-yellow ribbon, and topped off with a sprinkling of gold powder.

This is a gift for all the chocolate lovers out there, with the rich chocolate coating permeating each mouthful. The intensity of flavour mellows out slightly when combined with the sweet custard filling, creating a perfect balance of decadent flavours on the tongue.

The last of the three packages is the Strawberry Cheese Box (210 yen), which has a shiny red jam-like coat and a white-and-green icing ribbon.

The strawberry glaze has a slight tartness, which is a perfect accompaniment to the sweet and savoury flavours of the cream cheese filling.

The jam-like consistency of the glaze sits beautifully in the mouth, and with the thick and creamy centre, this creates an irresistible combination that we would go back for again and again. With no real crunchy element, this was soft and delicious, and very much like something you would expect to see on an afternoon high tea platter.

Along with the original glazed doughnut, the only other non-cream filled doughnut in the Holiday Gift Dozen is the Green Apple Sprinkle (190 yen).

If you love crunch, you’ll love this doughnut. The generous topping of festive-coloured sprinkles fills every mouthful with a satisfying crunch, while the green icing coats the taste buds with a fun, candy-like apple flavour reminiscent of childhood sweets.

Rounding off the Holiday Gift Dozen is the Snowman Chocolate (230 yen), which generally makes an appearance in the company’s limited edition range every year.

Like real-life snowmen, the handmade decorative elements on these mean you don’t know what you’re going to get until you open the box!

The insides of these jolly characters come with a bellyful of chocolate cream. The soft creaminess of the sweet centre is a great counterpart to the crunchy white chocolate coating, giving each chewy mouthful a nice blend of flavour and textures.

While all of the limited-edition doughnuts can be purchased separately, they will also be sold in a Holiday Gift Box containing three varieties for 650 yen.

The Holiday Gift Dozen will retail for 2,000 yen, and comes with the entire selection of festive doughnuts, along with a couple of the original glazed varieties. They’re only on sale for a limited time, from 24 November to 25 December, so be sure to stop by for a taste of Krispy Kreme’s festive offerings while you can!

Photos © RocketNews24

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