Awashimado Adzuki Bean Boy Cake

I chose this treat entirely for one reason and that was that "adzuki bean boy" is too cool a name for a product to pass up. In fact, I'm pretty sure that this is why a "Po Boy" sandwich is popular wherever it is popular. I'm too lazy to do research into where that might be, and I actually don't know of what the sandwich is composed. Still, I'd order one if I saw it on a menu because it has "boy" in the name. In fact, the only thing better than attaching "boy" to a product name is adding "monkey". If this had been named "Adzuki Bean Monkey", I would have bought a half dozen on the spot. If it had been "Adzuki Bean Monkey Boy," I'd have cleaned out their entire stock.

As it was, I wish I had bought more than one after sampling this. This was one lovely bean treat. In fact, to me, it tastes like what "Japanese cookie dough" would taste like if the Japanese weren't utterly grossed out by the idea of eating raw cookie dough (which they are for the most part). The outside is a soft cake like wrapping with little to add to the experience other than a neat packaging. The center is super moist and sweet with a rich, buttery flavor and a soft texture except where it is studded with beans that add a grainier feel. The package calls it "milk taste" but I'm not sure what that is supposed to mean. It doesn't taste like milk so much as the aforementioned cookie dough with bits of adzuki bean to spice it up.

I found these for 98 yen (about $1.24) at Inageya supermarket and since buying the first one, I have purchased three more. The company that makes them makes a variety of bean-based sweets including a delicious super moist sweet potato version which I have also eaten three of. This is the sort of thing I'm going to seriously and truly miss when I go back home as I'm sure they will be a rare find with their short shelf life. Right now, my consumption of them is limited by the desire not to get fat on moist tasty bean cakes. Though these may seem healthy, they pack a big punch calorie-wise at 260 calories each and are full of fat and sugar. I'm not fooling myself that this is much better than eating a candy bar or big cookie. Still, I consider it well worth the investment in dietary fats and sugar, but I have to buy one at a time or risk eating myself sick.