Though you can find cheese tarts all across Japan (and across the world — at least a couple places have opened in Toronto that serve these things in the last few years), they’re originally from Hokkaido.
A cheese tart is kind of like a cheesecake, only with a much lighter, gooier filling than you’d typically find in that dessert.
One of the more well-regarded places to find these things is Kinotoya Bake, and yeah: there’s a reason it’s well-regarded. It serves what is easily the best cheese tart that I’ve ever had. It’s no contest. It was amazing.
Everything about it is pretty much perfect. The filling is gooey and ultra-creamy; it holds together just enough to stay solid. It has just the right amount of sweetness, with a nice tang to balance things out.
The crust, too, is superlative. It has a bit of a shortbready flavour, but with a snappy, cookie-like crunch that compliments the very soft filling amazingly well.
It’s rare that you eat something and think “this is the ideal version of this particular food. I don’t see how it could possibly be improved upon.” This was one of those times.
Location: 〒060-0806 Hokkaido, Sapporo, Kita-ku, Kita 6 Jōnishi, 3-chōme, ＪＲ札幌駅サツエキイースト
How to find it: This particular location is in Sapporo Station.