Hokkaido Baked Cheese Tart in Chelsea
Hokkaido Baked Cheese Tart in Chelsea
Walking down Chelsea, we stumbled upon Hokkaido Baked Cheese Tart, a small joint serving sandwiches, coffee, basque cheesecake, cream puffs and, of course, cheese tarts. I admit that when going there, I did not know that the Japanese cheese tarts originated from Hokkaido, Japan, a large dairy production region, when in 2011, in Singapore, Shintaro Naganuma of the Kinotoya bakery, served tarts directly from the oven, causing the warm center to have that melting texture that made its success. I was a bit confused: what is the difference with Pasteis de nata, the famous Portuguese egg tart? There are a few: the Pasteis de Nata is made with egg yolk, milk or cream and sugar, in a flaky and airy puff pastry, while the Hokkaido tart is made with mascarpone, cream cheese and sometimes Parmesan in a short crust pastry. So I had to give it a try. Here is what we had: the original, the egg brûlée and the salted caramel cheese tarts. Each was $4.95 or $13.75 for 3 pieces. The original was my favorite, being creamy and nicely sweet in the center, with a nice buttery crust. The egg brûlée was good, but a bit denser than the original and less decadent. My least favorite was the salted caramel as I was expecting some gooey center, but it was not the case, although I liked the added crunch from the corn flakes.
Hokkaido Baked Cheese Tart in Chelsea
Salted caramel tart at Hokkaido Baked Cheese Tart in Chelsea
Original tart at Hokkaido Baked Cheese Tart in Chelsea
Egg brulee tart at Hokkaido Baked Cheese Tart in Chelsea
We also tried their cream puffs that were outstanding, especially the original one ($5) that is filled with a delicious vanilla custard. But I admit that the black sesame ($5.50) was an interesting surprise as it gave an earthy and nutty flavor to it. And that Chou: light, with the craquelin on top adding a nice crunch to it. If you do not like cheese tarts, this is something to try.
Original cream puff at Hokkaido Baked Cheese Tart in Chelsea
Black sesame cream puff at Hokkaido Baked Cheese Tart in Chelsea
Last was the Basque cheesecake ($14) that had a nice burnt top and was light, creamy, not as rich as its counterpart, but pretty good.
Basque cheesecake at Hokkaido Baked Cheese Tart in Chelsea
Hokkaido Baked Cheese Tart is an interesting find that I would recommend for a morning or afternoon treat. I love their original tart and cream puffs, but their other flavors are still interesting to try.
Enjoy (I did)!
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Hokkaido Baked Cheese Tart - 220 8th Ave, New York, NY 10011.
