Uncle Tetsu’s Japanse Cheesecake

Sunday morning, driving down Bay Street in downtown Toronto, I notice a lineup of people waiting outside a storefront.  I take a closer look and notice that they are waiting in front of a tiny store that sells cheesecakes or Japanese-style cheesecakes to be exact.  Welcome to Uncle Tetsu’s Japanese Cheesecake shop.

This store and its cheesecakes have a cult-like following with people waiting for hours in long line-ups to purchase a small $10 cake. In the early days (the store opened in Toronto about a year ago), the line-ups also led to an unaffiliated Twitter account being created (it is no longer active) by a person living in a building across the street which provided updates and pictures of the line-ups throughout the day to followers. The line-ups and the fact that Uncle Tetsu has a strict one cheesecake per person policy is very reminiscent of a Seinfeld episode, in my opinion.

Luckily, my wait is only about 30 minutes that morning which is long enough to create anticipation but not too long to be a deterrent. As I wait outside, I notice the strategically placed vent that fills the street with the smell of sweet vanilla sending my taste buds into overdrive.

Once inside, I get my first glimpse of the spongy little golden cakes decorated with the company’s logo. Other than some Madeleines, cheesecakes are the only things that come out of Uncle Tetsu’s ovens. From what I see, the store has 3 ovens that can hold about 12 6-inch cakes each and it takes about 15 minutes for a cake to cook in a water bath. Once cooked, the cakes are branded and immediately wrapped and placed into their boxes for waiting clients.

I get my hands on my cake which is still hot and I make my way to the car where I open the box and take my first bite.  My first impression is how different this cake is from your traditional cheesecake.  First, there is no crust so the cake is very soft and spongy all the way through making it one-dimensional from a texture perspective.  Again, unlike its North American counterpart, the Japanese cheesecake is only mildly sweet which makes it taste a lot lighter and more airy. The cake also has a stronger ‘egg-y’ taste than what I am used to but also has a pleasant subtle tangy taste from the cream cheese. Once back home,  I put the rest of the cake in the fridge as is recommended to keep the cake fresh for a couple of days.

     

I enjoyed Uncle Tetsu’s cheesecake however it didn’t really satisfy my sweet tooth.  So would I eat this cake again? Sure, as long as someone else waits in line!