Bake Cheese Tart is a chain originally from Japan that specializes in Hokkaido-style cheese tarts. They’ve since opened a few US locations, including one in Los Angeles.
We tried Bake when we were in Tokyo and quite enjoyed the tarts, so we were excited that a location had opened in LA. The LA branch is located inside Century City Mall.
The menu is pretty minimal. In addition to the original flavor cheese tart, there are a few other flavors offered on a rotating basis. During our visit, the other two options were chocolate and matcha. They also offer a soft serve, which was matcha during our visit.
If you buy six tarts, they come in a box. The box is quite nicely designed, almost like a jewelry box with its individual compartments and bottom shelf that can be pulled out.
There are two characteristics of Bake’s cheese tarts that make them stand out: 1) the creamy mousse center and 2) the crispy shell.
If you’ve seen their marketing photos, the tarts are often sliced in half with a lava-like center. I’ve personally never experienced such a liquid center. When I had them in Tokyo and in LA, the filling was solid, even when the tarts were warm. I do like the filling though because it is very light and creamy. It’s a good balance of sweet and tangy from the cream cheese.
The shells are very crispy because they are baked twice. They are pre-baked on their own and then again after the cream cheese filling is added.
Our favorite was the original, but we enjoyed the chocolate and matcha flavors as well.
Matcha Soft Serve
I was looking forward to trying the soft serve because all the soft serve ice creams I ate in Japan were so rich and creamy and nothing I’ve had in the US so far has compared. Unfortunately, the soft-serve ice cream here was disappointing. It was extremely watery, thin and melted quickly. It’s not something I would get again.
I would come back for the cheese tarts though. I’ve tried Hokkaido cheese tarts at several other Asian bakeries, but my favorite ones have been from Bake.
Bake Cheese Tart
10250 Santa Monica Blvd #2900
Los Angeles, CA 90067
https://us.cheesetart.com/
