LeTAO

Japanese cheesecake bakery LeTAO has a loyal and devoted following for a reason. Their cheesecakes are an ethereal wonder of smooth, fluffy creaminess. From the much-lauded Fromage Double to the picture-perfect Yuki Akari, their creations are simply sublime.

For a round-up of the Best Dessert Shops in Sydney, see here.

LeTAO

Location: 238 Swanston St, Melbourne, VIC 3000 Ph: 0404 761 888 & Regent Place Shopping Centre, 501 George St, Sydney, NSW 2000 Ph: 0404 761 888

Japan’s northernmost island, Hokkaido, is famous for a number of things. For snow bunnies, it offers superb skiing with ski resorts like Niseko and Furano ranking amongst the best in the world. Then there are natural hot springs (onsen), mountains and volcanoes. And all that volcanic activity over thousands of years has resulted in gloriously rich soil. Soil which bears particularly lush grass.

What have verdant pastures got to do with LeTAO cheesecakes? Well, everything.

You see the cows that graze the fields of Hokkaido produce some of the most prized milk on our planet. Rich, sweet and with a hint of vanilla, it’s a dessert-makers dream.

And that’s where LeTAO comes in. That amazing Hokkaido cream is the starting point of their utterly irresistible Cheesecakes.

If you can’t get enough of all things Japanese, check out our piece on the Best Japanese Restaurants in Melbourne

The Space

Both the Melbourne and Sydney stores are temples to industrial chic at its most minimal.

Slabs of grey concrete create a monolithic space. It’s impressive and slightly oppressive, but relief comes from warm spotlighting, a well-placed floral display or 2, and the cakes.

As you peek in through the shop window, the cheesecakes and tarts sit directly on the concrete counter, like spherical works of art.

The Food

Whilst LeTAO also make a selection of Cookies and a feather-light Jersey Milk Roll ($33.99) – amongst other delights – the queues at the till are for those incredible Cheesecakes.

The Signature bake is the LeTAO Fromage Double Cheesecake ($39.99). This is a magical combination of that unique Hokkaido Cream, Australian Cream Cheese and Italian Mascarpone, dusted with a rough crumb. On eating, it has an incredible silky-smooth mouth-feel and tastes heavenly.

If you are a chocoholic, the Chocolat Double Cheesecake ($39.99) is a must-try. Here, the melting sweetness of Hokkaido Cream and Mascarpone are off-set with 66% Cacao Spanish Chocolate. Trust us when we say that that wee hint of bitterness in the Chocolate makes all the other flavours pop on the palate.

For a look at the Best Cakes in Sydney, click here.

For sheer beauty – both of the visual and taste kind – there’s the Yuki Akari Cheesecake ($45.99). This delicate piece of patisserie brilliance encases 5 whole Mandarin Oranges in a pillowy bed of Hokkaido Cream Cheese. This is then crowned with a citrus-bright Setaka Orange Sauce, held in place by an envelope of soft Mochi. The result is a flavour-bomb with every mouthful.

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Sadly, this last Cheesecake is currently only available at LeTAO Sydney. We sincerely hope that the Melbourne store will add it to their shelves soon.

As I said at the start, LeTAO isn’t just about some of the lightest Cheesecakes ever baked. The Darjeeling Tea infused Royal Montagne Cookies are an indulgent treat and the team make a pretty mean Portuguese Custard Tart as well.

Whatever you order, one thing that you can rely on is the quality of the product. You see everything at LeTAO is handmade in Japan, frozen, delivered to Australia and then presented to you as perfect as when it left Otaru, Hokkaido.

Finally, if you are worried that your favourite Cheesecake will have sold out before you make it in to store, never fear. The LeTAO website includes links that allow customers to Order Online.

You can read our guide to the Best Cake Shops, Cake Delivery and Takeaway Cakes in Melbourne, here

Overall

Luckily for us, we appear to be in an era of bakeries who do mainly one thing – but do it exceptionally well.

There is Lune Croissanterie and its super flaky, multi-layered croissants. Tarts Anon where biscuity pastry and beautifully balanced fillings mean lines at the door. Tokyo Lamington where that most Aussie of bakes is transformed into a patisserie star. And Levain Doughnuts, makers of ultra-light doughnuts stuffed with everything from Lotus Biscoff to Cookies & Cream.

And now we have LeTAO with their supremely fluffy Cheesecakes, all the way from Japan.

If you love dairy, give them a go. We predict you’ll be hard-pushed to find a better Cheesecake this side of Hokkaido.