Why buy cheesecake in Kobe? The city is not immediately associated with cheese, and an ordinary cheesecake might not seem worth seeking out. Kannonya’s Danish Cheesecake, however, is completely different from the cheesecakes and rare cheesecakes found elsewhere.
Delicious Twice Over: Kannonya Danish Cheesecake Served Warm
The idea of heating cheesecake sounds surprising. You may wonder whether a warm cheesecake can really be good. This Danish Cheesecake is certainly tasty when cold, but warming it makes it even better.
Each cake is handmade by Kannonya’s pastry cooks. As the name suggests, the fresh cheese is imported directly from Denmark. The gentle sweetness of the sponge and the saltiness of the cheese form a remarkably satisfying contrast. The rich cheese highlights the cake, while the cake softens the cheese; despite the richness, it is easy to eat two or three.
The enclosed instructions explain how to heat it. Warm the cake briefly until small bubbles appear on the generous cheese layer over the soft, moist sponge. Watch carefully so it does not burn, then remove it at the ideal moment. Since it is a stylish Kobe souvenir, serving it with a knife and fork feels appropriate.
One bite of the sweet-and-salty sponge wrapped in melting cheese is enough to turn many people into fans.
Who Will Appreciate Kannonya Danish Cheesecake?
Kobe has a reputation for elegance, style, and cosmopolitan taste. Souvenir selection reveals a buyer’s sense of play as well as personal taste. If you always choose the same widely sold product, recipients may privately think, “This again?” Kannonya is ideal for anyone seeking something unusual but genuinely delicious.
The company operates mainly in Kansai, with most physical shops concentrated in Kobe. Recognition is therefore lower among people in the Tokyo area. An online store exists, but people cannot order a product they have never heard of, so many have never tasted it—or do not know it exists.
Rakuten: Kannonya Danish Cheesecake, 10-piece box
Embarrassingly, even though I have lived in Kobe all my life, I only discovered it relatively recently. That makes it especially promising for recipients who enjoy unusual discoveries.
One caution: if you give it to a cheesecake purist, tell them to approach it as something different. It is delicious, but less sweet and more savory than a conventional dessert cheesecake. Its shelf life is also short and the price is not low, so it may not suit a large office or someone you cannot meet soon.
For a small household, a cheese lover, or your own family, however, it is one of Kobe’s most compelling souvenirs.
What Happened When I Bought It
Although I live in Kobe, I learned about Kannonya through the media. Feeling that my family had to experience it, I bought a box. We read the instructions, warmed the cakes with some uncertainty, and tasted them together.
Our first reaction was essentially, “What is this?” It did not fit our normal image of cheesecake and was not especially sweet. After that first surprised bite, however, everyone agreed that it was delicious in its own right.
Cheesecake is my favorite kind of cake, but I enjoyed three by treating them as a savory, meal-like style of cheesecake rather than a standard sweet. It was strange in the best way and left me wanting to eat it again.
Kobe has many excellent souvenirs: famous sake, Western pastries, Japanese sweets, and much more. Delicious food prepared in a conventional delicious way is expected. Kannonya instead asks you to warm a cheesecake—an idea that sounds slightly outrageous—and somehow makes it work beautifully.
If you are skeptical, that is all the more reason to try it once. Let your own palate decide whether this unconventional Kobe cheesecake deserves its loyal following.
Kannonya Danish Cheesecake Product Info, Expiration Date, Manufacturer
| Product Name | Kannonya Danish Cheesecake |
|---|---|
| Manufacturer / Seller | 観音屋 |
| Address | 兵庫県神戸市中央区元町通3丁目9-23 |
| Expiration Date | 到着から５日 |
| Place of Purchase | 神戸空港マリンエアマート |
| Price | 3024円 |
