The Cheery Cakemaker of Hakodate

Such excellent, exquisite, five-star bliss. Who knew something so delicious existed? It’s like a tarte tatin you might find in a café on the Champs-Élysées.

I apply great dollops of chilled fresh cream with each bite, blending it with the piping hot apple interspersed with crunchy crust. The contrasting sensations of hot and cold, sweet and sour resonate on my taste buds, producing a wonderful symphony of taste and texture in my mouth.

The creator of this delicacy, pâtissier Ōgiri Kōsuke, trained in Milan, Italy. He has made Italian-style pastries in Hokkaidō for over 30 years, and now runs the shop Pasticceria Ciccio Pasticcio in Hakodate. Before returning to Japan, he told colleagues of his plan to open a shop in his hometown. They suggested the name for the shop, which roughly translates as “The Cheery Cakemaker”

Ciccio Pasticcio.

Pâtissier Ōgiri Kōsuke.

As autumn colors appear, Ōgiri devotes himself to baking tarte tatin, using Jonathan apples grown in Nanae, near Hakodate. Each tart is destined to bring joy. This is la dolce vita.

Ōgiri’s tarte tatin. (2019)

Ciccio Pasticcio

Getting there: seven minutes on foot from the Hakodate Bus Shōwa Terminal.

(Click to see map)

(Originally published in Japanese.)