If you are on a low-carb or Keto diet and have been craving for some Japanese-inspired cheesecakes, then you would definitely want to check out Kekito Bakery.

Cakes that do not spike your blood sugar

Kekito Bakery is an online low-carb and Keto-compliant bakery in Singapore, offering Japanese-inspired breads, tea cakes and whole cakes. 

Dedicated to producing the lowest-carb bakes for Keto followers and those on a low-carb lifestyle, its crafted bakes are flourless, sugarless and gluten-free. Moreover, eggless and nut-free options are available too.

Founder has a family history of diabetes

The bakery was founded by Charlene Yang, who is currently practising a low-carb diet herself.

Explained Charlene, “I had a sugar and carbs addiction where I craved for cakes, bread, pasta and bubble tea everyday. I also have a family history of diabetes, so it dawned on me one day that I needed to reset my eating habits, lose some weight and get my body mass index down to a healthier level. Diabetes is a very real problem and it’s not fun seeing my grandmas and mother having to take medicine every day, worry about cuts and even losing limbs.” 

She continued, “So I needed to cut down on carbs and my sugar intake, and inadvertently discovered the low-carb and Keto way of life.”

Resetting her eating habits

While she was resetting her eating habits, Charlene added that her bakes really helped her to satisfy her cravings for carbs and sugar.

She said, “I used to dream that cakes and bread would disappear after entering my stomach! So I sought to find bakes without carbs, as carbs is one of the main reasons that makes baked goods unhealthy. After finding out that there are ways of making cakes and breads low-carb, flourless and sugarless, cakes that do not impact blood sugar, I was sold.”

Continued Charlene, “So I went out to create the low-carb versions of my favourite bakes. These really helped while I was resetting my eating habits, as I did not have to deprive myself when I wanted a piece of bread or cake. I believe in a sustainable low-carb and Keto way of life, which means no deprivation, and letting yourself enjoy cakes or bread that are Keto-compliant, so that you will not build a massive craving and then end up crashing. It also gives me a piece of mind when my mum, a diabetic, eats my cake, as I know they won’t impact her blood sugar levels.”

All-Natural cakes with nothing artificial added 

As well, besides being low in carbs and sugar, Kekito Bakery’s cakes are also all-natural, without any artificial colouring, preservatives or flavouring.

Unlike common “sugar-free” substitutes such as Malitol, Honey or Agave that raises the blood sugar levels similarly to regular refined sugar, Kekito Bakery uses a special blend of Monk Fruit and Erythritol, which is non-blood sugar impacting, together with their wheat-free and low-GI ingredients.

Invited to try Kekito Bakery’s cakes

I had been recently invited to a food tasting session hosted by Kekito Bakery, who have recently partnered with Mahota Kitchen to sell their bakes. 

At Mahota, you can tuck into Kekito Bakery’s low-carb and Keto cakes in slices, whole cakes or paired with Keto ice cream, the latter which we also had at the tasting session.

Cheesecakes

The first cake that we had was the Signature Yuzu Japanese Cheesecake, which is one of Kekito Bakery’s bestsellers. The lowest-carb cake available, this nut-free treat contains just 1.3 grams of net carbs per slice, and a whole cake has 7.8 grams of net carbs. This means that you can consume an entire cake and still be within the 20 grams daily carb limit on a Keto diet. It also contains less net carbs than a cup of avocado, at 9.2 grams.

This cake was easily one of my favourites. Light, cheesy and flavoured with 100 per cent pure Yuzu juice imported from Japan, I really enjoyed eating this. 

I thought that it tastes just like a normal Japanese cheesecake; in fact, it is so good that I would never have known that this is a Keto-friendly cheesecake, if I had not been informed prior to the tasting.

This soft, melt-in-your-mouth cheesecake is so light and addictive that I can easily eat a slice of this for my afternoon tea or dessert without feeling queasy. The amount of cheese in this cake feels just right for me too, with a slight hint of cheesiness hitting me, but without overpowering my senses.

I could not pick up much of the Yuzu flavour when I tried this cake at the beginning of the tasting session, but interestingly, after trying some of Ketito Bakery’s other richer cakes and returning to this one, the Yuzu flavour hit me.

I would definitely eat this cake again, if I want to have a guilt-free treat.

The Signature Yuzu Japanese Cheesecake is available at $6 per slice, $10 when paired with Keto ice cream, or $32 for a full six-inch cake.

The second cake I tried was the Matcha Japanese Cheesecake, containing just 1.3 grams of net carbs per slice, and is also nut-free.

And as the name suggests, this is a light, fragrant Japanese cheesecake loaded with antioxidant-rich Matcha.

The texture of this cake is similar to the Signature Yuzu Japanese Cheesecake, with a very slight hint of Matcha hitting me when I put a forkful to my mouth. The Matcha flavour is mild, and not very strong. I thought that it did not really come out to hit me. Lovers of Matcha desserts may find this cake disappointing, as a result.

This cake costs $6 per slice, $10 when paired with Keto ice cream and $32 for a six-inch cake.

The third cake that we had was the Blueberry Yoghurt Mousse Cake, with the blueberry-infused mousse sitting on top of an almond sponge. The cake contains less than 3.5 grams of net carbs per slice.

I rather enjoyed this cake because it was light and creamy, with the jelly-like mousse melting easily in my mouth and the almond sponge layer adding a nice crumbly texture to the cake too. 

The flavour of the blueberries is quite mild, and while I can certainly detect the fruitiness coming from it, the taste does not really come out strongly to hit me.

This will set you back at $7.50 per slice, $11.50 when paired with Keto ice cream and $42.50 for a full six-inch cake.

We had the Original Rare Cheesecake next. This is a no-bake cheesecake sitting atop a hazelnut base and containing 2.9 grams of net carbs per slice.

Unlike the earlier cakes, I felt that this was a rich and indulgent cake, with the cheesiness hitting me immediately when I put a forkful into my mouth and the rich cheese flavour continued to get stronger as I ate more of this cake. 

The crushed hazelnut base helped to add a slight crumbly texture to this cheesecake which was nice, but I thought that the base to cheese ratio of this cake was a bit lacking. 

Also, I recommend sharing this cake with a friend because after taking a few bites, I began to feel a bit jelak due to the richness of the cake.

This cake is $7.50 per slice, $11.50 when paired with Keto ice cream and $42.50 for a full six-inch cake.

The last cheesecake that we had, was the Chocolate Rare Cheesecake, a no-bake cheesecake which was easily the most indulgent treat of the lot, at 5.8 grams of net carbs per slice. 

This cake is definitely rich and creamy, and a very strong chocolate flavour hits me immediately when I took my first bite of this cake. This was the predominant, overriding flavour in this cake and I could not taste much else.

As a result, this cake feels quite jelak and I was unable to eat more than a few bites. I strongly recommend sharing it with a friend. But at least now I know where to go if I want to have a guilt-free chocolate fix.

This cake is priced at $8 per slice, $12 when paired with Keto ice cream and $46 for a full six-inch cake.

As well, we also tried the Hazelnut and Chocolate flavours of the Keto ice cream that is also available at Mahota.

I thought the ice cream was quite delicious and once again, I would never have realised that these were low in carbs, if I had not been informed prior.

There is a hint of a hazelnut flavour in the hazelnut ice cream, which I feel is just right. While the flavour does not hit me, it is definitely apparent, though I found that the flavour grows gradually stronger with more spoonfuls of ice cream.

For the chocolate ice cream, this is definitely richer, with a strong, creamy chocolate flavour hitting me upon taking my first spoonful. It tastes quite indulgent. So unless you have a serious chocolate craving, it is definitely not advisable to pair this ice cream flavour together with Kekito Bakery’s Chocolate Rare Cheesecake.

Both ice creams melt very easily, so I recommend eating them up as soon as you can. In fact, by the end of the tasting session, I found myself drinking ice cream instead.

But while it may be easy to polish off a scoop of ice cream on your own, I would recommend sharing the ice cream with a friend if you are on a strict Keto diet, especially the chocolate flavour, which has 9 grams of net carbs per scoop. The hazelnut flavour, meanwhile, is slightly lower, at 6 grams of net carbs in a single scoop.

Tea Cakes

Apart from the cheesecakes, Charlene also gave us the opportunity to try Kekito Bakery’s tea cakes. For the tea cakes, there are three flavours – orange, earl grey and chocolate.

The tea cakes are also low-carb and Keto-compliant, being made with low-carb almond flour and sugar substitutes.

Do note though, that the tea cakes are only available for sale at Kekito Bakery’s website and they are not at Mahota. These tea cakes are priced at $15 per cake.

Out of these, my favourite was definitely the Orange Tea Cake. This is a citrusy tea cake that is moist and rich in flavours. 

When I took a forkful of this, I found the zesty orange flavour to be surprisingly pleasant. The slight sourness from the fruit matches very well together with the sweetness of the cake, and this contrast of flavours to my taste buds makes it very easily to finish up a slice. It is a cake that I really enjoyed thoroughly.

The Earl Grey Tea Cake Loaf was also pleasant and nowhere near as strong as I had anticipated. 

The distinctive Earl Grey tea flavour was there, but it was surprisingly balanced out quite well with the sweetness and moistness of the cake. As well, this cake also consisted of lavender flowers baked inside, which combined well with the Earl Grey flavour so that it was not overpowering.

The Chocolate Tea Cake Loaf was easily the most decadent of the lot. The strong chocolate flavours coming out from this moist tea cake hit me immediately when I tried some. It is definitely rich and satisfying for chocolate lovers.

There are also some nuts sprinkled into this tea cake to add a slight texture to the cake, but I feel that the presence of the nuts does not really seem to come out though.

Nonetheless, if you love indulging in chocolate brownies but don’t want to feel guilty after having one, then this tea cake will definitely appeal to you.

Hard to believe that these are low-carb, low-sugar bakes

Just like the cheesecakes, I would never have known that these tea cakes are healthy, low-carb and low-sugar and will not cause a spike in blood sugar levels.

As Charlene says, “Most people think that healthy bakes do not taste good. I’d say, however, that many people would not realise that the bakes are low-carb, sugarless and flourless if nobody told them.”

Premium ingredients

She added, “I also use wholesome ingredients such as grass-fed butter, premium cream made from real cows milk and only the best natural ingredients. I am the only fully Keto bakery in Singapore that is 100 per cent natural – that is, no colouring, artificial flavourings or preservatives.” 

However Charlene admits that due to her choice of premium ingredients, it can be a challenge to keep the prices for her bakes competitive.

She explains, “Because I use premium ingredients, these can be very expensive. The natural, zero-carb sweetener I use costs almost 17 times more than regular sugar and coupled with high rents and manpower costs, it is not easy to keep prices affordable. I am hoping that with more demand, though, I can produce with higher efficiency and maintain affordable pricing.”

“So keep sharing about these bakes!” Charlene adds.

Where to find Kekito Bakery’s cakes

The cheesecakes are available to purchase at Mahota, but you can also check out more on Kekito Bakery’s full range of offerings of cheesecakes, tea cakes and breads at https://kekitobakery.com/. 

Delivery is available at a $10 flat fee and self-collection through pre-orders is available at Mahota Kitchen (809 French Road, Level 3 Kitchener Complex) from 10am to 9pm daily.