Move aside, Uncle Rikuro – Aunt Wanda is here to steal your fluffy souffle crown, without the raisins.

If you’ve been following must-try Japanese food recommendations online, you may have heard of a super popular, fluffy souffle-style cheesecake called “Uncle Rikuro“. Born in Osaka, the cake is available in the Kansai region in and around the prefecture, but one question people tend to have after trying it is, “Are the raisins really necessary?”

That’s because the cake contains a layer of sweet, non-alcoholic raisins in its base, and while some people like the chewy contrast in texture, others think it ruins what would otherwise be an excellent cheesecake.

That’s where another cheesecake maker steps in, and although a lot of foreign tourists are yet to discover it, this baked delight has a large following of local fans.

▼ Move aside, Uncle Rikuro – Aunt Wanda is in town.

Whereas Uncle Rikuro hails from Osaka, Aunt Wanda hails from Okinawa, and although the two companies aren’t related, the character of Wanda and the size of the box is so similar that you might mistake it for Uncle Rikuro at first glance.

▼ That’s what happened to us when we spotted the box in a Kansai supermarket.

According to the company’s website, Aunt Wanda, or “Wanda Obasan” as she’s known in Japanese, was created in 1993, just shy of a decade after Uncle Rikuro, or Rikuro Ojisan, debuted in 1984. With 33 years of history behind her, Aunt Wanda is a hit in her homeland of Okinawa, and is so popular she occasionally makes inroads to the Kansai region, appearing as a limited-time product in select supermarkets and branches of the Don Quijote retail chain.

▼ At just 862 yen (US$5.56) per box, we wasted no time in purchasing one and taking it home for a taste test.

As soon as we opened the box, the soft and fluffy cake inside instantly reminded us of the Rikuro cheesecake, only with Aunt Wanda’s face stamped in the centre instead of Uncle Rikuro’s.

At first glance, it seemed smaller than Rikuro’s, but that was probably due to the fact that it was shipped frozen, as opposed to being freshly baked, which is how we’re used to eating cheesecakes from Uncle Rikuro.

▼ The cake was around 18 centimetres (7 inches) in diameter.

When we cut into the cake, it had a wonderfully smooth, moist feeling, and one very noticeable difference.

▼ No raisins to be seen.

The absence of dried fruit is like a dream come true for raisin-adverse fans of the souffle-style cheesecake. As soon as we took a bite of Aunt Wanda’s, we were hooked on the smooth and fluffy texture, and the gentle sweetness and rich cheese flavour, which we could enjoy to the fullest without any pesky raisins getting in the way.

▼ It was so smooth and delicious, we could easily have eaten half of the entire cake in one go.

Limiting ourselves to a generous quarter of the cake, we demolished it in no time at all, and by the end of it, we felt that although Riku Ojisan’s cake might edge out Aunt Wanda’s in terms of richness, we personally prefer Wanda’s, as it’s lighter and easier to eat.

▼ Plus, no raisins is a total win for us.

So next time you find yourself with a hankering for fluffy Japanese cheesecake, be sure to keep an eye out for Aunt Wanda. She may be lesser-known than the cheesecake uncle that dominates social media, but that’s what makes her even more special.

Reference: Aunt Wanda’s Cheesecake
Photos© SoraNews24
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