A few weeks back I received an Instragram message from an account with videos showing a knife being deftly plunged into almighty cheesecakes and photos of these cloud-like desserts set upon a rustic wooden counter, and greaseproof paper – they lured me in, they caught my attention.

This was a ‘Basque Burnt cheesecake’ and the account belonged to @kikodevon, something I’d personally never tried but being a fan of cheesecakes of all shapes and sizes, getting a message that invited me over to learn more about what Kiko is and how they created these almighty slabs of creamy wonder, was an absolute treat.

Thankfully my circumstances put me in a position where I could travel over to Totnes on the only day that they are at The Old Bakehouse, a pop-up space which lets them serve and sell these terrific cheesecakes to visitors on the busiest day of the week. Friday is market day and the day Totnes erupts into a hive of street food vendors, traders filled with locals, tourists and anyone else who might find themselves caught in the energy that swirls through the narrow streets like a brisk current in a rock pool.

We met with Julian, one of the founders of Kiko. Between himself and John, two lifelong friends with a passion for food and epicurean joy (I’m sorry but I am absolutely stealing the notion of epicurean joy), they’ve built the beginnings of a business that centres around their mascot Kiko, a traveller who embodies the search for that epicurean joy and delight from the places he visits that I think all foodies are searching for.

Getting to where they are today has taken a fair amount of work in the refining of the recipe, with tweaking, adjusting and experimenting to find the perfect balance. Julian’s passion for his product was palpable, infectious even and just spending time talking and watching the reactions of visitors to their space was evident enough to show how well received these cheesecakes are by those who pop through, often by intention because they saw it on Instagram, or by curiosity through the bright orange ‘A’ board that sits on the street.

Julien explains that the cheesecakes are made from a blend of cream cheeses and exceptionally fresh eggs. He’s particular about the quality of the ingredients as he knows how important they are into getting a consistent and high quality product. Each cheesecake is slightly different and the timing will then dictate the caramelisation of the top (no it’s not chocolate!) as a good burnt Basque Cheesecake takes some of the flavour from that caramelisation, the crust if you will.

The first thing that struck me was the creaminess of the cheesecake, the consistency was absolutely spot-on for my personal taste, and the flavours were so very well balanced. It wasn’t too sweet, and I swear there was lemon in there too? No lemon. The citrus notes comes from the use of soured curds which elevate the cake without overbearing the other delicate notes.

The future for Kiko seems bright. The popularity of the cakes was hard to ignore, just by the reactions from the visitors which were overhelmingly positive to, it seemed like the right chord had been struck with Totnesians and this epic dessert. You’ll find a friendly face at Kiko too, it was a pleasure talking to Julian and listening to his and John’s journey with Kiko and these stunning cheesecakes.

We came away with two slices to take home even though he gave us a couple of slices to try – deftly carried in a bag but the pro-cheesecake lovers will make sure they bring their own containers as one lady did as we were chatting to Julian.

At the moment the only way to experience a Kiko Cheesecake is by visiting their space at The Old Bakehouse on Fridays, from 9:00am. But there can be flexibility with collection and it’s worth visiting their website for more information. The Old Bakehouse is on South Street, the nearest car park is Heath Nursery Car Park – the machine is cash only or you can pay online with RingGo app which was much easier.

https://www.kikodevon.com/

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