Japan’s best-selling custard apple pie with 250,000 sold monthly features 144 layers of flaky crust

▲ Custard apple pie with diced apples and custard filling enclosed in a crispy crust.

Reported and photographed by Huang Shiyuan / Taipei

Following the success of BAKE CHEESE TART and ZAKUZAKU stick-shaped cream puffs, BAKE Inc. has introduced another Japanese baked-to-order custard apple pie specialty store, “RAPL Pomp Ringo,” to Taiwan. This custard apple pie, with its crispy crust enclosing diced apples and custard filling, offers a delightful combination of flaky crust, sweet apples, and rich, creamy custard. It achieved remarkable success in Japan, selling 250,000 units per month.


▲ RAPL Pomp Ringo is committed to achieving an ultra-crispy crust with 144 layers.

The three key features of RAPL Pomp Ringo are its 144-layer flaky crust, carefully selected Aomori apples with leaves intact, domestically grown apple cubes, and a fresh milk custard filling.

144-Layer Flaky Crust:To achieve an ultra-crispy texture, the brand uses carefully selected flour mixed with fresh Hokkaido butter. The homemade crust is layered 144 times to create a fluffy height and delicate texture. Additionally, the crust undergoes an initial bake, is then filled with custard, and baked a second time to enhance its crispiness.

Carefully Selected Aomori Apples with Leaves Intact and Domestically Grown Apple Cubes:The pie uses in-season apples harvested from Aomori Prefecture and other regions of Japan, cultivated using the “leaves-intact” method. These apples are cut into 2 cm cubes for the filling. Apples grown with their leaves retained undergo more photosynthesis, allowing the leaves to produce and store more nutrients in the fruit, resulting in sweeter, juicier flesh with higher sugar content.

Fresh Milk Custard Filling:To ensure freshness, the custard filling is made from pure fresh milk supplied by Fresh Milk Workshop. The crust is baked daily in-store, and the custard is added afterward in a “post-fill” process, allowing the custard to gently envelop the apples.


▲ The custard apple pie is brushed with an additional layer of syrup on the crust.

BAKE Inc. has previously successfully launched dessert brands such as BAKE CHEESE TART and ZAKUZAKU stick-shaped cream puffs. The DNA of RAPL Pomp Ringo is inspired by the delicious apple pies of the long-established KINOTOYA bakery in Hokkaido. After 30 years of continuous refinement and development, the seventh-generation apple pie made its debut in 2016 under the name RINGO at Tokyo’s Ikebukuro location.

In Taiwan, RAPL Pomp Ringo sells each custard apple pie for NT$119, or four pies (boxed) for NT$449, with a limit of four pies per person.

Address: 1F, A8 Pavilion, Shin Kong Mitsukoshi Xinyi New World, Taipei