Japan’s king of carrot cake is a baker from York, Pa.
In December 1984, York, Pa., native Kyle Sexton gathered his belongings and left his life and career as a photo finisher in New York City behind.
The then-27-year-old boarded his first plane ever with little apart from $300, a small collection of books, and his love for Japanese food, language, and customs. He knew, even then, he wouldn’t look back. But he didn’t know he’d wind up becoming one of Tokyo’s most celebrated American-style bakers.
“My only goal was to live [in Tokyo]. I didn’t think about what I was going to do for work, or any of that … When I moved, I was just happy to be here,” Sexton said.
For more than three decades, Sexton, 67, has woken up at 6 a.m. to make the four baked goods that he sells at his Tokyo bakery, Kyle’s Good Finds: cheesecake, banana bread, brownies, and his famous carrot cake.
The four items — and a slew of other seasonal goods like zucchini bread, applesauce spice cake, and cherry pie — are at the heart of the Black-owned and family-operated bakery in the retro Nakano City neighborhood.
Since opening the bakery on March 8, 1992, Sexton’s pastries have been a hit with Japanese critics and international tourists alike. His carrot cake, though, has remained the star of the menu. “I only bake as much as I want to bake, and I work at my own pace. But people come here for the carrot cake, and that’s what I make the most,” he said.
When it comes to the recipe, Sexton is somewhat of a traditionalist. He uses the same core ingredients listed in dozens of recipe books: flour, sugar, eggs, freshly grated carrots, spices.
“When the Japanese press interviews me, they ask me the same question: ‘How do you make your carrot cake?’ And I always tell them, ‘It’s no different,’” Sexton said. “The only difference is I grind my own spices, and I suppose it’s a stronger taste. The cinnamon is larger than the cinnamon that you will find in a supermarket,” he said.
Once baked, the cake is topped with lemon-flavored cream cheese frosting — a simple, yet mouthwatering addition that makes the trip to Nakano that much sweeter. Thanks to a handful of culinary awards and a surge of social media buzz, Sexton’s bakery is now a must-stop for travelers who make the pilgrimage to the international food city.
The William Penn Senior High School grad has often ventured back to York over the years to attend family reunions. His fondest memories of home include spending time with his 45 first cousins, a number that has now expanded to 53. He didn’t spend much time in Philly growing up, but visited often when his daughter Safia attended UPenn.
Long before Sexton opened the doors to Kyle’s Good Finds, he worked as a photo finisher across New York, Pennsylvania, and Rhode Island. It wasn’t until he moved to New York that his interest in Japanese culture became an “obsession.”
After trying his first sushi in 1978, he was hooked. He began studying the language and Japanese customs, and soon formed a small circle of friends in New York, who later connected Sexton to friends they had back home in Japan.
Like many Americans who venture abroad, he first worked as an English teacher at a Japanese middle school. He turned to baking as a means to unwind after a workday.
A mix of cookbooks and several rounds of trial and error later, he perfected his carrot cake recipe and started bringing the spiced treat to his friends’ parties. They convinced him to make it a business.
After Sexton taught for seven years, three of his friends gifted him $10,000 each, and a fourth found the building that would later house Kyle’s Good Finds. Sexton and his wife, Shimizu Hikage, have run the bakery since.
“I never thought it was anything special,” Sexton said. “They seem to think it’s something special, but I didn’t know what all the hoopla was about. Before I was on the internet, I was always in the Japanese press.”
Sexton married Hikage in 1986 and they have four children: Kyle II, Elena, Xavier, and Safia. Xavier Sexton joined the business three years ago. The 23-year-old assists Sexton, who intends to pass the business to his youngest child.
But a retirement doesn’t seem too appealing to the longtime baker. “It’s just what I love to do,” Sexton said. “The shop is my sanctuary.”
– The Philadelphia Inquirer
