Cotton Soft Japanese Cheesecake

Submitted by Southern Polar Bear

"This is a very soft and light cheesecake, not heavy and dense like New York cheesecakes."

 

• Ready In: 1hr 45mins
• Ingredients: 11
• Yields: 1 8
• Serves: 12

ingredients

• 5 ounces extra finely granulated sugar
• 6 egg whites
• 6 egg yolks
• 1⁄4 teaspoon cream of tartar
• 2 ounces butter
• 9 ounces cream cheese
• 3 fluid ounces fresh milk
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• 2 ounces cake flour or 2 ounces superfine flour
• 1 ounce cornstarch
• 1⁄4 teaspoon salt

directions

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees.
2. Prepare an 8-inch round cake pan by lightly greasing and lining the bottom and sides of it with greaseproof baking paper or parchment paper. Note: You don't want to use a springform pan unless it is water tight because this cake is baked in a water bath.
3. Melt cream cheese, butter and milk over a double boiler.
4. Cool the mixture.
5. Fold in the flour, cornstarch, egg yolks, lemon juice and mix well.
6. Whisk egg whites with cream of tartar until foamy.
7. Add the sugar into the egg white mixture and whisk until soft peaks form.
8. Add the egg white mixture to the cheese mixture.
9. Carefully fold until well blended! Do not overmix or the cheesecake will be dense and heavy.
10. Pour mixture into prepared pan.
11. Bake cheesecake in a water bath for 1 hour and 10 minutes, or until set and golden brown.

Reviews

[Unica C.]

This recipe turned out really good! It was nice and fluffy with just enough sweetness and a slight tang. I did change the recipe a little after reading some of the other reviews. Instead of the lemon juice, I put in about 2 tablespoons of sour cream which I melted along with the cream cheese mixture in a sauce pan on low heat mixing every once in a while. I also added about a teaspoon of vanilla extract to the cooled mixture before sifting the salt, cornstarch, and cake flour in. I didn't use cream of tartar in my egg whites but it still whipped up just fine. I folded in the egg white mixture one third at a time into the cream cheese mixture, gently folding it just until it was one cohesive mixture. Since my pan was not watertight, I wrapped the bottom of my pan in a few layers of tinfoil before putting in the mixture to ensure that no water seeped in. I then sifted the batter into a 9" springform pan to ensure that no lumps made it into the final product. At the one hour and ten minute mark my cheesecake was nice and golden so I inserted a toothpick to check if it was done and it was. I immediately removed the cake from the water bath and pan and waited for it to cool before digging in. Yum!

 

[kellychris]

This is WONDERFUL!! It is like a cheesecake with an angelfood cake texture - but softer. It's kinda like eating a "dense cloud". And it's not too sweet, but just sweet enough. Pure cheesecake heaven!! This will be made many times over at my house and on special occasions. Thanks so much!! Made for Unrated Asian tag of 2009.

 

[lucasbrennan93]

The suggested cook time is 1 hour and 45 minutes. I realize that everyone's ovens are differnt. After 2 hours in the oven, the middle was still very gooey.

 

[Chef Joy E]

I just made the cake - it's in the oven. I prepared an 8" cake pan, and had much too much batter. Transferred to a 9" pan, and it almost overflowed - I'm afraid I'm going to have a mess in the oven. Could the 8" be a typo or mistake - or - what could I have done wrong?

 

[Rinshinomori]

I love Japanese cheesecake and although I've tried many, many recipes both in English language and in Japanese, I still have not found one that I would say "this is it!" None of these are quite Japanese cheesecake and I really don't know what it is but if you ever had a Japanese cheesecake in Japan you would always remember it and judge all others by the standard. This one turned out a bit too eggy and again, the strong cream cheese taste is missing. However, this cake is a fine cake that's worthy of making and serving to your family and friends. Thank you for posting. Made for Asian forum's unrated Asian recipe tag.