Japanese cheesecake
Light, fluffy and jiggly Japanese cheesecake is the perfect marriage between a cheesecake and a sponge cake. This wonderful dessert is mildly sweet with a slight tang and a melt-in-your-mouth texture.
Servings: 6 Slices
Equipment
- 7” Springform Cake Pan
Ingredients
- 6 oz cream cheese 170 g
- 1 oz unsalted butter 28 g
- 2 oz whole milk 56 g
- 1 large egg yolk
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- ¼ cup cake flour 33 g
- ⅛ tsp kosher salt
- 6 tbsp granulated sugar 74 g, divided
- 3 large egg white ~100 g
- 1 teaspoon lemon juice
- Zest of 1 orange
Instructions
- Butter and line both the bottom and the side of a 7” springform pan with parchment paper. For the side, cut the parchment paper so it extends beyond the height of the pan (see process photo within post for visual).
- Microwave cream cheese, butter, and milk for 1 minute. Whisk until smooth.
- Beat the egg yolk in another bowl and slowly drizzle in the cream cheese mixture into the beaten egg yolk while whisking. Once you’ve beaten half of the cream cheese mixture into the egg yolk, you can add the egg mixture back into the other half of the cream cheese mixture and beat to combine.
- Add vanilla, salt, half the sugar, and sift the cake flour into the egg mixture. Whisk until smooth and pour over a fine-mesh sieve to get rid of any lumps. Stir the orange zest into the strained batter.
- Preheat the oven to 400°F and boil water in a pot or tea kettle on the stove top.
- Beat egg whites in the stand mixer bowl with the whisk attachment on medium speed until frothy, slowly stream in the remaining sugar, halfway through, add 1 teaspoon of lemon juice, continue streaming in the rest of the sugar and beat until medium peak.
- Fold the meringue into the cheesecake batter, a quarter at a time until finished and thoroughly combined.
- Pour cheesecake batter into the prepared cake pan and place into a larger non-springform cake pan (I use an 8” cake pan). Then place the whole thing in a roasting pan or any larger pan that can act as a water bath (see process photo within the post for visual).
- Pour boiling water into the roasting pan to create a water bath. Carefully transfer the whole thing into the oven. Bake on the middle rack.
- Immediately lower the oven temperature to 350°F and bake for 15 minutes. Lower the oven temperature again to 300°F and bake for 60 minutes. Then increase the oven temperature to 350°F and bake for another 15 minutes. Turn off the oven and let the cheesecake cool in the oven for 1 hour with the oven door cracked open.
- Remove cheesecake from the oven and let cool completely before unmolding and serving.
Notes
- Don’t use foil to wrap your springform pan because water can still leak into the pan and ruin your cheesecake. I’ve experienced this before while baking a regular cheesecake and hence I’m recommending using a second cake pan between the springform pan and the water bath.
- Cool slowly - allow the cheesecake to cool inside the oven will prevent it from shrinking or collapsing which can happen when it is cooled too quickly.
- Cool completely or chill before serving - this cheesecake is best when served chilled in my opinion. Chilling it allows all the flavors to develop and brings out the tanginess of the cream cheese.
- Use a baine-marie (water bath) - make sure you use a water bath in this recipe. The purpose of the water bath is to regulate the temperature around the cheesecake and allow it to bake gently, preventing cracks from forming.
- If you don’t have a springform pan - use a regular cake pan but also line it with 2 pieces of long parchment paper so you can use them as handles to lift the cake out later. If using a regular cake pan, you can place it directly in the water bath.
Nutrition
Serving: 82G | Calories: 213kcal
