There's something truly special about a Japanese cheesecake. You've probably seen it on social media before, and for good reason. Light, fluffy, soufflé-like in texture, and melts in your mouth. This cheesecake is perfect for a little Sunday baking project.
The cheesecake is baked in a water bath, so it's a good idea to make sure your pan is watertight so no water seeps in. If you're using a springform pan, you can wrap the bottom in aluminum foil just in case.
Ingredients
(6-8 servings, approx. 20 cm cake pan)
200 g cream cheese
50 g butter
100 ml milk
6 eggs (separated into yolks and whites)
120 g sugar
60 g all-purpose flour
20 g cornstarch
Juice and zest of half a lemon
Method
Preheat oven to 200 degrees Celsius (conventional oven)
Grease the sides of a springform pan and line the bottom with baking paper.
Place the cream cheese in a bowl and set it over a water bath. Let the cream cheese melt slowly, and meanwhile, add the egg yolks one at a time, whisking until you have a homogeneous mixture. Then add half of your sugar.
Heat milk and butter in a small saucepan or microwave. Then pour it into your cream cheese mixture and stir together. Add lemon juice and lemon zest.
Now remove the mixture from the water bath and sift in flour and cornstarch and stir together.
In a clean bowl, whisk the egg whites until stiff, adding the remaining sugar.
Gently fold the meringue into the batter - a little at a time to maintain the air in the egg whites.
Pour the mixture into the springform pan. Place the pan on a baking tray in the oven. Pour boiling water into the baking tray so it comes about 3-4 cm up the side of the cake pan.
Bake the cake for 20 minutes at 200 degrees Celsius. Then lower the temperature to 170 degrees Celsius and bake the cake for another 30 minutes approximately. After this, remove the pan from the water bath, and bake the cake for another 30 minutes without the water bath. Then turn off the heat and let the cake rest in the oven for 30 minutes with the oven door slightly ajar.
Now let the cake cool on the counter for 10-15 minutes, and carefully turn it out of the pan. Place it on a wire rack to cool.
This delicious cheesecake, which is very light in flavor on its own, can be served with, for example, macerated strawberries or other berries and a dusting of powdered sugar.
Happy baking! <3