Oh-so-cotton-soft Japanese cheesecake

For those of you who are unfamiliar with this version of a cheesecake, it is soft and fluffy – almost like a chiffon cake but creamier. It’s a bit more labour intensive than most other cheesecakes I have made and I think I could improve on the presentation and taste, perhaps a touch of lemon juice next time. If you fancy trying a cheesecake which is lighter than the normal ones, do give this recipe a go!

A slice of fluffy soft cheesecake

What you’ll need 

• 250g cream cheese
• 250ml milk
• 60g unsalted butter, softened at room temperature
• 6 large egg yolks
• 6 large egg whites
• 50g plain flour
• 30g cornflour
• 1/4 tsp cream of tartar
• 130g caster sugar  
• To make your cheesecake

1. Sieve the plain flour and cornflour together.
2. Preheat the oven to 150°C.
3. Melt the cream cheese, butter, and milk together in a bowl set over a medium saucepan of boiling water, until there are no lumps. Set aside to cool.
4. In a separate bowl, add the cream of tartar to the egg whites, and whisk until foamy. Add the sugar, and whisk until you get “soft peaks” which should take about 3 minutes with an electric mixer.
5. Returning to the cooled cream mixture: mix in the egg yolks then gently fold in the sieved plain flour and cornflour, a small amount at a time. Make sure there are no flour lumps.
6. Add the cream-flour mixture to the egg white mixture bit by bit. Mix together very gently, to not lose the “airiness”.
7. Line the sides and base of a 23in baking tin with grease-proof/baking paper and wrap the outside of the baking tin with kitchen foil to prevent water from seeping in. Pour in the combined mixture.
8. Put the baking tin into a large roasting dish and fill with hot water until about half-way up the baking tin.
9. Place the baking tin and roasting dish into the oven and bake for 1 hour.
10. To cool, leave the cake in the oven with the door ajar for 10 minutes before you tip the cake out on to a wire rack.
11. Leave in the fridge overnight before serving cold.

 

 

 

Cooling on the wire rack

Recipe adapted from Diana’s Desserts

Tip: I read somewhere that sifting the two flours together a few times will contribute to a lighter cake. I did this five times.