Japanese Cotton Cheesecake

Japanese cotton cheesecake is really a souffle cake: an airy, light sponge with cream cheese, baked in a water bath at 160°C, left to rest for an hour in the turned-off oven, and then matured in the fridge for at least four hours. The main secret is whipping the egg whites only to soft peaks. It takes a long time to make, but the result is worth it.

Japanese "Cotton" Cheesecake - Sponge Cake

An airy Japanese cotton cheesecake souffle made with cream cheese, baked in a water bath at 160°C.

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Prep Time 30 minutes mins

Cook Time 1 hour hr 30 minutes mins

Chilling 5 hours hrs

Total Time 7 hours hrs

Servings: 10 servings

Course: Cakes

Cuisine: Home cooking

Ingredients Method

Ingredients

  

• 250 g cream cheese 70% fat, closest is Philadelphia
• 50 g butter room temperature
• 6 eggs
• 7 tbsp sugar
• 100 ml milk
• 20 g cornstarch
• 60 g flour
• 1 tbsp lemon juice

Method

 

1. Turn on the oven and place a tray with 2-3 cm of water at the very bottom - the cheesecake needs to bake in high humidity. Line the pan: parchment on the bottom, parchment around the sides, and three to four layers of foil around the base and up to the middle.
2. Separate the eggs. Whip the whites, gradually adding sugar, ONLY to soft peaks - to a tail that droops from the whisk and moves. This is exactly what gives you a tall, successful cheesecake.
   
3. In another bowl, whip the yolks into a fluffy mixture, add the cream cheese and whip again, then add the room-temperature butter and half the milk. Turn off the mixer, sift in the flour and cornstarch, add the second half of the milk and the lemon juice, and fold in gently with a spatula.
4. Fold part of the whipped whites into the cheese mixture to lighten it, then transfer the mixture to the rest of the whites and fold gently again with a spatula.
   
5. Pour the mixture into the pan and set it in the preheated oven in the water bath. Bake for 30 minutes at 160°C, then turn off the oven and leave the cheesecake inside for another hour.
6. Remove the cheesecake, take off the pan and parchment, and let it mature in the fridge for at least 4 hours, ideally overnight.
   
7. The finished cheesecake is a delicate, airy, light cream-cheese sponge. Enjoy!
   

Tips

• Whip the egg whites strictly to soft peaks: over-whipped whites cause cracking and sinking.
• The ideal pan size is 18-20 cm: in a larger 24 cm pan, the cheesecake turns out short.
• If the pan doesn't fit in the water bath tray, set it on a rack over the water bath inside the oven instead; baking time then increases to about 45 minutes, done in two stages.