Japanese Cotton Cheesecake Recipe: So Light and Airy

Japanese Cotton Cheesecake is light, fluffy and with a creamy texture as compared to the non-bake one. The cheese flavour is not overpowering and the sweetness is just right. This recipe is adapted from various recipes with some modifications. It’s actually a very simple recipe to do but the top tends to crack easily. The important things to note are getting the right low oven temperature, the length of baking and cooling time. The water bath helps to keep the cake moist during the baking. Don’t be disappointed if the top cracks, it will still taste great.

The Baking Technique

The magic of a Japanese cotton cheesecake relies heavily on technique rather than complex ingredients.

1. Meringue Base: Bakers separate the eggs and whip the egg whites into a precise medium-soft peak meringue.
2. Gentle Folding: Cream cheese, butter, milk, sugar, and a small amount of cake flour are melted down, mixed with the egg yolks, and then gently folded into the whipped whites to keep the air trapped.
3. Bain-Marie (Water Bath): The batter is baked inside a pan nested within a larger tray of hot water. This distributes the heat evenly and keeps the baking environment moist.
4. Slow Cooling: The cake is cooled down gradually inside a turned-off oven with the door cracked open to prevent it from cracking or suddenly deflating.

To make this delightful Japanese Cheesecake, click on the video tutorial and print out the recipe below.

YouTube link: https://youtu.be/Io0JxXh9Yqg

Print Pin

Japanese Cotton Cheesecake

Course Cakes

Cuisine Japanese

Author Shiokman Eddie

Ingredients

• 250 g cream cheese
• 40 g unsalted butter
• 70 g caster sugar
• 120 ml full cream milk
• 6 eggs separated
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/4 tsp cream of tartar
• 70 g caster sugar
• 2 tsp lemon zest
• 70 g cake flour
• 20 g corn flour
• 1/2 tsp salt

Instructions

• Add cream cheese in a bowl over a double boiler and soften it
• Add butter and slowly mix until it melts
• Add 70g caster sugar and mix well until it dissolves
• Remove from the stove and add 120 ml full cream milk
• Mix well and then cool the cheese cream mixture
• Add egg yolks and vanilla extract into the cheese cream mixture and whisk thoroughly
• Add lemon zest to cheese egg mixture and mix well
• Sieve cake flour, corn flour and salt together
• Add flour mixture a little at a time and mix well
• Sieve mixture into a bowl to ensure no lumps
• Beat egg whites in a separate bowl, add cream of tartar and 70g caster sugar a little at a time and mix well
• Beat the egg whites until soft and fluffy
• Add meringue one third at a time into cheese cream mixture and fold gently into the mixture
• Grease a 9 inch round pan and line the base with parchment paper
• Slowly pour cake mixture into the greased pan
• Gently tap the pan to release any trapped bubbles
• Place cake pan inside a larger pan, filled with hot water (with a piece of cloth below) up to 1 inch water level
• Bake in a pre-heated oven at 150C for 1 hour and 15 mins
• If cake starts to turn brown, cover with aluminium foil
• After 1 hour and 15 mins, switch off the oven and leave cake inside for another 45 mins
• Leave the oven door slightly ajar for the cake to cool down slowly in the oven
• Take the cake out from the oven and unmold it onto a wire rack to cool down
• Refrigerate cake for at least 4 hours before serving

Notes

• Place water bath with cake pan on the lowest rack of the oven