Hello, cheesecake lovers! Are you ready to bring your cheesecake recipe to another level? I will only say this: Light as air, fluffy, soufflé texture, moist and rich creamy taste. Do I have your attention? Those are the features of the Japanese cotton cheesecake.
Making a Japanese cotton cheesecake has always been on my dessert list. Why is that? Well, in every video I’ve watched (and I found the perfect cheesecake video), they show how soft and jiggly it is. Therefore, I wanted to make it myself too. Mostly because I was curious if it would really jiggle. Wink.
And what exactly is a Japanese cotton cheesecake? This cake is a type of a chiffon cake, baked with the “bain-marie” method. It originated in Japan and it’s quite different from the “traditional” (creamy, sweet, with a crunchy cookie crust base) cheesecake that we all know.
However, there is no such thing as a Japanese cotton cheesecake in Japan. At least not under this name. What we, outside of Japan, know as Japanese cheesecake, they call it the Soufflé cheesecake. Most of the time they brush a thin layer of apricot jam on top to add some sweetness.
Either way, this cake is something special. The Japanese cotton cheesecake is moist and light, it contains less sugar and less cream cheese than a classic cheesecake. In two words: heavenly good.
A couple of secrets on how to make a perfect Japanese cotton cheesecake
But how to get the jiggly effect? There are two secrets about how to get the cake so fluffy and jiggly. First, you have to separate the eggs and incorporate egg yolks and sweet meringue separately. This brings the structure and air into the cake. Second, “bain-marie” or “water bath” will help your cake to rise like a mega soufflé. Follow these tips and you will see the jiggly effect, too.
Making the cheesecake batter is quite a piece of cake. Most important, you must pay attention to the baking time and your oven’s temperature. Baking temperature plays always an important role. We will bake at three different temperatures (120º C, 150º C and 100º C). Don’t get scared. It is easier as it sounds. Another quick tip; I suggest using the top and bottom heating without the fan.
Last but not least, let’s talk about the baking pan. As you can see, I used a bundt cake pan. To make a classic cake, use a simple round cake form or a springform. The form that I used has a diameter of 16 cm. However, the cake batter was quite a lot. In fact, I used also a springform for another cake (I filled it only halfway up and not 2/3 as it should be).
You can use a bigger baking pan and make only one cake or adjust the amount of ingredients and make less batter. Now let’s bake this delicious Japanese cotton cheesecake! Prepare and measure all the ingredients before you start mixing and baking. Line the baking pans with parchment paper, too.
Ingredients for a Japanese cotton cheesecake (Ø16 cm):
- 60 ml milk or whipping cream
- 150 g cream cheese
- 40 g unsalted butter
- 60 g flour
- 20 g corn starch
- 5 eggs (separated, each 57-60g with shell)
- 100 g sugar
- berries (optional)
First, line your cake pan with parchment paper. You’ll need a round piece for the bottom of the pan and a long strip (wide as the height of your baking pan) for the pan’s sides. If you are using a springform, make the round piece a bit larger (1-2cm) than the actual form size. This will secure the batter from leaking. In case you use a bundt pan, you only need to grease it (before pouring the batter in).
Place a tray filled with warm water (1 cm high) in the oven. This is your “bain-marie”. Preheat the oven to 120º C. Prepare also a small pot, a cup, a medium and a large bowl.
For the cake batter, start with separating the eggs. Put the egg yolks in the cup and the egg whites in the medium bowl. Whisk the egg whites. Once they become foamy and bubbly add the sugar and continue to whisk until you see forming soft peaks. Stop here!
In the small pot, combine milk, butter and cream cheese. On lower heat, whisk until well combined. Then remove from the heat and (while still warm) sift the flour and corn starch in. Whisk until all the flour is well incorporated. Now, whisk in the egg yolks. After 30 seconds of whisking (you should have a slightly thick batter) transfer it to the large bowl.
Adding meringue is an important step. Add one-third of the meringue to the cheese batter at a time. Whisk slowly and gently in order to keep the airy consistency. I used a whisk instead of a spatula because I learned that a whisk simply does a better job. Anyway, try not to over mix it. When you think, it needs one or two more whisks, stop.
Baking method
Quickly grease the parchment paper in your cake pan. Since I used a bundt cake pan, I only greased the pan and dusted it with almond flour. Furthermore, pour the cake batter into the baking form and tap it a couple of times on your kitchen counter, in order to release any air bubbles trapped in the batter.
Place the baking pan on the baking tray with “bain-marie” and bake for 20 minutes at 120º C. This is the first step. Second step: After 20 minutes, raise the temperature to 150º C and bake for 15 minutes. Don’t open the oven door.
Now comes the last and longest step. When the 15 minutes are over, your cake should have risen and had a nice light brown top. At this point, open the oven’s door for 15 seconds, then close it back and lower the temperature to 100º C. Bake for another 40 minutes.
Once the time is over, turn off the oven and leave the cake for another 15 minutes in it. The cake will slowly cool down and consequently, it won’t sink.
Serve this delicious Japanese cotton cheesecake simply as it is. Maybe you can dust the top with some icing sugar. I thought some berries would go great with this cotton cake. I was really surprised and happy about how this cake turned out. It’s definitely a recipe to try.
Enjoy!
