Japanese Cheesecake Recipe

Love cheesecake, but hate feeling the guilt of eating heavy, regular cheesecake? Then this is the recipe for you!

Light, fluffy melt-in-your-mouth cake with all the goodness of cheesecake, but without the heaviness

> Origin: Japanese
> Cost: Moderate - Expensive (depending on your budget)
> Ease: Moderate to Difficult

 I've always loved Japanese cheesecake. Although I love western-style cheesecake a lot, I often find that they are too heavy and leave me feeling bloated and guilty. Japanese cheesecake really is a LOT lighter. It's texture is somewhat like a spongecake-- very light, fluffy, and the best part is... it still tastes like regular cheesecake! It's great when you just want a snack and you can cut yourself a slice and munch on it :) ! However, like all cheesecakes, Japanese cheesecakes are pretty delicate and because this isn't as heavy as a regular cheesecake, there needs to be a lot of moisture when baking. I've tried this recipe twice. The first time, I was using a springform pan and immerse it in water... without wrapping it in tin foil. BAD IDEA. The bottom came out very soggy and some of the batter leaked, though it still tasted great. The second time, I filled a pan full of water and placed it on a rack beneath the cheesecake while it baked, but the result was too dry and the top of the cheesecake cracked. Basic cake making skills would definitely be an asset :) 

Now this recipe... was modified from another site and pasted into a Word document for easy printing... I don't have the site bookmarked or written down, so if you recognize the recipe from somewhere, just leave the site in the comments so I can give them credit for a great recipe! :)

Ingredients:

• 7 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature
• 1/4 cups whole milk
• 1/2 cup caster sugar (I personally used regular, granulated sugar)
• 3 eggs, separated
• 1/4 cup cornstarch
• 2 tbsp lemon juice (If you want it to be less tangy, just use 1 tbsp)
• 1/2 tspn cream of tartar (This is to help your whipped egg whites keep its form, you don't really HAVE to use it, just be careful with them...)
• 2.5 cups of boiling water

Methods:

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and spray your cake pan with cooking spray. If you're afraid of it sticking, you can also line your pan with baking paper before spraying.
2. Beat the cream cheese with milk (preferrably at room temperature) to soften and mix. Add half the sugar, the egg yolks, the cornstarch, and lemon juice. Beat until smooth. It should appear a pale yellow.
3. Beat on high speed or whisk the egg whites in a separate bowl until they become foamy. Then add the rest of the sugar and the cream of tartar (if you're using it), and continue to beat/whisk on high speed until they form peaks/little mountains that stay in place, around 8-10 minutes. (If possible, use an electric mixer, unless you have super arms! It'll take longer if you're whisking by hand)
4.  Gradually fold beaten egg whites into the pale yellow mixture, stirring gently. For instructions on folding, visit my post on Tiramisu!
5. Carefully pour the mixture into your cake pan and smooth the surface gently. Place the cake pan into a larger roasting pan and place it on the lower-mid rack of the oven. (Note: I would highly suggest covering the cake pan well with foil, such that water cannot seep through!) 
6. Pour the boiling water into the roasting pan. The water level should reach halfway up the side of the cake pan. Add more water so that it reaches that level if necessary. 
7. Bake 35-40 minutes or until an inserted toothpick comes out relatively clean. If you want the cake more condensed and level, when it cools a little (after you take it out), use a clean towel and press down on the top of the cake gently to compress it and keep it level. 
8. Optional: To obtain a heart shaped cake, you can either use a heart-shaped pan, or like me, you can use a bigger pan so that the cake comes out flatter and use a cookie cutter to cut out heart shapes or any other shape you want! Have fun with the cake! :)