Eating a Cloud: Japanese Cheesecake Recipe

I can hear your disbelief. Is it really that fluffy? The answer is yes. My dad has been bringing Japanese cheesecakes back from Japan for years and whenever we spotted them at the Asian grocery store we throw about 100, give or take, into our carts.

Clearly, I'm kidding, although I wish it were true. We were only allowed to buy one each, which was never quite enough to satisfy. But now, with this recipe, I have an entire cake to enjoy. Since the hardest part of this is waiting for it to cool to eat, it's entirely possible to make multiple and just go crazy. I'm not saying you should, but you already have the ingredients - so why not?

Japanese Cheesecake Recipe

• Prep Time:30 mins
• Cook Time:6 hrs 10 mins
• Total Time:6 hrs 40 mins
• Servings:8
• Hard

Ingredients

• 8 ounces cream cheese room temperature
• 1/2 cup milk
• 5 eggs room temperature
• 1/4 teaspoon cream tartar
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/4 cup unsalted butter room temperature
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 2 tablespoon cornstarch

• Step 1

  Preheat the oven to 315°F and make a water bath by taking a large baking pan and filling it halfway with water. Put the water bath in the oven.

• Step 2

  Separate the eggs and place the yolks aside for now.

  

• Step 3

  Beat egg whites until foamy, then add cream of tartar.

  

• Step 4

  Continue beating eggs until they start to thicken. Add 1/4 cup of sugar gradually.

  

• Step 5

  Continue beating egg whites until it reaches at least a soft peaks stage, when the peaks will form momentarily and then collapse back down.

  

• Step 6

  Set aside the egg whites, and in a separate bowl mix together the cream cheese and milk until smooth.

  

• Step 7

  Add butter, the remaining 1/4 cup sugar and lemon juice and beat together.

  

• Step 8

  Add flour and cornstarch and beat together

  

• Step 9

  Add egg yolks to the batter and beat together until smooth.

  

• Step 10

  Take the beaten egg whites and slowly and carefully, a bit at a time using a rubber spatula, fold them into the batter. Mix well so that it is all incorporated.

  

• Step 11

  Line a cake pan well with foil and pour batter into the pan.

  

• Step 12

  Lift and drop the pan a few times to get rid of any air bubbles and then place into the water bath in the oven.

  

• Step 13

  Bake for 70 minutes, or until an inserted toothpick comes out clean. Let it chill in the oven for about an hour and then place it into the fridge to chill for another 3-4 hours.

  

Don't let your family put anything on top of your cheesecake while it's in the fridge because it might ruin what otherwise would have been a very aesthetically pleasing dessert. Also, speaking from experience, don't let your brother eat the entire thing without getting to enjoy your own masterpiece. Although, it's hard to get mad at him because this cake does taste like heaven. Just make sure to save a slice for yourself.