Japanese Cheesecake is an incredibly popular and beloved dessert. It is a light, fluffy, and creamy cake that has become a favorite for many.
Brief History and Origin
The history and origin of Japanese Cheesecake date back to the early 20th century. It was created by a pastry chef named Yoshibumi Nakamura in 1918. He used cream cheese and egg whites to make a light, fluffy, and creamy cake. Since then, the recipe has evolved with different variations and flavors, but the basic components remain the same.
Popular variations
Here are a few ways you can change this basic recipe to adjust it to your liking:
- Japanese Cheesecake with miso caramel: The traditional Japanese cake is little and fluffy, but the cake gets a new texture and flavor with miso caramel. The Miso caramel gives it a salty yet sweet topping that is soaked into the cake further.
- Matcha Cheesecake: The matcha-flavored Japanese Cheesecake has notes of sweetness and bitterness from the matcha. We love the green color, and the souffle-styled cake has melted in a mouth texture.
- Chocolate Japanese Cheesecake: This spongy and creamy delicious cake has a light and airy texture. And when made with just a few simple ingredients, the Chocolate Cotton Cheesecake cake is the perfect combination of chocolate and sweetness.
- Strawberry Marble Japanese Cheesecake: The Japanese Cheesecake has the same fluffy texture, but the taste is enhanced with tangy yet sweet strawberry puree swirls. It is simple yet so fancy!
- Earl Grey Japanese Cheesecake Topped with a Tangy Lemon Cream: Earl Grey is a strong flavor and works perfectly in Japanese Cheesecake. You will sense the fragrance of Earl grey and vanilla in the cake. Moreover, the tangy lemon cream topping cuts through the soft cake and Earl Grey’s strong flavor. It is a well-balanced cake.
Ingredients
- 60 g Sugar divided into 2x30g portions
- 120 g cream cheese
- 3 eggs separated into egg yolks and egg whites
- 60 ml milk
- 25 g flour
- 15 g corn starch
- 30 g butter
- 1/4 tsp cream of tartar you can substitute with a tiny bit of lemon juice or white vinegar, the acidity helps stabilise the egg whites
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 200°C
- In a bowl, mix butter and 1st portion of sugar. Gradually, add the cream cheese and egg yolks one by one and mix. Sift in corn starch and flour, mix until it’s combined then add the milk and mix until there are no more clumps
- In a separate bowl add the egg whites and cream of tartar, beat while gradually adding sugar until you get stiff peaks – this takes about 5 mins using a mixer on high speed
- Sift the egg yolk mixture into the egg white mixture then gently fold the two mixtures together until well combined
- Line your pan with baking paper at the bottom and grease the sides using butter
- Pour batter into pan (I wouldn’t advise using a springform pan, but if you must, make sure to carefully wrap the bottom with aluminium so that the water doesn’t come in)
- Prepare a water bath by filling a larger pan with hot water about 1/3 of the volume then place the cheesecake pan inside and transfer to the oven
- Bake for 15 minutes at 200°C, then 30 minutes at 140°C then switch off the oven and leave it in there for another 30 minutes.
- The cheesecake should now be cool enough to be easily removed from the pan
