Japanese Cotton Cheesecake
This is one of those cakes that you will fall in love with the moment it is out of the oven, the cake is really easy to bake, and the texture itself is so fun, it’s not the texture of the traditional cheesecake but it’s like eating a cloud, so amazing and super soft. You will need some cream cheese and unsalted butter and make sure the ingredients are at room temperature then separate the eggs and the whites.
The first thing you will, do is get your oven preheated to 325 degrees Fahrenheit then into a saucepan or double boiler add milk, cream cheese, and butter over low heat cook it while stirring and mixing the time slowly until everything melts. You are not looking for the mixture to boil or cook, you are looking for everything to melt into a smooth mixture.
Once it’s melted and nice, pour the mixture into a jar, set it aside, and let it cool. In a clean bowl, add your egg whites and cream of tartar then use a hand mixer to beat them until they become nice and frothy once its frothy start adding in the sugar a little bit at a time until the egg whites become stiff, this will take about ten minutes so just be patient with everything.
In another bowl, add the egg yolks and whisk them until light and pale and fluffy this will take about five minutes. To the beaten egg whites, add cornstarch and make sure the cornstarch is softened, really nice and smooth then add lemon juice, and mix until really nice and combined. Add the melted cream cheese mixture then again mix until it is thoroughly combined.
Slowly, a little at a time you will start adding the egg whites while folding them in and be careful not to deflate the egg whites otherwise you will lose the texture of what this cake is known for. You will need a 9-inch pan put a piece of parchment paper on the inside and bottom then spread it liberally with a nonstick spray or with salted butter.
Make sure every surface of the inside is well-oiled or buttered otherwise the cake will stick in the pan and it’s not going to rise well. You will then place the cake tin on a bigger pan because you will bake this cake in a water bath. Pour the batter in the cake then bring some water to a simmer and pour the water on the bigger pan to come about halfway up the sides of the baking pan.
Bake the cake for an hour and ten minutes at 325 Fahrenheit and you don’t want to open the door of the oven for at least the first 45 minutes or else the top of the cake will fall. After baking, turn the oven off and let the cake sit in the oven for an additional hour then remove from the oven and let it cool to room temperature. This is a deliciously light and airy cake that is so good it’s addictive.
Ingredients;
- 8 oz of Cream Cheese, softened at room temperature
- 2 Tbsp of Unsalted Butter softened at room temperature
- 6 Eggs, separated
- 1/2 cup of Whole Milk
- 5 Tbsp of Cornstarch sifted
- 1-1/2 Tbsp of Lemon Juice
- 2/3 cup of Granulated Sugar, separated
- 1/2 tsp of Salt
- 1/2 tsp of Cream of Tartar
Instructions;
- Preheat your oven to 325 degrees. Lay the bottom of a 9” Springform pan with some parchment paper, then spray very well with some non-stick spray or brush it liberally with some vegetable shortening. Wrap the outside of the pan with a couple of layers of aluminium foil and set aside.
- In a small saucepan add the cream cheese, milk, and butter and on very low heat until the mixture is smooth and creamy making sure to whisk the whole time. Pour mixture into a bowl and allow it to cool.
- In the bowl of a standing mixer fitted with a whisk attachment, whisk the egg yolks and 1/3 cup of sugar until thick and pale (this takes a few minutes so be patient) add the cornstarch, lemon juice, and salt and mix until combined.
- Pour in the cooled cream cheese mixture and mix until thoroughly combined, set aside.
- In a separate clean bowl, using a handheld electric whisk, whisk the egg whites and cream of tartar until frothy, then while whisking, slowly add the remaining 1/3 cup of sugar and whisk until stiff peaks form (once again, this takes some time so patience is key).
- A little at a time, fold in the egg whites into the cream cheese and egg yolk mixture as gently as possible, pour the mixture into the prepared pan, then put that pan in a roasting pan and pour some hot water around the sides of the pan until it reaches halfway up.
- Bake the cake for 1 hour and 10 minutes making sure not to open the oven door for the first 45 minutes. If you feel like the top is browning too quickly, loosely cover it with some aluminum foil while it continues to bake.
- Turn the oven off and leave the cake in the oven for an additional hour then carefully remove from the oven, take the pan out of the water bath and allow it to cool completely.
- Once it has completely cooled, remove the sides of the springform pan, place it on a plate, and serve right away!