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I did it! I finally did it… I made a Japanese cheesecake. A must try variation on a baked cheesecake recipe. No crust, no fuss—baked fluffy deliciousness.
This unique dessert is a mix of cheesecake and angel food cake. The egg whites give it a light and springy texture. The cream cheese adds that signature cheesecakey-ness.
By mixing what is essentially meringue with a cream cheese cake batter—you get an awesome fluffy end result. Make sure not to over-mix and deflate the batter.
Top cake with sifted powdered sugar, if you are fancy use a stencil! See this technique. To be traditional, glaze top with apricot jam. You could also brand the top if you are into that kinda thing. I mean I would be if I had a brand, but ya know… That’s just not a standard kitchen tool.
You can serve with fresh fruit and whipped cream. Cheesecake tastes best after refrigerating OVERNIGHT. I know waiting sucks, especially for cheesecake. ALL cheesecakes taste better after being chilled overnight. Truth hurts!
Japanese Cheesecakes
Ingredients
- 8 oz cream cheese softened
- 6 egg yolks
- ⅓ cup heavy cream
- ¼ cup sugar
- 3 tbsp butter soft
- 1 tbsp lemon juice
- 1 tbsp lemon zest
- ⅓ cup flour
- 2 tbsp cornstarch
- Powdered sugar for dusting
Meringue
- ¼ cup sugar
- ¼ tsp cream of tartar
- 6 egg whites
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
- Grease and line bottom of two 6 x 2 round pans with parchment paper.
- Whisk butter and cream cheese in a bowl over a hot water bath.
- Add in egg yolks, ¼ cup sugar, lemon juice and zest. Mix well.
- Remove from the water bath and sift in flour and cornstarch. Mix until all incorporated.
MERINGUE
- In a mixer bowl with whisk attachment, whip egg whites and cream of tartar until foamy.
- While on medium speed gradually add in sugar and whip until soft peaks.
- Fold ¼ of meringue into egg yolk mixture. Gently fold in the rest of the egg whites, careful not to lose too much air.
- Split the batter between both pans. Fill a bigger pan, that fits both cake pans, with a 1” water bath.
- Turn the oven down to 320 F before baking. Bake 20 minutes.
- Turn the oven down to 290 F. Bake 55 more minutes. Remove from oven.
- While still hot, using oven mitts, carefully flip the pan over to remove from pans. Careful not to burn yourself.
- Let cool on rack.
- Refrigerate overnight for best flavor. Store in fridge.
- Sift powdered sugar on top.
- Serve with fresh fruit and whipped cream.
