How To Make Japanese Cotton Cheesecake
Yields: One 8″ Round Cake or two 6″ Round Cakes
INGREDIENTS:
60g all purposed flour
20g cornflour (cornstarch)
1/4 teaspoon salt
50g unsalted butter, room temperature
250g cream cheese, room temperature
100g/ml fresh milk
6 egg yolks
1 tablespoon (10g) lemon juice
1 tablespoon (10g) lemon juice
6 egg whites
120g fine granulated sugar (I used brown sugar and blend into powder)
1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar
Utensils:
6 inches round cake pan X 2 unites OR
8 inches round cake pan X 1 unit
METHOD:
- Preparation:
- Gather all the ingredients.
- Separate the egg yolks from the whites.
- Preheat the oven to 130C – 150C (top and bottom heat).
- Line the bottom of the round cake pan with parchment paper.
- Wrap the base of the cake pan with 2 or 3 layers of aluminium foil if loose base cake pan is used. You can also place the cake pan into a pan slightly bigger pan to prevent the water from seeping in.
- Preparing The Batter:
- Melt cream cheese, butter over a hot pot of water. Whisk until the butter and cream cheese are melted with hand. Add in salt, milk, egg yolks then lemon juice and whisk until all well combined.
- Sift all purposed, corn flour and salt. Fold in the flour mixture and mix well.
- Strain the batter through a fine sieve to make sure batter does not have any remaining lumps.
- In another bowl of stand mixture, whisk egg whites until foamy, add in cream of tartar and whisk for few second. Gradually add in sugar and whisk until firm peaks form.
- Gently fold the meringue into the cream cheese mixture with hand whisk in three batches. Change to spatula and fold gently until well incorporated.
- Pour the mixture into the prepared cake pans. Use a chopstick to run through the batter to break down any air bubbles.
- Baking:
- To prepare a water bath – Place the cake pans in a larger roasting pan if loose base pan is used, and pour warm water into the roasting pan until it comes up to a level of 1.5 cm – 2 cm.
- Bake cheesecake in a water bath for about 1 hours 30 minutes or until set and golden brown at 130C – 150 degrees (I set 130C for my oven).
- Cooling:
- Leave the cake to cool down in the oven with the oven door open, about 15 minutes. This is to prevent sudden change of temperature that may cause the cake to shrink drastically. It is normal the cake sinks slightly after cooling.
- After 15 – 20 minutes when the cake is cool enough to handle, remove the cake from the pan. Run a thin-bladed knife around the inside of the pan and invert the cake on non-stick baking paper or plate. Peel off baking paper from the base and place on a rack to cool.
- Serve when still warm to get the bouncy and fluffy texture, or chill in the fridge to get slightly solid texture. I personally like cold and solid texture cake.
Japanese Cotton Cheesecake
Prep time: 30 Min Cook time: 1 H & 30 M Total time: 2 Hour
Much thanks to my friend Mandy for introducing me to this recipe. She is great at baking and her results inspire me a lot. You may see her recipe shared on Rasa Malaysia. This Japanese Cotton Cheesecake is very soft, fluffy and light compared to the regular cheesecake which is a lot more dense.
Ingredients
UTENSILS:
Instructions
PREPRATION
- Gather all the ingredients.
- Separate the egg yolks from the whites.
- Preheat the oven to 130C – 150C (top and bottom heat).
- Line the bottom of the round cake pan with parchment paper.
- Wrap the base of the cake pan with 2 or 3 layers of aluminium foil if loose base cake pan is used. You can also place the cake pan into a pan slightly bigger pan to prevent the water from seeping in.
PREPARING THE BATTER
- Melt cream cheese, butter over a hot pot of water. Whisk until the butter and cream cheese are melted with hand. Add in salt, milk, egg yolks then lemon juice and whisk until all well combined.
- Sift all purposed, corn flour and salt. Fold in the flour mixture and mix well.
- Strain the batter through a fine sieve to make sure batter does not have any remaining lumps.
- In another bowl of stand mixture, whisk egg whites until foamy, add in cream of tartar and whisk for few second. Gradually add in sugar and whisk until firm peaks form.
- Gently fold the meringue into the creamcheese mixture with hand whisk in three batches. Change to spatula and fold gently until well incorporated.
- Pour the mixture into the prepared cake pans. Use a chopstick to run through the batter to break down any air bubbles.
BAKING
- To prepare a water bath – Place the cake pans in a larger roasting pan if loose base pan is used, and pour warm water into the roasting pan until it comes up to a level of 1.5 cm – 2 cm.
- Bake cheesecake in a water bath for about 1 hours 30 minutes or until set and golden brown at 130C – 150 degrees (I set 130C for my oven).
COOLING
- Leave the cake to cool down in the oven with the oven door open, about 15 minutes. This is to prevent sudden change of temperature that may cause the cake to shrink drastically. It is normal the cake sinks slightly after cooling.
- After 15 – 20 minutes when the cake is cool enough to handle, remove the cake from the pan. Run a thin-bladed knife around the inside of the pan and invert the cake on non-stick baking paper or plate. Peel off baking paper from the base and place on a rack to cool.
- Serve when still warm to get the bouncy and fluffy texture, or chill in the fridge to get slightly solid texture. I personally like cold and solid texture cake.
Notes
- Meringue plays a very important role in Chiffon or this Japanese Cotton Cheesecake. Over beating meringue may cause the cake to crack, while under beating will cause the cake to collapse or it may not rise much. Whisk the meringue until firm peak, the peak will hold and fold back slightly when you turn your whisk upside down. The meringue is glossy and the ribbon lines stay. This is the stage we look for if you do not want your cake to crack.
- Do note that the baking temperature and timing provided are what works for my oven and should also be regarded as a guide only. Every oven behaves a little differently, so please adjust accordingly for your oven.
- The benefit of water bath is that it will moderate the baking temperature and prevent the cakes from cracking. The cake texture will be very moist too.