This Japanese Cheesecake is also known as Soufflé Cheesecake, Cotton Cheesecake or Jiggly Cake because of its unique texture. You will love this fluffy and delicious melt-in-your-mouth combination of creamy cheesecake and a chiffon-mousse-like consistency.
Made of cream cheese mixture (cream cheese, butter, milk, egg yolks and flour) incorporated into a perfect medium-stiff peaks meringue for a fluffy jiggly structure. Then cooked in a bain-marie to produce a soft, chiffon-mousse-like consistency.
This Japanese Cheesecake is a bit difficult and tricky to make. The precision of measurement is important to get that perfect taste and consistency. It’s a bit more technical and you need to pay attention to the method to get that fluffy mousse-like texture and jiggly structure.
How to make Japanese Cheesecake
Prepare the equipment and ingredients. Prepare the baking pans, electric mixer and kitchen tools such as a kitchen scale, measuring spoon, liquid measuring cup, a fine mesh strainer, spatula, whisk, and 3 mixing bowls.
Weigh and measure all the ingredients accurately before you start. I recommend using a kitchen scale for solid ingredients and a liquid measuring cup for milk.
Make the cheesecake batter. Boil water and pour into a medium-sized bowl. You can also use a double boiler and bring the water to a low simmer. Add the cream cheese, butter, and milk to another medium-sized bowl that is a bit bigger than the other bowl. Then place this bowl over the bowl with hot water or over slowly simmering water, if using a double boiler. Mix until cream cheese and butter are melted and smooth. Remove from hot water, and sift the flour with salt over the warm cream cheese mixture. Mix until well incorporated, then add egg yolks, lemon zest, and pure vanilla extract. Mix until well blended. Pass through a fine-mesh strainer and set aside.
Make the meringue. In another medium-sized bowl or a bowl of a stand mixer, add the egg whites and lemon juice. Whisk on high speed while gradually adding sugar. Whisk until medium-stiff peaks.
Folding the meringue into the cake batter. Using a baking rubber spatula, scoop about a cup at a time of meringue and fold into the cake batter. Scraping from the side of the bowl down to the bottom of the bowl and folding motion until no more streaks of cake batter are visible.
Pour and divide the cake batter into the prepared greased pans, about 3/4 full. Swirl the cake batter with a skewer or chopstick to even out the surface. Then tap to remove some air pockets.
Water bath the cake. Place on a sheet pan and pour hot water into the sheet pan to cook in a “bain-marie”(water bath). Slide in the middle rack of the preheated oven to 300°F.
Baking and Cooling the Japanese Cheesecake
Baking and cooling time may vary, depending on the sizes of baking pans and the volume of cake batter in the baking pans.
For baking pans sizes I used in this recipe: 4″× 2″ star or flower shape non-stick baking pans and 5″×2″ aluminum round baking pans. If the size of the baking pans is only an inch different, baking time can be the same or a minute difference of baking time.
First Bake for 15 minutes.
The second bake for 10 minutes with the door oven open, about an inch (use oven mitts) gap to release the steam. This will avoid the cake rising too fast and cracking or bursting.
The third bake, rotate for even browning, then continue baking for another 10 minutes. The total baking time is 35 minutes.
Turn off the oven heat and leave the cakes inside with the oven door about halfway open, to gradually cool the cake for 10 minutes.
If using bigger baking pans and wanting a taller cake, the cheesecake will take longer to bake and cool. Adjust the baking time and cooling time. For example, if using 2 of 6″x 4″ round baking pans. First bake- 30 minutes second bake- 20 minutes third bake- 20 to 23 minutes. Total baking time is 70 to 73 minutes. Then 20 minutes to gradually cool the cake in the oven.
Pro Tip:
From the oven, while still warm, remove the cake immediately from the baking pans to avoid steaming and cake shrinking or collapsing. Transfer on a cake server to cool completely.
Serving the Japanese Cheesecake. Best to serve chilled. Serve and dust with powdered sugar then top with whipped cream and fresh fruit if desired.
Storing the Japanese Cheesecake: Can be stored at room temperature for a few hours, then store in the refrigerator for up to 3 days in a sealed container. Freeze up to 3 months.
More delicious cake and cheesecake recipes to try😋
Japanese Cheesecake
Watch How to Make It
Equipment
- electric mixer
- 2 4"x2" round baking pans
- 2 5"x2" round baking pans
Ingredients
For the cheesecake batter
- 200 g cream cheese
- 75 g unsalted butter
- 140 ml milk
- 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
- 80 g egg yolks
- ½ tsp lemon zest
- 70 g All-purpose flour
- ¼ tsp salt
For the meringue
- 160 g Egg whites
- 1 tsp lemon juice
- 80 g granulated sugar
Instructions
- Prepare the equipment and ingredients. Prepare the baking pans, electric mixer and kitchen tools such as a fine mesh strainer, spatula, whisk, and mixing bowls. Weigh and measure all the ingredients accurately before you start.
- Make the cheesecake batter. Boil water and pour into a medium-sized bowl. You can also use a double boiler and bring the water to a low simmer. Add the cream cheese, butter, and milk to another medium-sized bowl that is a bit bigger than the other bowl. Then place this bowl over the bowl with hot water or over slowly simmering water, if using a double boiler. Mix until cream cheese and butter are melted and smooth. Remove from hot water, and sift the flour with salt over the warm cream cheese mixture. Mix until well incorporated, then add egg yolks, lemon zest, and pure vanilla extract. Mix until well blended. Pass through a fine-mesh strainer and set aside.
- Make the meringue. In another medium-sized bowl or a bowl of a stand mixer, add the egg whites and lemon juice. Whisk on high speed while gradually adding sugar. Whisk until medium-stiff peaks.
- Folding the meringue into the cake batter. Using a rubber spatula, scoop about a cup at a time of meringue and fold into the cake batter. Scraping from the side of the bowl down to the bottom of the bowl and folding motion until no more streaks of cake batter are visible.
- Pour and divide the cake batter into the prepared greased pans, about 3/4 full. Swirl the cake batter with a skewer or chopstick to even out the surface. Then tap to remove some air pockets.
- Water bath the cake. Place them on a sheet pan and pour hot water into the sheet pan to cook in a "bain-marie"(water bath).
- Oven temperature. Slide in the middle rack of the preheated oven to 300°F.
- Baking time for the Japanese Cheesecake. Baking time may vary, depending on the sizes and volume of cake batter in the baking pans. For baking pans sizes I used in this recipe: 4"× 2" star or flower shape baking pans and 5"×2" round baking pans.First Bake for 15 minutes. The second bake for 10 minutes with the door oven open, about an inch (use oven mitts) gap. The third bake, rotate for even browning, then continue baking for another 10 minutes. The total baking time is 35 minutes.
- Cooling the cake. Turn off the oven heat and leave the cakes inside with the oven door about halfway open, to gradually cool the cake for 10 minutes. From the oven, while still warm, remove the cake immediately from the baking pans to avoid steaming and cake shrinking or collapsing. Transfer on a cake server to cool completely.
- Serving the cake. Best to serve chilled. Serve and dust with powdered sugar then top with whipped cream and fresh fruit if desired.
