I recently booked my dream trip – 14 days in Japan. From its unique culture to its immense natural beauty, everything about this country fascinates me. I can’t wait to have the privilege of enjoying all the wonders the Japanese lands have to offer.
Something else this country has plenty of is good food, and dessert is never forgotten. To celebrate the trip that awaits, I made this Japanese-style cheesecake.
And what is so unique about this cheesecake, you ask? Well, it has less cream cheese than the regular one, since it is more of an in-between the American classic and a fluffy sponge cake. Its texture is quite soft and creamy, almost melting in your mouth. This makes for quite the light treat, so you’ll be having several slices before you even notice!
The traditional recipe usually comes with apricot jam, but I did not have this at home, so I opted to make some tangerine curd instead. It turned out to be a good decision since the flavors match quite well. I hope you enjoy it! Domo arigatou.
Japanese Souffle Cheesecake
Ingredients
Japanese Cheesecake
- 250 g cream cheese
- 2 tbsp unsalted butter
- 50 ml milk
- 3 eggs (separated)
- 6 tbsp all-purpose flour
- 1/2 lemon zest
- 2 tbsp cornstarch
- 2 tsp vanilla essence
- 80 g powdered sugar
Tangerine Curd
- 120 ml tangerine juice
- 80 g white sugar
- 2 egg yolks
- 2 tbsp cornstarch
- 100 g unsalted butter
Instructions
Japanese Cheesecake
- Preheat the oven to 160 º C.
- In a bowl, mix the cream cheese, butter, and milk with a hand whisker.
- Warm up the bowl over a double boiler, mixing continuously, until the mixture softens and becomes a smooth cream. Be careful not to overheat it as it may lose its consistency.
- Remove from the heat and add the egg yolks, mixing again.
- Add the flour, cornstarch, lemon zest, and vanilla essence, folding them in with a spatula.
- In the mixer, beat the egg whites into stiff peaks. Slowly pour in the powdered sugar.
- Delicately fold the egg whites into the mixture using the spatula.
- Transfer the mixture to a round cake pan of about 20 cm in diameter, previously greased and lined with parchment paper.
- Bake in a water bath, for about 50 to 60 minutes, or until a skewer inserted in the center of the cheesecake comes out clean.
- Let it cool down a little. Remove the cheesecake from the cake pan, moving it to a plate. Place in the fridge for about 4 hours, or overnight.
Tangerine Curd
- In a pan, mix all the ingredients except for the butter.
- Heat up the mixture, stirring with the hander whisker until it starts bubbling and thickens a bit.
- Remove from the heat and pour in the butter, incorporating it into the mix.
- Transfer to a bowl and cover with cling film. Place in the fridge until it is serving time.
Decoration
- Remove the curd from the fridge, which should be cold and firm. Spread over the surface of the cheesecake and smoothen it over.
- Decorate with fruit and powdered sugar to your liking.
