Cotton Soft Japanese Cheese Cake

I have been trying out cheese cake recipes lately. I prefer those lighter versions while Yang likes the heavier, creamier types.

I found a very good recipe for the cotton soft Japanese cheese cake from this website. I followed the recipe almost 100% (minor difference: I used white caster sugar instead of fine, granulated sugar). If you’re getting Kraft’s Philadelphia Cream Cheese (most supermarkets here only carry this brand of cream cheese), I recommend the tub version. It is softer and much easier to dissolve in hot milk than the block type (really tedious). For fresh milk, I always go for Meiji full cream fresh milk – a bit more fats but the taste is so delicious!

Some tips for beginners:

1. When whisking the egg whites with cream of tar tar and sugar, use an electric mixer (medium speed) if you have one. Beating with a balloon whisk can be really exhausting especially for the ‘tai-tai’ type.
2. To achieve ’soft peaks’ for the whisking after sugar had been added, the volume of mixture should increase 6-8 folds and the texture is like pure, white cream. Soft peaks should form when the mixture falls off from the beater. Avoid whisking further as it will give sifter texture. More information on whisking egg whites can be found here.
3. Ensure that the eggs, butter and cream cheese are at room temperature before use.
4. Prepare the water bath: Place a bigger tray filled with warm water to a depth of ~1 inch (this is the water bath) in the preheated oven. Put the cheesecake baking tin into the water bath. Start baking. You may need to top up water during the baking period. But only do so when the cheesecake is into 3/4 baking time! Otherwise, you might get cheese biscuits!
5. Ensure that your baking tray for cheese cake does not allow water to seep in from the bottom.

Try this recipe if you love soft Japanese cheesecake. Happy baking!