Fluffy Japanese Cheesecake

I was inspired to create this Fluffy Japanese cheesecake because I would always see these jiggly cheesecakes on social media. I love how the texture of this cheesecake is so light and fluffy, almost like a chiffon cake, but has the characteristic cream cheese flavour.

To ensure the best results of your Japanese Cheesecake, I will walk you through all the steps needed to create this jiggly cake! The key to making the cheesecake light and fluffy is the addition of meringue.

Ingredients for the Fluffy Japanese Cheesecake

• all-purpose flour
• eggs, separated
• cream cheese
• unsalted butter
• milk
• cake flour
• corn starch
• salt
• lemon juice
• vanilla
• granulated sugar

Equipment

• 6in round cake pan
• stand mixer
• bowls
• spatula
• microwave

Steps to make fluffy Japanese Cheesecake:

Preheat oven to 325F. Butter and flour the cake tin.

To ensure the cake doesn’t stick to your cake tin, I rub a stick of butter all over the tin and then put a teaspoon of all-purpose flour in it and tap it around until the whole tin is coated with flour. I then tap out the excess flour.

Combine cream cheese, butter, and milk. Microwave until melted.

I recommend doing this in 30-second increments and mixing it after each time. Continue this process until there are no more lumps and the mixture is homogenous.

Sift the flour, cornstarch, and salt in a separate bowl.

Sifting these ingredients is key to ensuring your cake is light and fluffy in the end!

Add the following ingredients to the cream cheese mixture:

• sifted dry ingredients
• sugar
• egg yolks
• lemon juice
• vanilla

Combine these ingredients until the mixture is smooth and there are no more lumps of flour or anything else. Set aside.

Whip egg whites until frothy. Slowly add in sugar. Beat until medium peaks.

For this part, I usually use my stand mixer. I start out at a low speed until my egg whites are foamy. When I reach this stage, I sprinkle in my sugar a little at a time. Once all the sugar is in, I like to increase the speed. The meringue will look glossy and hold a slight curl at the end when the beater is taken out of the mixture.

Fold cream cheese mixture into the meringue.

To begin this process, I like to take a little bit of the meringue and mix it into the cream cheese mixture first. This makes it less thick and easier to combine with the rest of the meringue. For this first part, I don’t have to be as gentle with the folding. Once that is combined, I mix in the rest of the meringue. I use gentle folding motions to ensure I don’t knock out any air from the meringue.

Pour into cake tin and place into a bain-marie.

A bain-marie is basically a water bath. To do this, I like to get a cake tin or large dish that is bigger than the 6-inch cake tin and fill it up with hot water. I then place the cake tin into the water and there you have a water bath!

Bake for 60 minutes.

If your cake is browning too much near the end of the baking time at around 50 minutes, feel free to decrease the temperature by 10 degrees. On another note, don’t open the door while the cake is baking! If the door is opened, the steam will be released and the cake will deflate and not rise anymore. At the end of the 60 minutes to check if the cake is done, you can then open the door slightly and do the toothpick test.

Turn off the oven and crack the oven door a bit to let the cake cool down for 30 minutes.

If you live in a cool place like me, It is critical to let the cake cool down slowly. If you open the door too wide the cold air will rush in and shock the cake causing it to shrink more than it needs to! On the other hand, if you live in a warmer climate this step is not necessary.

Turn the fluffy Japanese cheesecake out of the cake tin and serve!

This Japanese Cheesecake is so delicious as is so I literally slice it up and eat it! If I’m feeling extra, I will dust some powdered sugar on top but that’s about it. You will understand once you try this fluffy Japanese cheesecake

FAQ

Why did my Japanese cheesecake crack?

First of all, cracking isn’t the end of the world! The cake will still taste amazing and a little dusting of powdered sugar fixes everything.

If you really want to fix the problem though, the key is in the meringue, I found that overwhipping the meringue to stiff peaks causes your cheesecake to crack. On the other hand, if you don’t whip your egg whites enough your cake won’t rise. It is tricky finding the sweet spot for the meringue, but practice makes perfect.

Why did my Japanese cheesecake shrink?

One lesson I learned is to not open the door during baking. This will cause the cake to shrink immediately and not rise at all. Furthermore, it is important to let the cake come to room temperature slowly. I have noticed that my kitchen is pretty chilly, so if I take my cake out of the oven right away, my cake shrinks a lot! I recommend cracking the oven door a little bit after baking and letting it cool inside for 30 minutes before taking it out completely.

Why did my Japanese cheesecake not rise?

There could be several reasons why your cake didn’t rise properly. One reason could be your oven temperature was not high enough. A low temperature could result in not enough steam to help it rise.

Another reason could be a problem with your meringue. If there are any traces of fat or egg yolks in your egg whites, it will not reach medium peaks and therefore your cake won’t rise. You are looking for a glossy and smooth meringue.

What is a bain-marie?

It is basically a water bath! So you are submerging your cheesecake in a hot water bath while baking. The water helps distribute the heat evenly around the cake and produces a moist and soft cake. This also prevents browning on the sides of the cake.

What are medium peaks?

I like to look for a smooth and glossy meringue. You’ll know when you reach stiff peaks when you pull out the beaters and the meringue has a slight curl at the tip.