Japanese Cheesecake (Fluffy & Creamy)

BY: Christine's Recipes

Prepare two baking pans, lined with baking paper (each size 11.5cmx22cmx6cm)

Ingredients:

250 ml milk
250 g cream cheese, cubed and softened at room temperature
60 g butter, softened at room temperature
6 egg yolks
55 g cake flour
20 g corn flour
1 lemon zest
6 egg whites
1/4 tsp cream of tartar
130 g caster sugar

Method:

Preheat oven to 150C (302F).
Use a large bowl, pour in milk. Place the bowl over simmering water. Don’t let the bottom of the bowl touch the water. Add cream cheese, stir occasionally, until completely dissolved and the mixture turns smooth. Stir in butter, till dissolved. Remove from heat. Let cool down a bit, then add the egg yolks and combine well. (Note: Make sure the mixture is not too hot, as you don’t want to cook the egg yolks at this stage.)
Combine cake flour and corn flour. Sift in the flours into the cream cheese mixture, a small amount at a time. Mix well between every addition, and make sure there aren’t any flour lumps. Stir in freshly grated zest. Set aside.
Place egg whites in a large clean bowl. (Note: Make sure there’s no oil or water in the bowl at all.) Use an electric mixer to beat the egg whites for 3 minutes, then add cream of tartar and blend again. Pour sugar in the egg whites and blend until very stiff peaks form. (Please refer to this video: How To Beat Egg Whites.)
Fold-in the egg whites into the cream cheese mixture gently with a rubber spatula just until all ingredients are incorporated. Do not stir or beat. For a better result, fold in egg whites with a small amount at a time, at least for 3 times. (Please refer to this post with video: How To Fold-in Egg Whites).
Pour the mixture into the two baking pans. Place the pans into another larger baking tray. Add hot water in the tray up to half way. Bake for about 50 to 60 minutes. Test with a needle or skewer that comes out clean.
Turn off the oven. Leave the oven door ajar for 10 minutes. Remove from the oven and remove from the pans. Let cool completely on a wire rack. Chill in a fridge for about 3 hours. Enjoy!

Notes:

The delicate, velvety smooth texture of this cheesecake is produced by two low-protein flours, cake flour or corn flour.
The beaten egg whites generate very small air pockets in the inner structure of the cake. So, when it comes to making this cake, it’s very important to know how to beat egg whites and how to fold-in egg whites properly. I’ve uploaded two videos on youtube for those who need them, here and here.
To prevent the surface of the cheesecake from cracking: use low temperature and water-bath method during baking. The surface of the cake has a tendency to rise high to a point that breaks the structure. So, the basic principle is to keep the oven as low as the recipe suggests as 150C (302F). Mind you, every oven is so different, know your oven. And you have to keep an eye on it when baking. When the cake surface rises too high, that means the temperature of your oven is too high. Reduce the temperature accordingly.
To prevent the cheesecake from shrinking: open the oven door ajar for 10 minutes or so, and let your cheesecakes cool down gradually. But don’t keep them there too long because moist would develop at the bottom of the baking pans.
If using a loose base cake tin, cover the outside of the tin bottom with double layers of aluminium foil to prevent water from seeping in.