Such A Delicious Japanese Cheesecake Recipe

For someone who rarely bake a cake or any sweet desserts, I have a few reasons why I baked this Japanese Cheesecake, not once but several times this past spring and summer.

The number one reason is that I have so many, I mean, SO MANY requests from readers for this cake. Thank you everyone who patiently waited for this Japanese Cheesecake recipe. I told some readers that I'd share "soon" but it took me a little longer than I initially expected – I'm sorry about my delay. I really wanted to try different recipes and tested them all out before sharing the recipe.

The second reason is that my husband really loves cheesecake available in Japan. It's light, but still creamy, and fluffy…oh he didn't mind at all tasting all of my trials and he really enjoyed my rare baking spree.

So at the end, I have decided to share one recipe from Cookpad which my friend had recommended me to try. Since it had a lot of positive reviews, I thought Okay, let me give it a try. I had to adapt a little bit because my cake pan is bigger and my oven acts differently from the recipe owner's, but other than that, I followed the original recipe.

Ingredients:

• 400 g (14.1 oz) cream cheese, at room temperature
• 60 g (6 Tbsp.) granulated sugar
• 60 g (about 4 Tbsp.) unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 6 egg yolks, at room temperature
• 200 ml heavy cream, at room temperature
• 10 ml (2 tsp.) lemon juice
• 1 Tbsp. rum
• 80g (2.8 oz/about 8 Tbsp.) all purpose flour
• 6 egg whites
• 100g (10 Tbsp.) granulated sugar for meringue
• 3 Tbsp. Apricot jam + 1 tsp. water

What you will need:

• 9 inch non-stick springform pan
• Parchment paper
• Aluminum foil
• Cooking spray
• Boiled water
• Large baking pan that fits a springform pan

Instructions:

1. Before you start preparing, remember to keep cream cheese, butter, egg yolks, and heavy cream at room temperature.
2. In stand mixer, beat cream cheese and 60g granulated sugar until smooth. Add and beat butter.
3. Beat egg yolk first and then add to the mixture. Then add heavy cream and combine all together. I also switched to a whisk here.
4. Add lemon juice and rum and mix until the batter is very smooth.
5. Take the batter out to a large bowl. Wash the stand mixer’s bowl and dry completely.
6. Add 1/3 of meringue to the batter and mix well first.
7. Then add the rest of meringue all at once and fold it in (not mix this time).
8. Cut parchment paper for the bottom and around the springform pan. Lightly spray oil on the cake pan and place the parchment paper. Spray oil again on the paper and sprinkle some flour on the bottom. Cover the bottom of the pan and fold the extra foil on the side. The foil is to prevent water from seeping through the gap to the cake.
9. Pour the batter in the springform pan and then drop the cake pan from about 6 inch high to get rid of the any air bubble.
10. Place the springform pan in the baking pan and pour 1 inch of hot water in a baking pan. Moisture from the water will prevent cracks on the surface of the cake. Place it in the middle rack of the oven.
11. Bake at 320F (160C) for 60 minutes or until light golden brown. Then reduce temperature to 300F (150C) degree and bake for 30 minutes.
12. When the inserted skewer comes out clean, turn off the oven. Let the cake sit in the oven with the door slightly ajar until it has cooled completely.