Japanese cotton cheesecake

For ➏

175 g cream cheese* (or lactose-free or vegetable)

14 cl milk (or lactose-free or vegetable)

45 g butter (or lactose-free or vegetable)

100 g granulated sugar (or susto)

5 fresh eggs

45 g flour

15 g cornstarch

grated zest & a squeeze of juice from ½ lemon

1 pinch of salt

butter or oil to grease the baking pan

extra squeeze of lemon for cleaning bowl

round baking tin with a diameter of 18 cm and a height of 8 cm

baking paper

Grease the baking pan. Place a cut out sheet of baking paper on the bottom that fits exactly in it and line the side with baking paper as well. By greasing the baking pan first, the baking paper will stick.

Preheat the oven to 160°C.

Melt the cream cheese, milk and butter over very low heat, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat once everything has melted and set aside.

Degrease the bowl for the egg whites with a squeeze of lemon juice.

Separate the egg yolks from the whites, the yolks in a large bowl (where you will make the batter shortly) and the whites in the degreased bowl.

Beat the yolks with about ⅓ of the sugar until dissolved. Stir in the cream cheese mixture with a spatula until well blended. Now mix the cornflour with the flour and sieve into the cream cheese mixture. Pour the batter one more time through the sieve into another bowl to remove any lumps. Stir in the grated lemon zest with a spatula.

Add a pinch of salt and a squeeze of lemon juice to the egg whites and beat with a mixer until foamy. Add about ⅓ of the remaining sugar and beat 1 m until dissolved. Repeat this step 2 times with the rest of the sugar. If necessary, mix 1 m further until you have semi-rigid peaks. When you take the mixer out, the peak hanging from it should still fall to the side a little and not stay upright.

Stir ¼ of the egg white foam into the batter with a spatula. Everything should be well mixed, but without too much air coming out of the whipped egg whites.

Pour this batter into the bowl with the rest of the beaten egg whites and stir gently with a spatula until there are no more streaks in the batter.

Pour the batter from a certain height into the baking tin (this will release unnecessary air bubbles). Place the tin in a large baking dish (or au bain-marie dish). Fill the bowl with hot water so that part of the baking pan is submerged.

Place the  baking dish in the preheated oven for 75 m.

Turn off the oven, but leave the cake inside with the door closed for another 15 m. Take out and immediately turn over using a large plate so that the cake is upside down. Carefully remove the baking pan and paper. Let rest 15 m and then turn the cake over so that it is upright again.

If necessary, serve with fresh red or exotic fruit.

*full Philadelphia e.g.

Easy cotton cheesecake

For ➑

255 g white chocolate 

225 g cream cheese, room temperature*

6 large eggs, separated, room temperature

20 cm round (springform) pan

Preheat oven to 175°C°. 

Line bottom and line sides of a 20 cm cake pan with buttered or oiled parchment paper. Or make the paper wet to avoid fat. Center the pan on a large piece of foil and fold foil up over the sides to prevent water from entering pan.

Place white chocolate in a medium heatproof bowl and heat in microwave in 20-s intervals (or Break the chocolate into pieces and place it in a large bowl. Melt the chocolate in a double boiler over hot water (60°C).  Add the cream cheese and melt them together, stirring occasionally, until melted.  Let cool slightly, then add yolks and stir to combine.

Using an electric mixer on high speed, whip egg whites in another large bowl until stiff peaks form. Add a small portion of egg whites to chocolate mixture and stir just until lightened. Gently fold in remaining egg whites in 2 additions until just combined.

Pour batter into prepared pan. Place pan in a baking dish or roasting pan and add warm water to reach halfway up sides of cake pan. Bake cheesecake until set, 40–45 m. Turn oven off and leave pan in oven 15 m, then transfer to a wire rack and let cool completely. Remove cheesecake from pan, transfer to a platter, and chill until cold, at least 4 h or up to overnight.

Serve with some fruit.

*variant smaller version with 200 g cream cheese, 225 g white chocolate, 5 eggs

Easy cotton cheesecake (small)

For ➍-➏
3 eggs, room temperature
120 g white chocolate
120 g cream cheese, softened, room temperature

15 cm round (springform) pan

Preheat the oven to 170°C. 

Separate the eggs. Place the whites in a large bowl and keep them in the refrigerator in preparation for the meringue.
Break the chocolate into pieces and place it in a large bowl. Melt the chocolate in a double boiler over hot water (60°C). Add the cream cheese and melt them together. Remove the bowl from the double boiler. Let the mixture cool down. Add the egg yolks, and mix well.
In a large bowl, whip egg whites with an electric mixer until firm peaks form (to make a meringue). 
Add  ⅓ of the meringue into the cream cheese batter and blend well with a spatula. Then add the rest of the meringue ½ at a time and mix well.
Rub some oil/butter on parchment paper to prevent cracking.  Or make the paper wet to avoid fat. Line the round cake pan with the parchment paper. Pour the batter into the pan and drop the pan lightly on the counter to raise the air bubbles out of the batter.

Place the cake pan on a baking tray. Pour some hot water into the baking tray. Bake at 170°C  for 15 m, at 160°C for 15 m, then stop the heat and bake with the remaining heat for 15 m.
When it is done, place the cake pan on a wire rack to cool completely. 

/Brush with apricot jam syrup, add whipped cream and/or dust with powdered sugar if desired. Or serve with some fruit./
Serve immediately or chill in the fridge before serving. Cake will slightly harden in the fridge, so leave at room temperature for a few m before you serve.

French Japanese cheesecake

For ➍ cakes
180 g milk
260 g Philadelphia cream cheese
240 g egg yolk
4 g zest of lime
80 g patisserie flour (T45)
80 g potato starch
530 g egg white
160 g granulated sugar
butter

Heat the milk with the Philadelphia, add the egg yolk and the lime zest.
Sift the flour and the potato starch, stir into the milk mixture. Beat the egg whites with the gradually added sugar into meringue. Gently stir it into the milk preparation.
Butter 4 small baking tins, sprinkle with flour. Fill each dish with 400 g of the batter, bake for 90 m at 140°C.
Remove from the mold, immediately cover with kitchen foil.

A variation on Japanse cheesecake by French chef Yannick Alléno.
Classic Japanese cheesecake recipes here.

Japanese cotton soft cheesecake

For ➑
225 cream cheese (room temperature)*
10 cl milk
5 large eggs (room temperature)
¼ tbs cream of tartar (or baking soda)
60 g sugar + 60 g sugar
60 g unsalted butter (room temperature)
1 tbs lemon juice
30 g all-purpose flour
2 tbs cornstarch
20 cm round springform pan

Line the bottom and sides of the springform pan with parchment paper. Wrap the springform pan with several sheets of foil, sealing it completely.
Fill a large baking pan halfway with water. Place it in the oven on the lowest rack. Preheat the oven to 160°C.
Separate the eggs and place the egg whites into a mixing bowl and the yolks into a measuring cup.
Beat egg whites on low speed for 30 s. Increase the speed to medium low and beat for another 30 s or until foamy. Add the cream of tartar. Increase the speed to medium high and beat until the egg whites just start to thicken. Add 60 g of sugar gradually. Continue beating until the egg whites reach the soft peaks stage, approximately 3 m.
In a separate bowl, add the cream cheese and milk. Mix on low speed until creamy and smooth (approximately 2-3 m). Add the butter, 60 g sugar and lemon juice and beat for 1 m. Add the flour and cornstarch and mix for another m. Finally add the egg yolks and mix for 1 more m. Strain the batter using a sieve.
Add ⅓ of the egg whites and gently fold into the batter until mostly incorporated. Add another ⅓ and gently fold. Add the remaining ⅓ and gently fold.
Pour the batter into the lined springform pan. Spread the batter evenly into the pan and smooth out the top using a spatula. Holding the sides of the pan, gently lift and drop the pan on the counter about 6 times to remove any big air bubbles.
Place the springform pan into the water bath and bake the cake for 1 h and 10 m. Check the cake for doneness by inserting a toothpick into the center of the cake. It should come out clean. Bake the cake for an additional 10-15 m to brown up the top.
Turn off oven, open the oven the door slightly and let the cake cool in the oven for 1 h.
Remove cake from the pan. Place on a plate and refrigerator for at least 4 h.
Serve with fresh fruit, fruit puree, chocolate sauce, whipped cream, etc.

*Use mascarpone instead.

See a similar video recipe.
Read about Japanese fluffy pancakes.

Japanese rare cheesecake

For ➏
filling:
200 g cream cheese, softened*
20 cl plain yogurt
70 g/5 tbs sugar
2 tbs lemon juice
1 tbs gelatin powder
5 cl water
crust:
100 g crushed digestive biscuits or graham crackers
3 tbs melted butter
1 tbs sugar

Mix gelatin powder and water in a small cup. Set aside.

Combine crushed biscuits, melted butter and sugar in a bowl. Press the crumbs into the bottom of a round cake pan (20 cm).

Stir cream cheese in a bowl until soften. Put water and gelatin mixture into microwave. Heat for 1 m. Add yogurt, sugar, lemon juice and gelatin into softened cream cheese. Mix well. Pour the filling into the crust. Spread evenly. Refrigerate the cake for 3 h.

Serve with your favorite fruits, fruit sauce, or jam.

*Use mascarpone instead.

Japanese eat mostly fruit after dinner, but in recent decades western-type desserts have become popular, such as cheesecakes, from the baked kind to this no bake type. This no bake kind is called rare cheesecake even in Japanese.
This late 19th century Japanese print shows a herd boy with a cow.
read a French go at Japanese cheesecake.
Read more cheesecake recipes: Belgian cheesecake