Savory Sweets: Japanese Cheesecake

Good morning and Happy Friday, everyone! We made it through the week (relatively) unscathed!

This weekend is shaping up to be a busy one for me- with a friend’s birthday party and another friend’s Wrestlemania party keeping me occupied most of my Saturday and Sunday nights- but I’ve got some things planned for the early morning hours and afternoons, too! This certainly won’t be a weekend where I sleep in late- that’s for sure.

Before I get started on the last of my tasks at my office for this week and try to get a jump start on my weekend plans, I wanted to share a recently discovered recipe that I think I perfected a couple of nights ago while playing around in my kitchen. Japanese Cheesecake, which is sort of a combination of cheesecake and souffle in both taste and texture (it jiggles!) takes a couple of hours to prep and bake- but once it’s done- you have a light, airy, but still delicious dessert to serve with a piping hot cup of coffee or tea!

WHAT YOU’LL NEED:

• Nonstick cooking spray, for spraying the pan
• 10 ounces cream cheese, cut into cubes
• ½ cup whole milk
• 4 tablespoons unsalted butter
• ½ teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 7 large eggs, separated
• Juice of ½ lemon
• ⅔ cup all-purpose flour
• ¼ cup cornstarch
• ¼ teaspoon cream of tartar
• Kosher salt
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• Confectioners’ sugar, for decorating

READY? HERE’S WHAT YOU DO:

1. Preheat the oven to 300 degrees F. Spray a 9-inch round cake pan with cooking spray and line the bottom with parchment. Place a 3 1/2-inch-wide strip of parchment around the inside of the pan so that it comes up about 1 inch higher than the edge; set aside.
2. Heat the cream cheese, milk and butter in a small saucepan over medium heat, whisking occasionally, until smooth. Remove from the heat and let cool slightly, about 5 minutes.
3. Whisk together the vanilla, egg yolks and lemon juice in a large bowl until smooth. Pour the cooled milk mixture into the yolk mixture and whisk until smooth and combined. Whisk in the flour and cornstarch until combined; set aside.
4. Beat the egg whites, cream of tartar and 1/2 teaspoon salt in a large bowl with an electric mixer on medium speed until soft peaks form, about 2 minutes. Slowly add the granulated sugar and continue beating on medium speed until stiff peaks form, about 2 minutes longer.
5. Gently fold the egg white mixture into the yolk mixture in 3 batches, making sure not to overmix (you want the whites to stay as fluffy as possible). As soon as the white streaks disappear from the batter, pour it into the prepared pan.
6. Place the cake pan inside of a larger pan and pour enough hot water into the larger pan so that it comes 1 inch up the sides of the cake pan. Bake for 30 minutes, then reduce the oven to 250 degrees F and continue baking until the cake is doubled in size, golden brown on top and around the edges and jiggly in the center but set, about 1 hour and 15 minutes.
7. Let the cake cool for 10 minutes. Carefully invert the cake onto your dominant hand (right onto your palm–this is the most gentle way to handle it), then invert it back onto a cake stand or plate so that the top is facing up. Sprinkle the entire top with confectioners’ sugar and serve while still warm.

If I hadn’t finished baking this fabulous concoction so late at night, I probably would have indulged in more than just one serving. I really enjoyed this cake/custard dish- which I can only describe as tasting like the right amount of cheesecake and yellow cake all at once and with every bite.

I think next time, I’ll be topping it with some strawberries or kiwi slices to give it an extra kick of sweet/sour flavor (plus, fruit balances out the sugar and eggs, right?)– but even eating it as it was didn’t make me that feel guilty at all! This dessert wasn’t “heavy” and didn’t weigh me down after I’d tasted it the way regular cheesecakes tend to do.

But, this deliciousness aside- I’m off to get things done!

Here’s hoping you all have an amazing weekend. I’ll see you all next week!

xx

– Ashley –