Japanese Cheesecake

These are all the rage right now, and really easy to make. This type of cheesecake literally melts in your mouth, kind of like a combination of souffle and creamy cheesecake. Yum!

1 T soft butter for greasing the parchment paper
8 oz cream cheese, at room temperature
1⁄3 c whole milk or heavy cream, hot
3 T unsalted butter, melted
8 T sugar, divided
3 egg yolks
1⁄3 c cake flour
Zest of 1⁄2 a lemon
1 t lemon juice
3 egg whites

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line an 8” springform pan with parchment paper, fitting it as snugly as you can into the pan and letting the excess paper overhang the edges of the pan. Grease the parchment paper with softened butter.

Combine the cream cheese, hot milk, butter, and 4 tablespoons of sugar in a medium bowl and mix well with a whisk until you see a smooth, thick cream consistency. If it remains lumpy, heat gently over a double boiler until smooth. Add the egg yolks and whisk until smooth.

Sieve in the cake flour, mixing gently with the whisk to combine. Add the lemon zest and juice and stir. Pass the batter through the sieve into another bowl, ensuring that it’s absolutely smooth.

In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, begin beating egg whites on medium speed until they begin to froth and become opaque, about 3 minutes. Slowly rain in remaining 4 tablespoons of sugar with the mixer running on medium high speed. Once all sugar is added, increase speed and beat the whites until they form soft medium peaks. The whites should cling to the whisk, but still flop over at the peak.

Whisk 1⁄3 of the whites into the cream cheese mixture. Then gently fold in another 1⁄3 of the whites. Pour the mixture into the mixer bowl (that contains the remaining egg whites) and very gently fold whites in.

Pour cream cheese mixture into the pan. Gently tap the cake pan on the counter to release any air pockets. Place the cake pan into a deeper, larger pan or a deep baking sheet. Transfer cake to the oven, then fill the larger pan or baking sheet with hot water to 1” deep, creating a water bath. Immediately lower the oven temperature to 325 degrees and bake for 45 minutes. Open the oven door to release steam, close it, and reduce the oven temp to 300. Continue baking for another 15-20 minutes, until the top is golden and a skewer inserted into the center comes out clean. Turn off the oven and leave the oven door ajar for 20 minutes with the cake inside. It will slowly sink down to about half its height.

Remove the cake from the oven and let cool 15 minutes. Gently remove cake from the pan using the paper overhang. Refrigerate 2-4 hours before serving.

Sprinkle with confectioners’ sugar and serve with fresh fruit or berries if desired.