Some people might have seen this heavenly soft and fluffy Japanese cheesecake online. Light and airy yet melt-in-your-mouth creamy at the same time, there is a good reason that this has become an internet sensation. As a result, food bloggers all over the west have fallen in love with this sweet treat. But if you want to make the real deal, sick with our recipe for this truly amazing heavenly soft cheese soufflé cake. Learn everything you need to make this wonder at home right here!
What is a Japanese cheesecake (soufflé)?
Japanese cheesecake, compared to western cheesecake, is usually lighter in taste and softer in touch. It also looks more like a round pound cake because we use a round cake pan as a kind of mold. The secret to this recipe, however, is that by adding meringue made with tons of egg whites, Japanese cheesecake becomes softer. We also cut down on the cheese used, compared to western cheesecake, so it has a much lighter consistency and taste. The result is a jiggly-wiggly delight that will impress friends and family and be the star dessert at any dinner party.
Is Japanese Cheesecake Healthier?
Japanese style heavenly soft cheese soufflé cake cuts down on both the cream cheese and the butter, and it also uses milk instead of heavy whipping cream. This means it has lower fat content than traditional Western-style cheesecakes. It also uses only a couple of tablespoons of sugar, which is considerably less than the one or two cups of sugar usually used in most Western cheesecake recipes. The main reason for this is that Japanese desserts tend to emphasize the savory as well as the sweet. Here are some other traditional Japanese desserts to check out after you have mastered the heavenly soft cheese soufflé cake that is just as healthy as they are delicious!
Cooking Tips:
- Firstly, make sure to complete steps one and two of the recipe thoroughly. Prepping the cake pan and lining it is a tedious task. Also, spreading butter and sugar on the pan sounds like a meaningless task. But this will ensure your cheese soufflé has a fluffy and jiggly texture, and without these steps, your soufflé will break in the middle.
- Secondly, try not to over-mix the cake batter. You don’t want to break the bubbles by mixing too much, because that will result in less- jiggly texture.
- Further, pay extra attention to step 14 where we pour additional water into the baking sheet to get a double-boiler style effect. By doing this, as a result, it distributes the heat better and is one of the keys to getting the jiggly and fluffy texture that you want.
- Step 15 is also essential as you want to add water if it burns off to keep the cake from burning. Do this right, and you will get the Heavenly Soft Cheese Souffle of your dreams!
Heavenly Soft Cheese Soufflé Cake
Ingredients
- 1 cup Cream Cheese (200g)
- 2/3 cup Milk
- 4 Egg Yolks
- 2 Tbsp Guranuated Sugar
- 1/3 cup Flour
- 1 Tbsp Cornstarch
- 1 Tbsp Lemon Juice
- 4 Tbsp Apricot or Marmalade Jam
- 1 Tbsp Water
For Meringue
- ¼ cup Granuated Sugar
- 4 Egg Whites
For Cake Pan
- 2-4 tsp Butter
- 2-4 tsp Granuated Sugar
Instructions
- This recipe uses a 7” loose based round cake pan. Spread the butter inside of the cake pan and line with parchment paper. It’s important to do this step so that the parchment paper won’t move while baking. Because the cake batter will rise, make sure to have side parchment paper at least 1 inch higher than the actual pan height. Place cake pan on top of aluminum foil so the bottom and side parts are completely covered. You can also use round aluminum take out pan instead of using aluminum foil to wrap around the cake pan.
- Spread more butter inside of the parchment paper as well. Only spread butter on the side, not on the bottom. Make sure butter is spread evenly throughout. Sprinkle granulated sugar over the butter and remove any excessive sugar. Put it in the refrigerator. Make sure to do this step thoroughly. Without butter and sugar, the cake will break like this example below.
- Separate egg yolk and egg whites (egg whites in a medium bowl). Cool egg whites until later in the refrigerator.
- In a medium pot, heat milk and cream cheese over low heat. DO NOT bring it to boil. Once cream cheese dissolves, remove from heat and pour it into a medium bowl. Cool until you can put your finger in the milk mixture.
- Add egg yolk into the milk mixture one by one and mix well. Add 2 Tbsp of sugar and mix more.
- Sift in flour and cornstarch into the mixture. Once mixed, add lemon juice and mix.
- Preheat oven to 320F. Boil water in a kettle.
- Take out egg whites from the refrigerator to make meringue. Beat the egg whites with hand mixer over high speed.
- Once white foam begins to form, add 1/3 of granulated sugar and keep beating on high speed. Repeat twice until all the sugar is in the meringue.
Keep beating until it forms firm peaks. Make sure you don’t over beat it.
Scoop ¼ of meringue and add it to the milk & cheese mixture and mix well.
Pour 1/3 of this new mixture into the bowl of meringue. Mix gently with spatula. Repeat twice until everything is mixed.
Slowly pour the batter into the cake pan. Hold the pan and gently shake side to side so the surface of the batter is flat. If you see bubbles on the surface, break them with toothpick.
Place cake pan onto the baking sheet. Pour hot water into the baking sheet. Put it in the oven and bake for 20 minutes. Make sure you have enough space above the cake pan as the batter will rise.
After 20 minutes, lower the temperature to 280F and bake for additional 40 minutes. Add hot water if the water inside vaporize. If it rises too much, place aluminum foil over the cake so the top part of the cake won’t burn. While you wait, heat up apricot jam and water in a small pot. Do not boil.
It’s done if you poke the cake with toothpick and nothing sticks to the toothpick. Take it out and cool the cake.
Brush warm apricot jam/water mixture on top of the cake. Let it cool for about 20 minutes. As it cools down, the cake will shrink down, making it easier for the parchment paper to come off.
Peel off the parchment paper and enjoy! It tastes even better if you rest the cake in the refrigerator overnight.
