Light and Fluffy Japanese Cotton Cheesecake

Okay, quick post today guys. Although I had a pro-D day on Friday, I still managed to take the entire weekend to finish my homework, so no time for making food! But luckily, I made this heavenly cheesecake last week. It’s not really healthy, but also not the unhealthiest dessert ever.

Usually, any cheesecake that I eat has to be the unbaked version because I find when it’s baked, such as New York cheesecake, it’s just too rich for me. Japanese cotton cheesecake, however, distinguishes itself from its American counterpart by being much lighter (maybe the whipped egg whites?) and, at least according to me, much yummier!

Oh yeah, almost forgot. I had a slight worry with my cake when I took it out of the oven because I had used a water bath, but my pan, which has a removable bottom, is not entirely sealed. So my cake came out with a soggy bottom! But a few hours later, to my relief, I inspected the bottom and it seemed that all the water had evaporated or something because it was fluffy and not at all wet.

• Servings: 10
• Time: 1 h and 30 mins (Prep 20 mins)
• Difficulty: Easy
• Print

Kinda (not!) healthy, but so yummy and fluffy that this cheesecake just has to be on your to-bake list.
Slightly adapted from: Fluffy Japanese Cotton Cheesecake – White on Rice Couple
Ingredients:
6 eggs, separated into whites and yolks
1/3 cup sugar
1/2 cup almond milk
8 oz (225 g) light cream cheese, softened
1/4 cup butter, softened
2 tbsp. lemon juice
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1/2 cup minus 2 tbsp. all-purpose flour
4 tbsp. cornstarch
Optional: jam for topping

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 160 °C (325 °F). Line a 9-inch pan (with a removable bottom and pretty tall sides) with parchment paper and grease the sides very well.
2. Whisk the egg whites until foamy, then beat in the sugar until stiff peaks form.
3. In a saucepan over medium heat, heat the milk until hot, just before the boiling point.
4. In a stand mixer, beat the cream cheese and butter together, then add in the hot milk. Beat in each egg yolk one by one, followed by the lemon juice and vanilla extract.
5. In a small bowl, mix the flour and cornstarch together. Add the flour mixture to the milk mixture and beat until fully incorporated. Fold in half of the egg whites, then the other half. Pour the batter into the pan and place it in a hot water bath (if you think your pan will let in water, just skip the water bath). Bake in the oven with the water bath for an hour and 10 minutes, or until an inserted toothpick comes out clean and the top is brown. Let the cake rest for 5 minutes before removing from pan and placing on a cooling rack. Wait until the cheesecake is at room temperature before serving with jam over top. It can store in the fridge for a few days.