Japanese Soft Cheesecake

Have you tasted one of those soft Japanese cheesecake, those with no cookie base? It can be found in major bakeries like Bread Talk, Jusco bakery etc. Well, I remember when it first started, I used to buy these Japanese cheesecake from a small bake shop opposite Sogo Paragon (Singapore) long time ago.

For a 6 inch round cake, it cost about S$10 to $15. It always has a cow or a baker logo baked on it. The taste? Well, it's really soft and silky, slightly sweeten, mild cream cheese taste and melts in your mouth. ;)

This is actually my third time baking the cheesecake. My girls love it so much that they would choose this cheesecake over cookies or pound cake. I got this recipe online quite awhile back and have really forgotten where, so in any case thanks for sharing the recipe whoever you are! I will post my version of the recipe as I did some slight changes to it:

Ingredients for Japanese Cheesecake:
30g cake flour
10g cornflour

70g caster sugar
3 egg whites
3 egg yolks
50ml fresh milk
125g Philadelphia Cream cheese
25g unsalted butter
1½ tsp fresh lemon juice
1/4 tsp cream of tartar Pinch of Salt

Method:

• Melt cream cheese, butter and milk over double boiler. Stir well and mix until all is melted and blended. Slowly add the mixture to the 3 egg yolks and stir till incorporated.
  
• Add lemon juice to the egg mixture.
  
• Sieve cake and corn flour into the egg mixture and stir well.
  
• Whisk egg white until foamy. Add cream of tartar and sugar and continue to beat till it comes to soft peaks and shiny in look.
• Preheat the oven to 170°C. Butter and line an 8 inch round pan with parchment. Butter the parchment paper and dust lightly with plain flour and shake off excess.
  
• Gently fold in 1/3 of the egg white mixture to the egg yolk mixture. Continue to fold in the rest in 2 portions but do not over mix and deflate the bubbles.
• Pour the batter into the cake pan and bake in oven for 30 to 35 minutes or till tester comes out clean. If you want a toasty look on the surface, you might want to up the temperature to 180°C in the last 5 minutes.

*Note: To the base of the baking tray that holds the cheesecake pan, add just enough water to create a water bath. This will yield a more moist cake.

This time I made mini cupcakes as well, topped with chocolate chips. My younger girl ate 6 in one shot! I guess she really likes it, haha.

A close look at this slice of "heaven"...good with a cup of tea. ;) Remember to refrigerate the rest of the cake if you cannot finish it.

What can I say, there's always room for desert!