Cotton Soft Japanese Cheesecake (For a Birthday)

Related post: Tips & Tricks on how to get that perfect Cheesecake!

Trust the Japanese to finetune and improve everything. Sometimes, reinventing the wheel does pay off. So you have cheesecakes and you have sponge cakes. Under the hands of the Japanese, these 2 cakes get married and voila! You get a Cotton Soft Japanese Cheesecake.


See how soft and spongy the texture is? Very unlike your regular cheesecakes, which are creamy and dense.

I made this for my baby's first birthday. He turned ONE today. My baby is ONE!!! Was it not just yesterday I was getting ready to birth him??? Where did all the time go?


Hello world! This was him, 3 hours after birth.

I still remember my doctor saying during a postpartum check up, "Your baby will celebrate his first birthday on a very auspicious date (09.09.09)!" In Chinese, the number 9 sounds like the word "eternity". For that reason, 09.09 of any year is a favoured date to get married (for Chinese couples, at least).

Not only that, in ancient China, 9 was the number reserved only for the Emperor. If you have been to the Forbidden City in Beijing, you will notice that everything there is built according to multiples of 9. Whatever, because 09.09 will always be a special date to me :) It's my little emperor's special day!

Well, we had a nice lunch out, and then came home for the cake. I usually like to eat this cake as is, but since this was a birthday cake, I decided to frost it with some fresh cream. What is a birthday cake if we don't have some cake decorations, yes?


Before frosting.



After some very simple frosting, imperfections and all ... because this was a birthday cake and I didn't want to risk destroying it with my lack of frosting skills. Yes, my third frosted cake in my entire life! But you know what, it gets easier each time ;)

This soft, cottony cake was a hit with everyone. Even after 2 slices, you don't feel bloated like you normally do with regular cheesecake. So, it was more than half gone after we ate it. The remainder, I shared with my nice neighbours.

To my baby son: "Happy birthday, my dearest! Wishing you many, many, many happy returns of the day."

Recipe
(adapted from Diana's Desserts)
- 140g fine granulated sugar
- 6 egg whites
- 6 egg yolks
- 1/4 tsp cream of tartar
- 50g butter
- 250g cream cheese
- 100ml fresh milk
- 1 tbsp lemon juice (I omitted this)
- 60g cake flour
- 20g corn flour
- 1/4 tsp salt

1. Melt cream cheese, butter and milk over a double boiler. Cool the mixture. Fold in the flour, the cornflour, egg yolks, lemon juice and mix well.

2. Whisk egg whites with cream of tartar until foamy. Add in the sugar and whisk until soft peaks form.

3. Add the egg whites to the cheese mixture and fold well. Pour into a 8-inch round springform cake pan or removable-bottom cake pan (lightly grease and line the bottom and sides of the pan with greaseproof baking paper or parchment paper). Wrap the base of your cake tin with aluminium foil, to prevent seepage ... although I never do, and it has never seeped! ;)

4. Bake cheesecake in a water bath for 1 hour 10 minutes or until set and golden brown at 160 degree celsius.

My own observation:
5. Leave to cool in oven with door ajar, about 1 hour. Sudden changes in temperature may cause the cake to cool too quickly and collapse.