Japanese Cheesecake

We are so familiar with all kinds of cheesecake from all over the world, but I think the Japanese cheesecake is hardly mentioned. Cheesecake recipes have been beloved for centuries. Everyone that I know never refuses a piece of cheesecake. When my friend, Pamela, mentioned about the Japanese cheesecake, I felt so intrigued. One time while her flight stopped over at the Tokyo airport, she had a piece of this cake and fell in love with it since then. I had been searching for the recipe of the Japanese cheesecake, and I soon learned that this cake is a cross between sponge cake and cheesecake. However, Japanese cheesecake is very light, smooth, and soft as a cloud. After reading recipes from different websites with different methods and slightly different ingredients, I felt confident enough to create my own recipe for making Japanese cheesecake. I am very happy with my first attempt. It turned out exactly as I had imagined it would – light, smooth, and soft. If preferring a lighter cheesecake than the traditional famous American New York cheesecake, then the Japanese cheesecake is the one.

Ingredients:
5 eggs, separated (leave the whites in the refrigerator until ready to use)
One 8 oz cream cheese at room temperature
3 tbsp butter at room temperature
1/3 cup cornstarch
Pinch of salt
1/4 cup milk
1/2 cup white sugar
1 tsp vanilla
1 tbsp lemon juice
1/4 tsp cream of tartar

Preparing the cake pan:
Line an 8” x 8” square cake pan with parchment paper (overlap the sides of the pan).
Line a baking pan larger than the cake pan with a paper towel.

Directions:
Preheat oven to 325°. Bring a pot of 3 cups of water to boil.
Cut cream cheese into cubes.
In double boiler, place cream cheese and stir until completely melted. Stir in 3 tbsp butter, lemon juice, milk and half of the sugar. Stir for a few minutes. Let it cool down.
Sift cornstarch and salt.
In a KitchenAid stand mixer bowl using the flat beater, beat the egg yolks until light and fluffy. Add vanilla and sift cornstarch into the egg yolks. Stir the cream cheese into the yolks mixture.
Whisk egg white using the wire whip until foamy. Gradually, add cream of tartar and the other half of the sugar. Continue to beat the egg white until the egg white has steep peaked.
Fold the egg white into the cream cheese mixture in 3 stages using folding methods. Slightly tap the bowl to remove some of the big bubbles.
Pour the batter into the prepared cake pan. Tap the cake pan again to remove more big bubbles. Place the cake pan into the baking pan and pour the hot water halfway up the sides of the cake pan. Bake for 40 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Turn the oven off and slightly open the oven door. Let cheesecake cool off in the oven for one hour before removing from the oven to protect the surface of the cake. Some people like to serve with fresh fruit or jam on top.