Japanese Cheesecake- It's so jiggly and fluffy!
- Mint
- Feb 13, 2017
- 4 min read
You know what's super jiggly, fluffy, and tasty at the same time? A japanese cheesecake! I've recently had the urge and cravings to eat a japanese cheesecake and I just couldn't resist it! Even though I really wanted to eat one, I didn't want to go all the way to Arcadia and wait in line for one from Uncle Tetsu's, so instead I asked myself, why not make one from scratch? And that's exactly what I did today!
I was a little worried about some of the most common problems that occur when making these types of cheesecakes: Over beating the egg whites, egg whites deflating, and the cheesecake deflating and cracking, and (if you're using a spring form pan like me) water seeping into your pan and making your cheesecake soggy. Japanese cheesecakes require very precise measurements of ingredients and lots of attention. But I believe I can do it! Even though it's my first time making one from scratch, as long as I pay close attention and measure my ingredients precisely, I will make a decent japanese cheesecake!
I start by measuring all my ingredients by using a scale, separating the egg whites and yolks, and melting the butter, milk, and cream cheese over a double boiler. It actually took a lot longer than I expected for the ingredients to melt, but it gave me a lot more time to prepare other things for the cheesecake. After the mixture is melted, I let it cool and then fold in the yolks, lemon juice, cornstarch, and cake flour and mix them all together with a whisk until well combined. The mixture turned out to be not as liquid and having lots of bumps than I expected, so I added a little more milk and some water to the mixture.
Then comes the challenging part (well, at least for me it is): Whisking the egg whites to form the perfect soft peaks. I've heard all the problems and challenges of whisking egg whites. The cheesecake fails to rise and form its light and fluffy form because of either over beating or under beating the egg whites. To make sure that does not happen today, I kept a very close eye on my egg whites while they're whisking. When the egg whites started to become foamy, I gradually added my sugar to form my meringue. It took about 5 minutes until the egg whites finally formed soft peaks. I was pretty surprised that I didn't over beat the egg whites and I was really happy. BUT don't be happy to early, because here comes the next challenging part: Folding in the egg whites. Why is this part challenging? Well, if you're an experienced baker who has ever made japanese cheesecakes or sponge cakes, you will know that you can only fold the egg whites until they are well combined. Over folding the egg whites will result in deflated egg whites, which won't give you the fluffy and light results you want for your cheesecakes. Under folding the egg whites will result in a mixture that's not well combined and your cheesecake will not come out well either . You gotta get it just perfect. I made sure I didn't over fold my egg whites into my mixture then I it into a greased and lined 9 in spring form pan that's wrapped in several layers of aluminum foil (to prevent water seepage). I placed it in a bowl and poured in hot water until it was 1/2 way up the sides of the spring form pan. I set the oven at 325 degrees F and wait for it to bake for 1 hour and 10 minutes.
About an hour later, I'm really excited to eat my cake, but wait! You gotta let it cool and set in the oven with the door slightly open. Why? To prevent the cake from suddenly deflating too much. After about 15 minutes of letting it set in the oven, I excitedly took it out of the oven and the bowl of water. I unwrap the aluminum foil and took out the cheesecake. Just when I was about to release the spring form pan and take the cheesecake out, I realize that some water had seeped in. Oh no! The bottom was kind of soggy, but thankfully not a lot of water seeped in, so my cake was still fine. Next time though, I will use a regular cake pan instead of a spring form one so that water won't seep in again like it did this time.
After about 100 photos later, I cut into the cake and cut myself a big slice of cheesecakes and my face lights up with joy when I see the inside of the cake and touch it. IT"S SO JIGGLY AND FLUFFY! It literally feels like a pillow, except its edible! I bite into my slice of cheesecake and it tastes like heaven in my mouth. Mmm~ Just so delicious. Why I haven't I thought of making this earlier?!
Now that I know how to make a japanese cheesecake from scratch, I won't have to go all the way to Arcadia to wait in line or pre-order a Uncle Tetsu's cheesecake. Though Uncle Tetsu's tastes really good, it can never beat a homemade one. I can't wait to make this cheesecake again!
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