Grandma's Japanese Cheesecake

Christmas brings back lots of wonderful memories and of course reminds me of my family that is no longer with us. My Grandma passed away after a courageous battle with cancer a couple years ago. We were lucky enough to share many Christmases together including Ava’s first Christmas.

My Grandma was Japanese and introduced me to so many delicious Asian foods that I still enjoy with my family today. One dessert that I was never able to make with my Grandma was Japanese Cheesecake. So for Inka Tour’s 24 Days of Christmas Around the World, I decided to represent Japan and share Grandma’s Japanese Cheesecake with y’all.

This cheesecake is different than your traditional rich and thick cheesecake. Japanese Cheesecake is light and airy. It puffs up like a souffle and has the look and texture of a sponge cake. I line the bottom of mine with raisins which gives it that flavor of rice pudding.

I know Grandma would have loved it and I am sure you and your family will too.

Merry Christmas from my family to yours!

Ingredients:

⅔ cup milk
4 oz cream cheese
7 tablespoons butter
8 egg yolks
13 egg whites
¼ cup flour
¼ cup cornstarch
⅔ cup sugar
1/2 cup raisins
powdered sugar, for garnish

Directions:

Preheat oven to 320°F.
Line a 9 inch cake or springform pan with parchment. Wrap the bottom of the springform pan with aluminium foil to prevent any leaks.
Sprinkle raisins on the bottom of the pan.
In a small pot over medium heat, whisk the milk, cream cheese, and butter until smooth. Remove from heat and cool.
In a large bowl, whisk the egg yolks until smooth, then slowly drizzle in the cream mixture, stirring until evenly combined.
Sift in the flour and the cornstarch, whisking to make sure there are no lumps.
Whisk in the flour mixture to the egg mix.
In another large bowl, beat the egg whites with a hand mixer until you see soft peaks form.
Gradually add the sugar while continuing to beat until you see hard peaks form.
Take about ¼ of the egg whites and fold them into the egg yolk mixture, then repeat with the remaining egg whites until the batter is evenly combined.
Place the cake pan into a larger baking pan or dish lined with 2 paper towels at the bottom. The paper towels ensure that the heat is distributed evenly along the bottom of the pan. Fill the larger pan about 1-inch with hot water.
Pour the batter into the parchment-lined pan and shake to release any large air bubbles.
Bake for 25 minutes, then reduce the heat to 280°F, and bake for another 55 minutes, until the cake has risen to almost double its height.
Remove from oven, and carefully, invert the hot cake and peel off the paper.
Sprinkle the top of the cake with powdered sugar, slice, and serve while still warm!

Adapted from : https://tasty.co/recipe/fluffy-jiggly-japanese-cheesecake

In a small pot over medium heat, whisk the milk, cream cheese, and butter until smooth.

Remove from heat and cool.

Sprinkle raisins on the bottom of a lined cake pan.

Sift in the flour and the cornstarch, whisking to make sure there are no lumps.

Separate 13 eggs. You will need 13 eggs whites and 8 yolks.

Use the remaining yolks for another recipe {or breakfast}.

In a large bowl, whisk the egg yolks until smooth, then slowly drizzle in the

cream mixture.

Stir until evenly combined.

Now whisk in the flour mixture.

In another large bowl, beat the egg whites with a hand mixer until you see soft peaks form.

Mix on med high speed until soft peaks form.

Gradually add the sugar while continuing to beat on med high.

…until you see hard peaks form.

Take about ¼ of the egg whites and fold them into the egg yolk mixture.

Repeat with the remaining egg whites until the batter is evenly combined.

Place the cake pan into a larger baking pan lined with 2 paper towels at the bottom. The paper towels ensure that the heat is distributed evenly along the bottom of the pan.

Fill the larger pan about 1-inch with hot water.