Cotton Soft Japanese Cheesecake

It came out EXACTLY like the bakery - soft, light..like sponge cake.

Cake flour - find it, use it. It's lower in protein yielding lighter, fluffier goodness. Putting AP flour through a screen doesn't make it super-fine - you're not going to cut protein molecules with that. Super Target carries cake flour, so it's not THAT hard to find.

Make sure to whip the eggs to soft peaks - you're basically making a foam, or in this case, almost a meringue. Don't stop at "paste-like" white goo. It might be best to slightly change the process listed.

Whip eggs by themselves to nearly soft peak, then add cream of tartar to soft peak, then ->slowly<- add sugar. Also - look for "superfine" sugar ("caster" in Britain). Regular granulated won't work as well.

By the way, is the top of the cheesecake meant to firm up when it has cooled down? coz that's what happened to mine, despite it being desirably softer when still warm.

Yes, cornflour is the same as cornstarch.

Thanks for the recipe.

*FYI: Please pay attention when you whisk the egg whites, Just take the foam only, do not take the liquid on the bottom of the egg white mixture, because that's the main reason your cake won't rise.

Hope this info help y'all.

Only my first attempt was successful. My subsequent attempts (3 so far) all failed! So disappointing. The cake didn't rise well and the bottom is often hardened. Is it necessary to mix the flour well into the cheese mixture? I have been doing that but the result was a batter filled with bubbles. Was it due to over-mixing? What went wrong? Does the depth of water used in the water bath affect the outcome? Thanks!

I followed the instruction exactly but my cake was not cotton soft. The thin top layer was cotton soft but the bottom was dense. Could you tell me what I did wrong? Also, when should add the salt? I hope you can give me some advise.

Oh, even though the cake was dense but the taste was perfect, light and not very sweet. I really want to make this cake again. Thank you.

The second time, after reading through all the reviews here and on other forums, I figured out how to get a meringue/souffle. I did the rest of the stuff before the whites.

But this time, I underestimated the volume (since the first time there was so little of it) and used an aluminum pan from the shops that was too small so as it rose, it spilled over. I think I did everything else correctly - the batter looked good and the whites kept their shape so well - so I'm a bit cross at myself for not expecting the larger volume and the rise.

I had to take it out halfway and pour out some of the water bath. I'm not sure how it will affect the texture inside. But it looks more like what it should than the first time around.

I will do this another time and I think I'll have all the techniques needed to do this cake well.

Thanks!

For the 2 oz cake flour, I used 1/8th cup. For the 1 oz cornstarch, I used half of the 1/8th cup. I sifted this into the yolk mixture.

The recipe does not say when to add the salt, but I added it in step 1.

For step 3, I used about 1 1/2 cups of the beaten egg whites and gently folded it into the yolk mixture to lighten it. Then gently fold small amounts of this yolk mixture a little at a time into the egg whites without deflating it.

I used a 9 in. non-stick cheesecake or springform pan lined with baking parchment paper on the bottom. I used foil on the outside of the pan, placed this into a larger glass pan, and added about 2 in deep of water for the water bath. Although the cake rose high, it did not spill over. At the end of 1 hr 20 min, I turned off the oven and did not remove the cheesecake immediately until the oven cooled. It shrank back, but it now has a cotton-soft spongy appearance inside with a beautifully brown top. Melts in your mouth - perfect for babies to eat! It is a deliciously delicate cream cheese spongecake!

The only thing I can think of is that I uused a smaller cake tin and I have a fan forced oven.

Also during the last step of mixing I can see that there's a lot of BIG air bubbles. Is that suppose to be there?

Can anyone tell me how to mix in the flour to the batter without it getting lumpy? I spend the longest time trying to flatten lumps against the sides of the bowl! I baked it but not tasted it yet.

I've already read through all of the reviews. From those positive reviews I'm confident this must be a great recipe. Before I start, I hope you can help me with two questions:

1) Many reviewers reported that water got into the cheesecake when using a spring form baking pan. Do you recommend using a regular 9" round baking pan with lining?

2) I also have problems converting the measurements. For example, I converted 60g/2oz.cake flour into 5/8 cup and 20g/1oz. corn flour to 1/4 cup. Fortunately, I read the review from 'Lisa the Baker', her conversion is 1/8 cup and 1/16 cup. It would be a disaster if I used my conversion. Would you please convert all measurements into cups and tablespoons? Your help is highly appreciated. Thank you.

I am told that cake flour can be purchased at Safeway stores in Australian and cake flour is available at Coles supermarkets under the Anchor brand.

I'm also told there is an American store in Melbourne that sells Swan's Cake Flour which is an American brand.

Try the website: www.usafoods.com.au

They may carry it online at this store.

Good Luck! Sincerely, Diana, Diana's Desserts

So first of all, this recipe as is, is terrific. I made some modifications to personal taste (mainly increasing the amount of cream cheese and omitting the butter) but if you follow this recipe it should be fine. A few questions that I've seen pop up:

1) Cake flour is NOT the same as all purpose. A light substitution is to take a cup of all purpose, take out 2 tablespoons, then add 2 tablespoons of corn starch. It's not great but it works alright.

2) To get rid of clumps, make sure the flour is well sifted and add in parts.

3) I would never use a spring form for this recipe. My 9 inch square pyrex works very well in a 9 by 13" brownie pan waterbath.

4) For even brownie in a non-convection oven after about 40 minutes (NO SOONER OF YOUR CAKE MAY FALL), turn the cake.