Japanese Cheesecake | Japanese Style Lemon cheesecake

Mixture prep 15-20 minutes

Baking 60 minutes

Serves 6 people

Pre-Preparation:
1. You will require: Parchment paper, manual whisk, electric whisk, cake pan of 8” x 3 “ or 9” x 3”, one large bowl for batter, one medium bowl for meringue, and one large cake pan for hot water bath.
2. Pre-heat the oven to 350°F (176°C).

*All the ingredients are at room temperature.*

Ingredients for Batter:

1. 250g - Philadelphia cream cheese
2. 6 egg yolks (preferably organic)
3. 5 tbsp (70g) - Sugar (preferably granular)
4. ½ cup (60g) - Unsalted butter
5. ½ cup (100ml) - Whole milk (Warm)
6. ½ cup (60g) - Cake flour/All purpose flour
7. 2½ tbsp - Cornstarch
8. 1 tbsp (½ lemon) - Lemon juice
9. 2 tsp - Lemon zest
10. ¼ tsp - Salt
11. ¼ tsp - Baking powder/cream of tartar-Optional
12. ½  tsp - Pure Vanilla extract (Optional)

Batter preparation:
1. In a large bowl, take cream cheese & whisk it until there are no lumps
2. Add egg yolks, whisk until the mixture is smooth
3. Add sugar and whisk
4. To make melted butter - Add butter to warm milk and then add this melted butter to the mixture and whisk
5. Add salt, lemon juice, lemon zest and whisk
6. Add cake flour and cornstarch and whisk
7. Add vanilla extract and whisk

Ingredients for Meringue:
1. 6 egg whites (preferably organic)
2. 5 tbsp (70g) - Sugar (preferably granular)

*You can make if 6 tbsp if you are a sweet tooth.*

Meringue preparation:
1. In a medium bowl, add egg whites and whisk for 5 mins on low-medium (or level 1)
2. Now add sugar, and whisk.
3. Continuously whisk until there is a soft peak on the meringue, for approx more 10 minutes.

Hot water bath Preparation:
1. Take large cake pan, place a cloth or paper towel in a criss-cross position.
2. Add hot water to the prepared water bath.

Final Preparation:

1. Add  Meringue to a larger bowl, mix it thoroughly.
2. Grease your cake pan with butter and place parchment paper on it.
3. Pour the batter into a cake pan and tap it so that there aren’t any air bubbles.
4. Now place the small cake pan into the larger cake pan (the one where we created a hot water bath).
5. Bake the cake in preheated oven for 30 mins at 350°F (176°C) and then for another 60 mins for 320°F (160°C).

Tips:
1. The water bath is very important so that your cheesecake doesn’t crack from the top.
2. Fudge cheesecake is dry? Uh-oh, it’s overcooked. Well, don’t be sad, lesson learned for next attempt. :)

Quick health gyaan:

1. Cheese-cream is high in fat, so moderation is a key here. Cheesecakes are not meant for regular consumption.
2. Cheesecake contains Minerals like Iron, Potassium, Sodium, Selenium, Phosphorus, and vitamins like C, A, D, K, B6, and B12.
3. Avoid eating cheesecake immediately after your lunch/dinner. Preferably, eat cheesecake as a mid-meal or after you do HIIT(High-intensity interval training) exercise.