Lemon Japanese Cotton Cheesecake

"After you’ve tasted this impossibly light and airy Japanese Cotton Cheesecake, you’ll never make the ‘normal’ kind ever again!" by The Kate Tin

INGREDIENTS:

  • 5 large eggs (250g), refrigerated and separated
  • 250g full fat cream cheese
  • 50g unsalted butter, plus extra for greasing
  • 85ml cream
  • 50g + 85g white sugar
  • 85g NutriDay Plain Double Cream Yoghurt
  • 60g cake flour
  • Zest and juice of ½ lemon (25ml juice)
  • Icing sugar, to dust

 

DIRECTIONS:

  • Grease a deep 22cm springform cake tin with a little butter. Wrap the outside in one piece of foil to make it watertight. Refrigerate the bowl of your stand mixer or a large metal/glass mixing bowl.
  • Preheat the oven to 180C or 160C fan-forced. Place a roasting dish (that will fit your cake tin) inside the oven and pour hot water until halfway - about 2.5cm deep.
  • Fill a medium saucepan with 5cm water and bring to a gentle simmer.
  • Place the cream cheese, butter, cream and 50g sugar in a glass or metal bowl over the saucepan and whisk until melted - this is to make sure there are no lumps.
  • Remove from the heat and add the egg yolks, one at a time, while whisking in between each addition. Whisk in the yoghurt.
  • Sieve the flour over the batter and whisk well. Pass the mixture through a fine mesh strainer or sieve.
  • Add the zest of ½ lemon and 30ml lemon juice. Set aside.
  • Add cold egg whites into the chilled bowl of a stand mixer and whisk on medium until foamy. Add the remaining 85g sugar slowly while mixing then increase the speed to high and beat until medium peaks. Whisk ⅓ of the egg whites into the cheesecake batter then fold the rest into the mixture. Pour the batter into the prepared tin all at once and tap on the counter a few times to remove any pockets of air.
  • Place the cake tin inside the roasting dish of water in the oven. Reduce the oven temperature to 160 and bake the cheesecake for 40-45 minutes or until the cheesecake is just set but still wobbly. If you insert a skewer into the centre it should come out clean.
  • Turn the oven off and leave the door slightly open for 20 minutes (with the cake inside).
  • Remove from the oven and allow to cool to room temperature.
  • Refrigerate for 1-2 hours then dust with icing sugar before serving.