It has been a while since my previous cake recipe sharing, today I am glad to share with you a delicious light pillowy soft Japanese cheesecake recipe that is adaptable to most brands of conventional ovens with top and bottom heating (without fan on).
This time, I have recorded a video to show you the summary of procedure on how I prepare the cake batter and bake it. It even has a in-oven baking progress to let you see how the cake was baked. Click the Japanese Cheesecake recipe page to watch the 5 minutes video.
I have spent weeks in baking this cheesecake by trying out different recipes and different techniques. Some almost success but some failed miserably, they all taste delicious even they are failed. Why do I mean by a “failed” Japanese cheesecake? If you have seen a Japanese cheesecake before, you will know that they are supposed to have a smooth lightly domed surface, straight sides, cottony texture and moist souffle-like cake crumbs. If they do not have this character on my Japanese cheesecake, it will be classified it as a “failed cake”. What a perfectionist I am!
Over the past weeks, I have baked a few failed cheesecakes and some”not-so-perfect” cheesecakes (thanks to all my friends, families and neighbours who are willing to take up all the “not-so-perfect” cakes with warm welcome, they actually taste as good). I was pessimistic at a point and wonder why my baking buddy Mandy succeeded all the time with a commonly found Japanese cheesecake recipe. No, I am not going to give up, we spent days and nights chatting on the problems and solutions. Finally, we’ve found out that there is nothing wrong with the recipe; the crack, crumple side and occasional underbaked center issues were all because of my oven! I have an oven that has it’s own character, it will crack the top of the cake by the end of 1/3 baking time. If you have the same experience with the Japanese cheesecake even you have followed to every detail stated in the recipe, don’t feel bad, it could be your oven that failed the cake! I was totally lost at first but after taking the baking progress time lapse video with my GoPro camera (ya finally I am utilising my GoPro camera bought from Amazon), I saw that my cake suddenly rise up and begin to crack at about 45 mins of baking. I then researched other recipe who could give me a hint of this problem and finally I found an appear-to-be-perfect recipe. As an engineer myself, I trusted that recipe as the author explained the problem from a scientific aspect, after all baking is all about chemical reaction. Yes, I am going to try it out, yola, I succeeded in the first attempt, I can’t even believe it when I saw my cake standing there so perfect after coming out from the oven, so beautiful, so professional. I almost cracked into tears, jumping up and down!
I didn’t stop after I have got the Japanese cheesecake baked perfectly, I baked another few more to proof that I wasn’t just lucky to get it perfected by chance. The success brings lots of courages to me and I decided to make a video to show a summary procedure on how to bake it. Thus, I baked another few more for the video recording. Below are some of the different stencil designs I used to decorate the Japanese cheesecake. They were all successful…. Mandy asked me if I ever counted how many Japanese cheesecake I have baked in total, I think shouldn’t be less than 20 cakes… hahahaha
[Update: I received lots of inquiry about where to buy the Hello Kitty Cake Stencil I used here. I have a few in stock and listed in my online shop, click here to buy]
Try out this delicious Japanese Cheesecake recipe and remember to watch the how-to-bake video for the process and procedure. You should be able to success if you follow the instruction to a T.
Japanese cheesecake is best serve after it has cooled down and chilled. Enjoy!
Hi..I love your cheesecake and it taste great! But I have a few issue every time at the end result. Is flat top normal? And why do side of the cake wrinkled and uneven? Please help and advice.. thank you 🙂
Did you line the side of the pan? Some people will have flat top and I am not sure why.
Hello, your cheesecake looks beautiful! I’m planning to make it tomorrow but I only have lite milk. Will this heavily affect the recipe/end result? If not then I will go ahead with it but if it will then I guess making this cake will have to wait until I get some full fat milk haha! I’m really glad that I discovered your website, can’t wait to browse around. Thank you and keep up the amazing work 🙂
Hi Alyssa, you can use lite milk as a replacement but it might affect the taste a little since lite milk is not as creamy as full-fat milk or whole milk.
Hello,
I’ve been attempting to make the perfect JCC for a while now. However, the issue I have is that the top and middle part of the cake turns out perfect and the bottom layer of the cake is soggy because it is wet from the water bath. Somehow water always gets into my cake pan like I literally see water on the bottom of the cake pan. I’m not using a springform pan and I’ve been using a regular cake pan with no openings. Is there a reason why water is getting into my cake pan?
Hi Naomi, this probably caused by water condensation during the cooling cycle. You may invert the cake out from the pan and let it remain invert for about 30 minutes to dry off the water. Remember to place a wax paper at the top of the cake before you invert the cake, this will prevent the cake from sticking to the plate. Did you take out the water bath during the cooling cycle?
I see, I haven’t taken it out the water bath during the cooling cycle yet. I was actually thinking that condensation would be the problem, but I was wondering why I’m the only one experiencing this condensation problem, since you leave your cake in the water bath. When I invert the cake, do I place it back in the oven for the cooling period? Also, wouldn’t the top of the cake be flat if I were to invert the cake?
Only take out the water bath during the last cooling stage with the door slightly only. After the cake is cooled down only invert the cake and let the base dry at room temperature. Yes, the top will be slightly flat to compensate for a drier base.
hi, i have been making JCC several times using this recipe, the only problem i always got is the batter consistency, the batter surface always looks bubbly and not silky smooth, i have follow the recipe instruction and watched so many youtube JCC video, i fold the meringue into the cheese batter very gently and used caster sugar, i also put some cream of tartar and beat the whites till soft peaks but the batter consistency are still so runny or watery,
is it normal to have bubbles on batter surface and big air pocket on them ?
please tell me how to avoid this problem T-T
Thank you very much for sharing the recipe.
Love from indonesia
If you have this problem, most probably it is caused by the folding technique. When you pour the batter into the baking pan, pour it higher (I pour mine about 10″ away from the baking pan) but slowly, this will allow the bubbles to break when it surfaced. Tap your pan on the table to release more bubble before sending it into the oven. If your batter surface is rough (after the bubbles break), smooth it out with a spatula. I hope this helps.
my cake came out with a gelatine-texture. the top part did rise and somewhat undercooked fluffy. i need help
Jade, the most common mistake with this recipe is that the meringue wasn’t beaten correctly and mixed well with the cream mixture. The second issue is the oven temperature. Please try again and this time be extra careful on every step that I’ve pointed in the note.
Can I use light or low fat cream cheese?
Should not an issue but it might compromise the taste as this cake is not very cheesy, to begin with.
Would you kindly please reweigh the eggs white, 6 xl egg white that I weigh only 224 gr.
So far it looks really good, It’s still in the oven, crack up a little bit but take a picture and let you see it.
Thanks a lot for the recipe
As long as your cake is good, please continue to use the same size of eggs everytime you bake. Egg sizes between countries are in different grades.
This is now my go to recipe for the japanese cheesecake and friends and family now requests it for any occasion from me. However, despite the many times I’ve made this I just can’t seem to get the same browning of the top that you had (and as how other Asian made Japanese cheesecake I’ve seen). I’ve got the texture and taste for sure and not getting cracks as much as before, but the color! Gah! As a write this, I’m thinking it might be the lame eggs I’ve been using. Could it be that?
Hi. I followed your recipe and it turned out great. Thank you! One more thing, I was wondering if you had a 9×3 cake pan recipe as well.
In my comment early i forgot to let you know that i add extra 15gm creamcheese.could it be the problem to have crumbs when i slice
The cake look beautiful and taste good but the problem is when i cut my cake after chill for overnight is not smooth piece but alot of crumb
It is normal to have crumbs during cutting the cheesecake as it is a lightly moist cake. Warm your knife before cutting it just like cutting a normal New York cheesecake.
Hi,
I just made this cake. it turned out really well but i didn’t achieved the spongy jiggling texture consistently. The bottom was a bit too firm. Could it be from the cooling in the oven. There is that fluffy layer on top though.
Thanks
Same here. I’ve made it three times and the tops have been perfect but the bottoms have been quite firm/dense.
This is the common problem many people will face when you are new o 2-part batter mixing. Most of the time, your meringue was deflated during improper folding when the cream mixture is added in. When the tiny bubbles in the meringue are gone, the batter cannot hold the weight of heavy cream mixture thus the high amount of heavier mixture will sink to the bottom. Secondly, the improper mixing didn’t get both parts incorporated well thus the meringue can’t get hold of cream mixture and it sinks to the bottom during baking. Remember that meringue cooked and risen faster than cream cheese due to the egg white, if they are not well incorporated, then the cream cheese is left behind and sink to the bottom.
Hope this explained the science behind how this 2 part batter cake is baked.
Can you please post the conversions to cups? Thank you!
I used these for the stuff that needed to be converted
– 2/3 cup powdered sugar in total
-4 tsp corn starch
-1/2 cup milk
-1/2 cup four
Mine turned out with cracks on top but I think it it because my meringue deflated a bit.
Tasted great and rose nicely
I don’t have an 8 inch or 9 inch pan, so what would be my measurements for a 12 inch pan?
Hi, I only have a convection force oven. Which precautions should I take in my case? in your experience, is possible to get a successful result? Thanks for the recipe and all the step-by-step and recomendations. I’ve been in Japan last month I was amazed when I tried this delicious dessert!
Could you please please please tell me the measurements in cups
Please
Thank you so much for your recipe. It’s very detailed in words together with a video, everything is clear and I can’t wait to try it out. Thank you!
Hi, I have made your JCC already several times with excellent results. To satisfy the taste of some friends in some cases I replaced the “philadelphia” with the “mascarpone” (sweeter and less acidic). I have seen around some chocolate or zebra variants of this recipe. Can I simply divide the mixture into two part and add to one the cocoa powder or melted chocolate? How Much? Thank you
I did the zebra version before by adding about 2 Tbsp of cocoa powder to half portion of the batter.
Okay, ill make a comment. I seriously NEED some help with this cake.
I myself am not a bad cook in general. I like cooking, even baking. But this is my first time with meringue and this 2 part batter etc.
The first time i made this cake i used another recipe and it turned out…”okayish”. Basicly the cake was allright, maybe a bit defalted and wrinkly, but it had a good fluffy middle. the bottom had a thin layer of “egg”. Still edible, still tasty, those were minor mistakes.
Ever since then i have tried to perfect the cake…and it got worse, and worse…and worse.
After 5 more tries i started using your recipe. The taste was better, but not a single out of the 4 cakes turned out well. They have risen perfectly inside the oven, they look delicious. No cracks etc. But when the heat goes down to 140 the cake deflates a bit. Probably normal. If i then turn the heat off and let the cake cool down…the whole thing breaks down. It deflates almost to a pancake stage. Spongy middle, bit like pudding, bottom layer of egg, ofc no dome.
I have tried so many different things but i must be doing something wrong thats maybe obvious..but not to me.
I whisk the eggwhites in a plastic bowl (does that matter?). I use a handmixer, i dont have such a big mixing machine. I tried soft, medium and stiff peaks. When i mix the 2 things together i notice that the egg white has a “slippery” layer at the bottom. i dont mix that into the batter. When i pour the completed batter into the baking pan (waterbath i use aswell), it first comes out evenly but at the bottom, again, some normal, more orange batter gathers up.
I have the feeling that either the oven temperature is a problem (ordered an oven thermometre moments ago <,<) or that the better is the issue.
But why did it work the first time? Was i maybe more careful with mixing the meringue into the batter? Im not stirring it or anything…but am i indeed too "quick" or so with mixing it?
ANY help would be much appreciated. Im frustrated, but i dont wanna give up getting this cake to a near perfect state atleast 🙂
Sorry for any spelling mistakes, english is my 2nd language.
So sorry about your cake. I would said that the highest possibility of this problem is due to inproperly mixing of the 2 part batter. From the way you described, the batter could be under mixed since you have residue of cream cheese batter at the bottom of the bowl. Try again and this time make sure they are mixed properly so that both white and yellow part are completely incorporated, no white lumps and no yellow mixture left at the bottom of the bowl.
I tried it again. PROGRESS! Thank you for the awesome advice 🙂 After mixing it more and WAY more slower, even with a spoon/spatle thingy. The cake itself did rise way more in the oven, sadly i totally forgot to put it on the lowest place in the oven and the top got burned.
The next problem is that while the consistency of the cake inside is now fully consistent (no more layers), the whole cake did deflate a TON. its now kinda..spongy inside. can see the airchambers but its just not high enough 🙁
Was that because the top did get WAY too much heat due to the cake sitting in the middle? Or is it another issue? (Mixing the batter even more with slower strokes?)
Again, thanks for any advice you can offer 🙂 Im still mega happy that i atleats made some progress and the cake is edible 😀
Cant edit my last comment, so another one, sorry for that:
I germany we use type 405 flour. I suspect its an issue aswell. Since the consistency is about okay now, but the cake simply doesnt stay up or hold its structure, i guess that the flour is an issue?
Type 405 is sort of…used for cakes, cookies, bread. Can i just take some flour away then and add more cornstarch?
Might be the issue, but ultimately i don’t know enough about baking to determine that 🙂
I do not know if in Germany it’s like in Italy (but I think so). The W value of a flour indicates its strength. W160-200 flours are generally used for soft cakes. W400 flours (such as manitoba flour) are suitable for other types of processing (bread, brioches, etc). A flour classified as strong (W high), in addition to being rich in gluten, absorbs high percentages of liquids and retains more carbon dioxide. The dough is elastic, tenacious and particularly resistant to leavening thanks to the more solid glutinic network.
OR do i have to use less cornstarch? The cake rises considerably in the oven, so thats not an issue. Its just that after its cooling down it cant hold itself up and ends in a…fluffy pancake
I am happy that your cake has improved after a better mixing process. I did a quick search and found out that 405 flour is basically equivalent to cake flour. In this case, you don’t have to adjust the quantity of the flour, just follow the 60/20 gram ratio.
Since your cake has big bubble holes in it, it is again due to mixing issue. The tiny air bubbles in the beaten egg whites have combined into a bigger bubbles, thus, they expandes in sizes when the cake is baked and shrunk after cooling down.
Thank you, again, for your advice 🙂
Tried the cake a very last time and again, turned out badly.
After incorporating the egg-white into the batter, is it right that the mixed batter is very “fluffy”? As in, i tasted it and its kind of like..50%air, 50% batter.
In the oven itself, the cake is rising very, VERY HIGH. Atleast double, if not triple its starting size. Then after reducing the temperature it shrinks, and after cooling it shrinks even more, ending in this…denser, moist structure on the inside.
Thanks to you though, the bottom layer of egg is gone and the whole cake is atleast somewhat consistant.
I considered that maybe the cake was undercooked, so i even let it stay inside the oven for longer just in case.
Things i should point out, maybe it helps.
The meringue i beat without cream of tartar, as it was said that its optional down in the comments.
I used an 8×4 inch pan, same style as yours. I know its a bit higher, but it shouldnt be too much of an issue?
I put the cake on the lowest oven setting, i use an oven thermometre, follow the temperature the cake needs to be baked at.
Sadly i have no friends who can bake well, my only help comes from the internet in this case. Ive researched google far and wide 🙂 No results that really help.
Might be that the meringue is the problem, but it looks exactly like yours or others. Soft peaks etc.
I think you are still right though, the big air bubbles might be an issue. But i have no idea how to resolve that. I allready mix the batter oh so VERY slowly.
Again, any help would be appreciated 🙂 At this point i kind of lost hope though.
P.S. I have a smaller oven than usual by the way. its just your..every day oven, just with smaller room size.
Hi Patrick, glad that you never give up, love your fighting spirit! If you have read my story on how I get this cake perfected, we are on quite similar path. I got confused and miserable at a point so I understand how you feel.
Regarding your question on the batter, it is not fluffy but I would say that it is volumised due to the existence of the tiny bubbles.
If your cake rose too high during the bake, either your oven temperature was too high, or, your meringue is too stiff and dry, or, the batter didn’t incorporate well. Stiff and dry meringue is difficult to incorporate during the mixing, beginner usually deflated the bubbles and under-mixed them.
You are right, cream of tartar is just optional, but you can add 1/2 tsp of lemon juice in the meringue as a substitute.
Your 8×4″ pan is fine as long as it is not a black pan.
However, I wasn’t sure about your oven but as long as it has top & bottom heat without fan, big enough for you to place decent about of water in the water-bath pan, it should work.
Hi there!
I just made the cake and it’s cracked on the top and it first rised a lot but after 35 minutes it came down. What could be the mistake?
Most probably is due to deflation of meringue, improper mixing of the 2 part batter usually caused this problem.
Hi, Im hoping for some help, a friend of mine wants a Japanese Maple Cheese cake for his birthday, i think he had it when when he went to Japan last year, and has asked me to make it cause i bake a lot, the picture looks the same ( i showed him) but its not maple and i have searched the internet and i can’t find a recipe, is there a way to change this so that its maple or do you have a recipe?
Hi there! I made this cake today and it’s delicious. However, the top cracked and it seem quite dense. Very spongy Any advice you can offer is lovely.
Thanks you
Linda
Hi Linda, the problem of yours could be from improper mixing of the beaten egg whites and cream cheese mixture. Usually if they don’t mix properly mostly due to undermixed, the beaten egg white can’t get hold of the heavier cream cheese mixture and hen the heavy ingredient sink to the bottom. The crack on the top is also associated with this issue.
I think the crack top could be due top over-beaten of the meringue. It happens when the meringue is too stiff, from my experience.
everything about this cake turned out perfect (even though we made mistakes) right up until baking, when it burned badly! we followed the temperature and put it on the bottom rack, and used the water bath. we scraped off the burnt top and it was fine underneath, but why might this have happened? also, for anyone looking to mask the eggy flavor, topping the cake with a drizzle of milk and some fruit spread makes it taste just as un-eggy as normal cheesecake!
Hi,
Thanks a million for such a yummy recipes. Japanese cheese cake is my husband’s favourite, managed to make it with Ur recipe and he loved it. I have a small query… The bottom half of my cake was a little more dense and not so fluffy. Did I make any mistake in folding the meringue or is it something else. Please reply.
Thanks a lot. I am baking this cake again for sure.
Hi Aditi, Glad that you and your husband love this cake. The problem of dense structure at the bottom of the cake could be from the folding, if it is just lightly dense, then I will think that it could be your oven or the pan you are using. Never use dark pan and springform pan, it won’t give you a perfect cake.
Hi I am trying to figure out what you mean “full cream milk”. Is it the whole milk or heavy cream? Also when I make the meringue, can I just get rid of cream of tartar completely? Lastly, if I am using the cake flour already, do I have to use the corn starch? Is it the corn starch that is helping it rise
Or the egg whites? Please let me know so I can make this cake. I can’t wait to give it a try. Thank you.
Full Cream milk is whole milk.
Yes, cream of tartar is optional.
Corn starch is still needed when you are using cake flour (not self rising flour).
It is the beaten egg whites that helps to rise the cake as there is no baking powder in this recipe.
I did everything exactly to the recipe and it made 2 and a half cakes
Are you using self rising flour instead of cake flour?
I don’t have an 8×3 pan. Is it ok to use 8×2? Or 9×2? I also don’t have a roasting pan that is 2” tall and 11” in diameter, so is it ok to use a simple baking sheet and fill it with water instead?
9 x 2″ will be better as you can fill in more batter than 8 x 2″. I still throw away some batter when using 8 x 3″. You need to line the side of the 9 x 2″ pan in order for you to fill in more batter. If you have 9 x 2.5″ pan, then it you do not have to line. Water bath in shallow pan is not as ideal but can be use, fill it up with as much water as you can. Please do not use black baking sheet.
Thank you! One last question. My cheesecake doesn’t rise as much as the one in your video and I don’t know what I’m doung wrong. The top definitely browns but it doesn’t become a round dome. What do you think is the problem?
If you have done everything correctly and it still doesn’t give you nice round dome top, then probably is the heat distribution of your oven. Some how, some ovens just can’t give you the round domed top.
I can’t wait to try this recipe for my friend’s birthday. I was wondering if matcha powder can be added into the recipe or substituted for anything? If so what would be the measurement without giving the cake an overpowering matcha flavor?
Yes, you may substitute matcha powder in this recipe, just remove the same amount of corn starch for the match powder in Tbsp measurement.
Can baking chocolate or cocoa powder be added to the recipe without adversely affecting the consistency of the finished product?
Cocoa powder can be added in. Scoop out the same amount of corn starch from the recipe in order to maintain the consistency. I tried 2 Tbsp before and it taste great.
I write in name of my wife as she is semi blind. But the real problem is that she has celiac too. Which means she can only bake cakes without any material (flour) that has Gluten in it.
Is there variation possible without the flour?
Thank you, and , please, can you send me the answer also to my email address as I usually don’t follow this site and she will have trouble finding your answer in the comments.
Thank you for the perfect recipe! I have to say if the instructions are followed correctly the result is perfect! I read in the comments that a few people had a problem with the texture after baking (dense lower part and fluffy upper part). I had the same problem when I used a pan with removable bottom. The water that we use in the baking process passed through and this had as a result to form a dense bottom. The next time I made it using an one piece pan came out perfect! Every time I make it it is consumed in a few hours! perfect!!
Thank you, Elmina, for the great tip.
I just tried your cheesecake recipe and it’s turn out very well when it just finished. It’s jiggly and have flat top when it’s hot. But when the cake cool down & I put in the fridge, the cake becomes no more jiggly and shrink a bit. Is it always happens when you put the cheesecake in the fridge or something go wrong?
Yes, it is normal, Dian. It only jiggles when it is still warm.
hi, if I would like to make matcha flavour, can you advise on the substituition? thanks!
You may add 1-2 Tbsp (depending on the your preference flavour) of matcha powder into the flour, scoop out 1-2 Tbsp of corn flour from the given measurement from the recipe.
Hi, my cake did not rise and bottom is very dense, I tried baking this cake before using other recipes, also not successful, do you have any advice?
Looks like you have deflated the tinny bubbles in the beaten egg white. If you see lots of large bubbles when pouring the batter into the pan, then it is due to meringue deflation. Otherwise, it could be water sipping into the pan if you are using springform pan.
Hi! Thank you for the recipe! I tried it and The results turned it good. The taste is great but as I cut open the cake, I noticed that the bottom third seem a little different denser texture, as if the mixture had settled before it cooked. Do you have any tips?
Usually it is a sign of split batter due to improper mixing of the 2-part batter. The batter didn’t get well incorporate into each other hence the egg whites split from the cream cheese mixture and float to the top. If you see lumps of beaten egg whites when you pour the batter into the cake pan, that’s the culprit.
Thanks for sharing your fantastic and easy to follow recipe and your YouTube tutorial, which helped a lot for someone like me who bakes only occasionally. I made this twice, once using the eggs as described in grams (8 large eggs and 2 – 9″ x 1.5″ pans) and the second time using 6 extra large eggs (1 – 10″ x 2″pan). I baked at 400F for 20 minutes and reduced to 300F and baked for 30 mins. Both times produced great results so I’ll definitely be making the cake again!
Hello im george! I really loved your recipe. I have 2 problems. 1st the cake always cracks open and 2nd at the cooling stage collapses. Please help me out. I wanna make this amazing cheesecake.
I think probably your egg white was a little over beating, too stiff. We just need to beat it till soft peak. Second problem is due to the 2 part batter didn’t corporate well during the mixing, possible reason is that stiff meringue (beaten egg white) are hard to incorporate well. DO you see lumps of egg white in your batter when you pour into the cake pan?
Hi, thanks for the recipe but I wasn’t able to achieve the brown top. Any tips will do. Thanks a million
Some oven doesn’t come with top heat, if you oven has top heat, please check if it is working.
Hi there, is a fan forced oven not suitable to make this sort of cake? It’s what I have at home so I want to check before I try making it.
Thanks 🙂
it is not recommended to use fan force oven, but if you do not have other choice, lower the temp by 10 degree during the first 18 minutes setting. Keep an eye on the progress. You cake might not come out as perfect.
I followed everything in your directions. And it was a success, although I used 9” round pan, so my cake was a little shorter than yours. It was really good. And my family loved it, and that’s all that matters to me. Thanks for the recipe!
Hi! I tried making this twice and I’ve come across two problems that I can’t seem to get past. The first is the cake deflating which I’ve read from the comments it’s from incorporating the 2 batter not well enough. The second is that the cake tastes more like eggs than a cheese. I’ve tried using 4 egg yolks the second time around but it still tastes more like eggs than cheese. Any tips for that?
1. Besides, overmixed may caused deflation too. Split the beaten egg white in 3 parts and use light folding stroke to mix them. The first part is not as critical as the rest of the 2 that caused deflation so you may mix a little longer to make sure they are well incorporated.
2. Some eggs tend to be eggy than the other. Try to get fresher eggs from farm directly, otherwise, you may add a tsp or 2 to cream cheese batter to help in cover up the eggy smell.
Hi! I tried your recipe yesterday and it turned out great… however a bit overbaked. I halved the recipe, used a 6″ round baking tin (as that is the biggest I have) and used the same baking time as I didn’t know which to reduce. Can you please advise me how i should reduced the temperature and time for a halved recipe in 6″tin? Thank you!
Is it badly overbaked? If not, you may reduce 2 minutes for the first temp setting, then reduce about 5 minutes for the second temp setting, eye balling the browning. If it is badly overbaked or burnt, please check your actual oven temperature. Hope this helps.
I had a question about the eggs. You give both a quantity and a weight for both the egg yolks and whites. Which should I be more focused on? I used 6 large eggs (according to my grocery store) but my weight was drastically different then what you had noted. I had to add an other 2 eggs to be able to get the same weight as you.
The egg whites are critical, it is fine if you have a bit lesser egg whites.
I have tried this recipe and worked out well after 18mins, however my cheesecake went crumpled on the top and on the side as well.
What shall i do to prevent this in the future?
However, the taste is wonderful! 🙂
Thank you!
I trid the cake today, taste is good , no cracking on the top, BUT
The cake raised too much like a mashroom , the hight of the cake after cooling 2.5 inch not 3
My pan 8×3 , the side of the cake not straight as yours, also it’s lettle bet wet
Could you advise me please.
Regards
Hi Soha, The cake is a little damp after cooling, as long as it is not soaking wet, it is normal. The fall in height to 2.5″ looks a bit too much, the possibility is that the 2 part batter don’t incorporate well during folding that cause the light ingredient float to the top while the heavier ingredients sink to the bottom.
Hey my name is Armani I used all the things you said but mines came out very eggy? I don’t know where I went wrong should can you help. I would like to try again.
I would think that your eggs were not fresh to begin with. You may add vanilla essence to cover the eggy smell.
Hi,
I tried this recipe twice, but both didnt work. The cake doesnt rise and the the texture is more like pudding.
I use superfine flour instead of cake flour. (As the recipe state can use cake flour or superfine flour)
Can u tell me what went wrong?
Thank you
Hi Syazwan, the possibility of the pudding texture is caused by deflation of tiny air trapped in the beaten egg white. Over-mixing or inappropriate mixing of the 2 part batter is the main reason, please use lighter stroke to fold the beaten egg white and not stirring them together.
I cannot wait to try this recipe!! I just recently discovered Japanese Cheesecake, and love it!! I’ve been reading through a lot of the ‘Comments’ and there seems to be a lot of people saying that they didn’t get the browning on the top. You stated that you oven heats the top AND the bottom. In North America most ovens just do one or the other, but seldom both at the same time. I’m wondering if perhaps when it’s close to being done if we were to put on the top element for a few minutes on low? The top element for us here is considered to be used mostly for ‘broiling’. I would think that putting on the broil for only a few minutes would accomplish the browning that everyone is complaining about not getting, what do you think?
Thanks again for sharing such a great recipe and awesome video for everyone to learn from!!
Oh, I didn’t know that the setting for most ovens in North America doesn’t come with top and bottom heat. Yes, you are right, if you are using only bottom heat, you may “grill” or “broil” it after the cake is baked and before shut it down for cooling. The temperature and the duration will depends on how brown you want your cake to be. You may need to test out different temperature and position for this setting.
I tried similar recipes 2 times and failed. I tried your recipe, feeling very doubtful before especially whe the flour and tapioca didn’t blend well with the batter and created small lumps. I was ready to throw the batter to the trash if I didn’t remind myself how expensive the cream cheese were :p. I continued the rest of the recipe and follow your instructio to the dot. The cake turned perfectly…..my children and husband said it was the best cheese cake..! Thanks so much!!!
I am so happy to hear your successful story, god bless that you didn’t quit halfway 🙂
Muchas gracias me salió ok
Translation (by Google):
Thank you very much, it came out ok
First of all, thanks for your recipe and tips. On the other hand, I am having same problem than other comments above, it was perfect at baking. High and brown, but at cooling time with closed oven door shrinks a lot. I am using a 8 x 4 inch hight. Any help?
Did it collapse or just shrink proportionally? It is normal that it shrinks a little, may be 1/2″ lower than just before cooling. If it is more than that, it is not normal. How does the texture looks like in the cake, does it has dense bottom and fluffy top? If it does, then probably it is the problem at the stage mixing of the 2-batter.
ha quedado estupendo! muchisimas gracias por la receta!
Translation (by Google):
It has been great! Thank you very much for the recipe!
Hello, thank you for this wonderful recipe, I realized this recipe 4 times and I still have 2 problems, I am counting on you to bypass it, Chief.
1. The whole surface rises during baking and sink evenly when cooling down.
2. I do not get the brown color as in the video.
Thanks for your help
1. The cake will shrink after cooling down, that’s normal.
2. Check your oven if the top heater is switched on. this cake is baked using top and bottom heat. If your top heather is working fine and may be a bit weaker than it should be, rise the baking tray a litter higher so that it is closer to the top heater.
Thank you for your answer, is there a trick to have the upper face well round?
You are welcome. No trick for a round domed top, it just baked out to looked this way.
I realized the recipe 6 times but I still have not managed to make the round format as in the first picture of the recipe. Is there anyone who has managed to have the round format? If so how and is there a trick? Thank you very much .
First of all, thanks for your recipe and tips. On the other hand, I am having same problem, it was perfect, but at cooling time with closed oven door shrinks a lot. Any help?
Did it collapse or just shrink proportionally? It is normal that it shrinks a little, may be 1/2″ lower than just before cooling. If it is more than that, it is not normal. How does the texture looks like in the cake, does it has dense bottom and fluffy top? If it does, then probably it is the problem at the stage mixing of the 2-batter.
I have a good mix and a good texture at the end but not the round format
I know you know you’re read by international people, so what’s “castor” sugar?
The brand?
Thanks!!!
Castor sugar or caster sugar is super fine granulated sugar. You will get the answer by a quick search in the internet. I have also explained in Cook’s Note #3 that you can lightly grind the granulated sugar to make them finer.
I’m from Canada and I found out that castor sugar here is called Berry Sugar. The Rogers brand sugar carries it and I found mine at a Bulk Barn type store
Hello, thank you for the recipe. I did it today, i liked the taste, but the top didnt turn brown and half of the cake has a spongy texture and the other half has like a pudding texture. Do you know why?
If this is your first time in 2-part batter mixing, it is most likely that you have mixed the 2 part batter incorrectly. Use light folding stroke to mix them and not stirring. Another reason could be that your oven top heat is insufficient that’s why the top didn’t turn brown.
Thank you!
THANK YOU SO MUCH for your wonderful recipe! I have been looking for a good recipe of a “JAPANESE COTTON CHEESE CAKE” for many years. I am a self-taught baker but have never tried baking this cake because it seems to be complicated and a lot of work to do. But since stumbling upon your website today and on you tube channel as well, that impression is all gone.
You made the difference because you are such a gifted teacher and are able to simplify things!!! Your instructions are detailed and easy to follow. I lived in Tokyo, Japan in the early 90s and I’ve always loved this cake back then and even now. Coming back from overseas, I just miss having this cake! Now, I can bake it at any time I want! MERCI BEACOUP!!!
Secondly, I am delighted to inform you that my cake (that I baked today) is a success!!!! Except for the minor thing that the “the top didn’t turn out dark” in color. How’s that? Because I only remembered to put in the cake (at the bottom rack) when the cake was already baking for 10 minutes !!! I had the impulse of taking it out but decided to keep it there the middle rack. Otherwise, it will collapse. Since I am good with chiffon cakes, I knew this cake was going to be great.
Tomorrow, husband and I are taste testing this cake! He is away on a trip and will be back tomorrow morning. I already texted to him the photos of this cake and the video file. It jiggles (cha-ran!!!!) and it is a beautiful cake. THANK YOU!!!!!!!!
Hello! I like the recipe and the result. There is a question about one of the meringue products – what is “cream of tartar”. I am from Bulgaria and I can not figure out how to find this product. Here we have cream, sour cream, dry cream (coffee creamer), full milk, dry milk, tartar sauce (mayonnaise, capers, olives, parsley and lemon juice) but such a product?
Sorry, I found an answer to my inquiry down in the comments. Thanks! Tonight I will be preparing a Japanese cheesecake…
I have used water baths before, but is that a cloth you put in the bottom? Explain please
That is a kitchen towel, please refer to cook’s note 9 for the explanation.
I’m a failure at baking but on my first try and the second one at that the detailed instructions and video got me through and my wife loves it.
Thanks CraftPassion.
🙂
I am glad to know that the video and the details helped in your successful bake 🙂
Sorry, I found an answer to my inquiry down in the comments. Thanks! Tonight I will be preparing a Japanese cheesecake… 🙂
Hey! I’m so in love with the idea of this recipe, but I could use some help before trying it since where I live (Brazil) there are some problems to do it completely similar 🙁
Can I use something instead of cream of tartar? We do not have it here unfortunately, but I saw on the internet that lemon juice of vinegar could replace it if used by the same amount, do you think it could work?
And sadly the oven I own only have bottom heat and the lowest temperature it reaches is 160°C, do you have any ideas on how to work and adequate with this temperature?
Thank you so much if you can help me in any way possible ^.^
Hi Alexandre,
You can replace the cream of tartar with 1 tsp of lemon juice.
I didn’t try using only bottom heat and 160°C to bake this cake. There are other recipes which bake in 160°C for 70 mins, but still using top and bottom heat. I tried it before but my cake cracks. You might want to try if it works for you with only bottom heat.
Hi, thanks for the recipe.
Just wanna ask how high is the final cake and how high is the cake tin? Thanks
The cake pan is roughly 3″ tall and my cake is about 3.5″ tall after cool down.
Hi, my oven do not hv bottom heat. Only top heat and fan force. How do I adjust the temperature and time? Should I use fan?
Sorry, I do not have a definite answer for this, but you can try to put the cake to the lowest part in your oven and back with fan forced with 10 deg C lower than the required temperature. Good luck.
I tried this recipe for my family for New Years Eve and he results were wonderful! Thank you for such an amazing recipe, loved it very much.
Hi, I have tried your recipe twice and I followed exactly the procedure that you written. I couldn’t get the cake rise like a hill as per your photo. The whole surface of my cake rise together just like baking a soufflé. Do you know that are the possible reasons ?
The cake is very tasty.
Hi Jessie,
How does the bottom of the cake looks like? Is it dense at the bottom and fluffy on the top? If yes, then probably the 2 part batter aren’t mixed correctly.
If the answer is no, are you using cake flour or self-rising flour?
Hi Craft Passion
The cake is dense and moist at the bottom. The whole surface rises about 1 cm during baking and sink evenly when cooling down. No crack at all. I’m using high protein flour. Has this also to do with the oven and temperature ? The top is a bit burned with temperature 200 C.
First of all The flour you were using is not the correct type, high protein has too much gluten in it and it is not suitable for this recipe. High protein flour is similar to bread flour. Cake flour is lesser gluten than all-purpose flour, but you can replace the cake flour by 55g APF + 5g corn starch.
Another thing that caused the cake to have dense bottom is that your 2 part batter wasn’t mixed properly, they were either over mixed or under mixed. Using proper stroke during the mixing to keep the tiny bubbles in the meringue is important, use folding stroke and not stirring. The tiny bubbles in the batter helps to lift and hold the cream cheese mixture up during the baking.
Lastly, please use an oven temperature to measure your oven actual temperature.
Hi Craft Passion
I tried to bake again with refine flour and fold carefully of the meringue. This time the cake rises like a dome as per your photo but unfortunately I set the oven function wrongly (grill function) as a result the surface is a bit burnt even with temperature of only 180 C. The bottom still appear to be dense.
I did another one yesterday with conventional function of the oven and temperature of 150 C. The cake rise perfectly and the colour turn beautifully to golden brown but after 5 minutes it cracked along the side. Bottom still look dense. I have made totally 4 times but cake never crack before. Do you know what is the possible reason of the crack ?
Thanks.
There are many reason why the cake crack, it could be too much egg white, meringue is too stiff and dry (it should be soft peak), incorrect folding, inaccurate oven temperature, insufficient water in the waterbath. Check all this again when you bake it next time 🙂
I will definitely try again and again till perfect. Thanks
Great, I like your spirit!!! Gambate!
Can you use a spring pan and if so do I need to put ten foil around the base?
Yes but not recommended as it will cause water seepage even the pan is wrapped with aluminium foil. Secondly, the dark color pan does not work as well as the light color pan.
Hi
Can a springfoam cake pan be used for this Japanese cheesecake?
Yes but not recommended as it will cause water seepage even the pan is wrapped with aluminium foil. Secondly, the dark color pan does not work as well as the light color pan.
Hi there, thank you so much for sharing this recipe!
It was a success on my first try (except that the base was slightly dense) – possibly due to the springform pan I used which caused water seepage!
Was just wondering if you have tried to incorporate matcha to this recipe?
Thank you!
Hi! Thank you for sharing this wonderful recipe! 🙂 I just made it with my family and it was a great success. Your recipe was easy to follow and having the detailed cook’s notes was very helpful. Happy New Year!
Happy New Year to you too. Glad that you and your family like it 🙂
Can I bake this without cream of tartar?
Yes, just replace it with 1 tsp of lemon juice.
Tjis recipe is awesome. Thank you. Ive tried making thus the third time but i still cant get it to rise. Im not sure what im doing wrong. Please advise. Thanks again!
Most probably you didn’t get the meringue and cream mixture mixed correctly, this will cause deflation of tinny bubble that responsible for the cake to rise.
hi, how do u prevent the cinfectioner sugar from
melting after putting it on? i refrigerate overnight and put confectioner sugar with a design bt it melted
Hi Shan,
I used snow icing sugar, it is long lasting and meant to stay longer than normal powdered icing sugar.
Hi, I am glad that I find this recipe. Yours by far the most detailed japanese recipe I found. Though I have one question about the oven that I use. I have an oven gas with top and bottom heat. But this type of oven, cannot function both heat (top and bottom) at the same time.
Would it make any different if I just use my bottom heat to bake the cheesecake along the baking time, or should I switch off the bottom heat after 48mnts and switch on top heat for a few mnts to get a nice brown top? How would you suggest I should do?
Thankyou so much, looking forward to hear from you soon.
Hi, if i were to replace cake flour with all purpose flour-1 tbsp all purpose flout + 1 tbsp corn starch, am i right that the 20 grm corn starch still stays? Thanks.
Yes, the corn starch still stay the same 20 gram, plus the additional from the APF conversion.
Hi. This is the best Japanese Cheesecake recipe ive tried! Thanks to you! I followed it carefully though I only have one challenge which my cake cracks on 200 degrees in 18mins. I hope there’s a way i can request a tip from you since i only want to follow this recipe. Thank you sooo much!
Through out my experience, the crack is most probably due to over beaten meringue, please stop beating after it has reached soft peak. Second possibility could be the water in the water-bath pan is too little or you didn’t submerged the cake pan into the water-bath, water-bath is different from steam-bath.
Hi, I’m from Mexico. I tried your recipe, everything was looking perfect until I turn off the oven. The cake went down, I don’t know how to explain it. So what, so you think it was?
Does your cake came out to have 2 separate section of dense bottom layer and fluffy top layer? If the answer is yes, that could be the due to improper mix of the 2-part batter, they didn’t incorporate well and caused the split between heavy and light ingredient.
I had similar situation. After 15 minutes of baking in 140°C a cake begun to go down. After 78 minutes it was flatter than I put batter into the oven. Finally I had american cheesecake fortunately tasty 🙂
Leo, looks like the cake deflated during the bake. I suspect that it is due to improper mixing of the 2 part batter.
how to void the crack on top the cheesecake? the cake top is perfectly fine ater 18mins at 200C .. however almost end of 140C 30mins, the cake crack on top and the crack is so big.
so do i need to reduce the temp more or try to put the tray in different shelf?
T.T been trying out jap cheese cake and it ‘s always unsuccessful T.T
Hi Noon, try to get a soft peak meringue and make sure the water in the waterbath pan is abundance.
Hi my name is Helen thank you so much for the recipe I made this cake today and it turned out amazing and it jiggles as well, I followed your recipe and another recipe from Japan with a couple of add on’s of my own, very very light and not too sweet , I didn’t use any tar tar or vinegar i just watched the meringue and the speed carefully while my mixer was beating, I also melted the butter cheese with 140mls of milk in a saucepan on low heat much quicker I also added vanilla extract in the yolks and vanilla powder in the flour as well as the lemon rind and juice it made such a difference cause there was hardly any eggy smell. xoxo
Thank you