Learn how to make an incredible cottony soft and airy Japanese-style cotton souffle cheddar cheesecake. All the tips you need to know to bake this cake successfully.
I highly recommend that you weigh the ingredients with digital kitchen scale and please don't use the cup/tablespoon measurement eventhough I provided one. It's not as accurate. Precision is extremely important especially in this difficult-to-bake cake.
If you want to double the recipe, you can use 9-inch round pan or 8-inch square pan
Things to prepare before you start preparing the cake batter:
My oven is a conventional setting with bottom heat no fan. Preheat oven at 285 F (140 C). If you have top and bottom heat oven, you can set it to 250 F (120 C). Please note that, the temperature is just for reference, it may or may not work for your oven. You may need to do some adjustments
Separate the egg whites from the yolks. Let them come to room temperature while you prepare other things
Prepare the cake pans:
You will need to use two-three pans in this recipe. I use a 6-inch loose-bottom round pan to bake the cake and another 7-inch round pan or any size pan you have that can fit in the 6-inch pan to prevent water from sipping through the loose-bottom pan. Then an 8 or 9-inch pan for the water bath. Line the side of the pan with a parchment paper too, with the paper extending about 1-inch extra above the rim of the pan
You can also use just two pans and wrap the 6-inch loose-bottom round pan with triple layers of aluminum foil to prevent water from sipping through the loose-bottom pan. Thne use a 8-inch pan for the water bath. I found that using this method, somehow water still manage to leak into the pan
If you don't have a loose-bottom pan, line the bottom with a parchment paper. Line the side of the pan with a parchment paper too, with the paper extending about 1 inch extra above the top of the pan. I find it easier to remove the cake when I line the side with a parchment paper
If you use a square pan, line with a parchment paper on the bottom and the sides by overlapping the paper horizontally and vertically
Prepare the water bath:
Fill up the larger pan with some water, about 1-inch high and I put this at the lowest rack, where I will be baking the cake. Let the pan with water preheat together with the oven
Prepare the cake batter:
Place cheese and milk in a heat-proof bowl that can sit on top of a saucepan. We will melt them over a water-bath. Bring some water to a gentle simmering over lowe heat and set the bowl on top, make sure it doesn't touch the water. Keep stirring until the cheese melts completely. Remove from the heat and add the butter and stir until melts
When the milk mixture is warm and not too hot, add the egg yolks. We don't want to cook the yolks. Whisk to combine. Sift in cake flour. Whisk to combine. Don't be alarmed that the batter is very watery. This is a high-liquid batter with only small amount of flour. Set aside
Whip the meringue:
Start whipping the meringue at medium speed (speed 4 on KA) until foamy. Add the lemon juice and beat for another minute, then gradually add 1/3 of sugar and let it beat for another minute before adding another 1/3 until you run out. Increase the speed to 6 and whip until the mixture form a soft peak, meaning when you lift it up, it will bend because it is soft. Lower the speed to 4 and whip the meringue until it forms a medium stiff peak. When you lift the meringue up it will hold its shape but with slight bent on the tip. Stop beating
Fold meringue:
Fold 1/3 of meringue into the batter using a whisk. Swipe down like a "J" motion and then fold over. You can be a bit more vigorous with this first round of folding to combine the batter and the meringue. Continue with the next 1/3 using the same "J" motion but be gentle and don't take too long to combine either. Continue with the last 1/3. Then switch to using a spatula with the same "J" motion and scrape the bottom of the bowl to make sure everything is folded in evenly. Sometimes some batter got stuck at the bottom of the bowl
You shouldn't see anymore white meringue and the combined batter is silky smooth, light, airy, and tripled in size. Use a skewer or chopstick to go round and round the batter to pop any air bubbles inside the batter. Then tap the pan on the countertop 2-3 times to pop more air bubbles
Baking:
Carefully put this pan inside the larger pan. The water inside of the pan should be simmering as it has been preheated. Close the door and set timer to 20 minutes
Increase temperature to 170 C (330 F). For top and bottom heat oven adjust to 150 F. Set the timer to 15 minutes. You don't need to wait until it reaches the newly set temperature to start the timer. I kept monitoring its progress during this 15 minutes. This is the time where the cake starts to rise. If you start seeing some cracks are about to form, the oven is too hot. Open the oven door for about 10 seconds to release some pressure and close it back. If during that 15 minutes the cake still has a smooth top, then there's no need to open the oven door
Lower temperature to 120 C (250 F). For top and bottom heat oven adjust to 100 C. Open the oven door for 10 seconds and then gently close it back and set the timer to 60 minutes. You may not need 60 minutes. You can start checking at around 40 minutes
Increase temperature to 150 C (300 F) and bake for another 10 minutes. This part is to brown the top of the cake. If yours is already brown, you can skip this part. Mine was still pretty pale at the end of the 50 minutes of baking. So I need a total of about 100 minutes to bake this cake. It could be different with your oven
Cooling down:
Turn off the oven and open the door for 10 seconds and then close it back and let the cake cools in the oven for 10 minutes
Remove from the oven and let it sits on the counter for another 10 minutes. I started to unmould the cake by pushing up the cake (I use a loose-bottom pan). If you use a regular pan, trim off the excess paper on top and then invert the cake upside down on a cooling rack or a plate. Peel off the parchment paper at the bottom and the side. Flip the cake back onto a serving platter and let it cools down completely
There will be a small amount of shrinkage, about 1/2 inch, in my case, if the cake is perfectly baked. When you gently pat the cake on the side while it's still warm, the cake will jiggle (I love to do that to show my kids the jiggly and bounciness LOL). Once it cools down completely and set, it won't jiggle anymore and it is normal
Serving:
Let the cools down completely before cutting. The cake is fluffy at room temperature but the aroma of cheese is not as noticeable. If you chill the cake for at least 4 hours, you will notice that the sweet and savory aroma of the cheese is actually more intense
Storage:
You can store the cake in the fridge for about 3-4 days in an air-tight container. The chilled cheesecake will be a bit denser compared to room temperature but the flavor is actually much better IMHO. You can leave the cake at room temperature before serving and it will be fluffy again