Not Another Japanese Cheesecake!

You will find many recipes for Japanese cheesecake on the internet, and most of them come from the same source, although I'm not sure where the original source is. I got mine from Diana's Desserts, which appears at the top of the list when I google it. I decided to add a touch of vanilla extract to it as well. It's a light baked cheesecake, something like a cheese chiffon, and I could easily eat a few slices at one go (I know, such a pig!). Even Z, who usually doesn't eat cakes, gobbled up a huge slice (which I was planning to share with him) within minutes.

Here is the recipe:

Japanese Cheesecake
Adapted from Diana's Desserts

Ingredients:

140g/5 oz. fine granulated sugar
6 egg whites
6 egg yolks
1/4 tsp. cream of tartar
50g/2 oz. butter
250g/9 oz. cream cheese
100 ml/3 fluid oz. fresh milk
1 tbsp. lemon juice
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
60g/2 oz. cake flour /superfine flour
20g/1 oz. cornflour (cornstarch)
1/4 tsp. salt

Method:

1. Melt cream cheese, butter and milk over a double boiler. Cool the mixture. Fold in the flour, the cornflour, egg yolks, lemon juice, vanilla and salt, and mix well.
2. Whisk egg whites with cream of tartar until foamy. Add in the sugar and whisk until soft peaks form.
3. Add the cheese mixture to the egg white mixture and mix well. Pour into a 8-inch round cake pan (Lightly grease and line the bottom and sides of the pan with greaseproof baking paper or parchment paper). If using a springform pan, be sure to cover the outside of the pan with layers of aluminium foil to prevent water from seeping in. A soggy cheesecake is not pleasant to eat!
4. Bake cheesecake in a hot water bath for 1 hours 10 minutes or until set and golden brown at 160 degrees C (325 degrees F). Don't worry if cracks appear on top of the cake. If they start to appear, cover the top with a piece of baking paper. The cracks will close up once the cake cools down.