Japanese Cotton Cheesecake
A tall, wobbly, cloud-light cheesecake that's part soufflé, part sponge cake. Gently sweet and creamy, it melts on your tongue like cotton.
Servings
Ingredients
Nutrition
Per serving
Steps
Prepare the tin
Heat the oven to 160 °C (320 °F). Line the base and sides of a 20 cm round cake tin (not springform) with baking paper, making the side paper 5 cm taller than the tin. Boil about 2 liters of water in a kettle for later use.
- 2 L water, boiled
✅ Done when: water at a full rolling boil; tin fully and smoothly lined with no gaps
Melt the cheese mix
Set a bowl over a pan with some of the boiled water, kept at a gentle simmer (not boiling), and melt the cream cheese, butter, and milk together, whisking until smooth. Remove from the heat, whisk in the 6 egg yolks one at a time, then sift in the cake flour and cornflour and stir in the lemon juice. Whisk until smooth, then strain through a sieve.
- 250 g cream cheese
- 50 g butter
- 100 ml milk
- 6 yolks egg yolks
- 60 g cake flour
- 20 g cornflour
- 1 tbsp lemon juice
- enough to simmer gently the boiled water from step 1
✅ Done when: smooth, lump-free batter with no raw egg streaks
Whisk the meringue
This step is part of Foodie Premium. Subscribe to unlock the full method, cooking mode and every recipe in the library.
Fold gently
This step is part of Foodie Premium. Subscribe to unlock the full method, cooking mode and every recipe in the library.
Bake in a water bath
This step is part of Foodie Premium. Subscribe to unlock the full method, cooking mode and every recipe in the library.
Cool and serve
This step is part of Foodie Premium. Subscribe to unlock the full method, cooking mode and every recipe in the library.
Prepare the tin
Heat the oven to 160 °C (320 °F). Line the base and sides of a 20 cm round cake tin (not springform) with baking paper, making the side paper 5 cm taller than the tin. Boil about 2 liters of water in a kettle for later use.
- 2 L water, boiled
✅ Done when: water at a full rolling boil; tin fully and smoothly lined with no gaps
Melt the cheese mix
Set a bowl over a pan with some of the boiled water, kept at a gentle simmer (not boiling), and melt the cream cheese, butter, and milk together, whisking until smooth. Remove from the heat, whisk in the 6 egg yolks one at a time, then sift in the cake flour and cornflour and stir in the lemon juice. Whisk until smooth, then strain through a sieve.
- 250 g cream cheese
- 50 g butter
- 100 ml milk
- 6 yolks egg yolks
- 60 g cake flour
- 20 g cornflour
- 1 tbsp lemon juice
- enough to simmer gently the boiled water from step 1
✅ Done when: smooth, lump-free batter with no raw egg streaks
Whisk the meringue
This step is part of Foodie Premium. Subscribe to unlock the full method, cooking mode and every recipe in the library.
Fold gently
This step is part of Foodie Premium. Subscribe to unlock the full method, cooking mode and every recipe in the library.
Bake in a water bath
This step is part of Foodie Premium. Subscribe to unlock the full method, cooking mode and every recipe in the library.
Cool and serve
This step is part of Foodie Premium. Subscribe to unlock the full method, cooking mode and every recipe in the library.
The Story Behind the Dish
In the 1960s a Japanese pastry chef, Tomotaro Kuzuno, tasted a German cheesecake in Berlin and brought the idea home. He lightened it with whipped egg whites, creating the soufflé-style cheesecake that Japanese bakeries now call 'cotton' or 'fluffy' cheesecake.
It went viral around the world in the 2010s, with videos of tall cheesecakes jiggling as they come out of the oven.
⭐ Why It's Famous
Its wobble and its light, airy texture made it one of the most viral desserts on the internet.
💡 Fun Fact
Some Japanese bakeries stamp their logo on top of each jiggly cheesecake with a hot iron, and queues can last an hour.
Japan (inspired by German käsekuchen)
34.69°N, 135.50°E
Related recipes
Comments (0)
No comments yet. Be the first to share your thoughts!