Japanese Souffle Cheesecake

Ingredients

• 200 g cream cheese, at room temperature
• 50 g butter
• 1 dl milk
• 4 egg yolk
• 4 egg white, cold
• 70 g white sugar
• 40 g wheat flour
• 20 g cornstarch
• 1 tbsp lemon juice
• 1 tsp lemon zest
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 pinch salt
• 1 tbsp powdered sugar, for dusting

Method

1. 1.

   Line the tin and heat the oven — Line the base and sides of a 15 cm round tin with parchment, letting the paper stand 5 cm above the rim, and wrap a springform tin in foil so no water creeps in. Heat the oven to 150°C and boil a kettle of water for the bath.

2. 2.

   Make the cheese batter — Melt the cream cheese, butter and milk together in a heatproof bowl set over barely simmering water, whisking until completely smooth and glossy. Off the heat, let it cool to just warm, whisk in the egg yolks one at a time with the lemon juice, zest and vanilla, then sift in the flour and cornstarch and whisk to a batter that falls from the whisk in a ribbon.

3. 3.

   Whip to soft peaks — In a spotlessly clean bowl, whip the cold egg whites with the pinch of salt until foamy, then add the sugar in three additions and beat to soft peaks that curl over at the tip. Stop well short of stiff — an over-whipped meringue is what cracks the top.

4. 4.

   Fold and fill the tin — Whisk a third of the meringue into the cheese batter to loosen it, then fold in the rest in two goes with a spatula, cutting down and lifting until no white streaks remain. Pour into the tin from a little height, level the top and rap the tin twice on the worktop to burst the big bubbles.

5. 5.

   Bake in a water bath — Stand the tin in a deep roasting tray, pour in hot water to come 3 cm up the sides and bake at 150°C for 25 minutes, until the surface is set and pale gold.

6. 6.

   Finish at a lower heat — Lower the oven to 110°C and bake for a further 50 minutes without opening the door. It is done when the cake has climbed a good 3 cm above the rim and wobbles as one soft mass when you nudge the tray.

7. 7.

   Cool in the oven, then dust — Switch the oven off and leave the cake inside with the door wedged open for 15 minutes so it settles gently instead of collapsing. Lift it out, cool 20 minutes, peel off the paper and dust with powdered sugar; serve barely warm or well chilled.