A wobbly Japanese cheesecake is wonderful to behold—and even better to eat! With a jiggly texture that’s both airy and creamy, this melt-in-your-mouth dessert only gets better when you add the homemade cherry sauce on top.
Japanese Cheesecake
Updated on Oct. 18, 2024
Japanese cheesecake isn’t your average dense, cream-cheese-loaded, deli-style cheesecake. Instead, it’s almost like a souffle (“souffle cheesecake” is how it’s commonly referred to in Japan), or a hybrid between a sponge cake and cheesecake. Because of its tall, fluffy texture, Japanese cheesecake is consistently a social media sensation, with video after video showing its delightful jiggle when shaken back and forth. It’s mesmerizing!
But Japanese cheesecake has been one of the most popular Japanese desserts since long before the rest of the world was introduced. Food historians credit Japanese chef Tomotaro Kuzuno as the creator; he devised the dessert after trying käsekuchen cheesecake in Germany in the late 60s.
Now, Japanese cheesecake is a common menu staple in bakeries across Japan. But unless you live in a major metropolitan city, you’ll be hard-pressed to find this dessert outside of Japan. Don’t worry! Our Japanese cheesecake recipe is here to help. We’ll show you how to make a Japanese cheesecake that has a wobbly body, souffle-like texture, golden-blonde top and a cherry sauce that elevates this dessert in such a simple way.
Japanese Cheesecake Ingredients
- Butter: Cube the butter beforehand so it melts quicker with the cream cheese.
- Cream cheese: Buy the reduced-fat version of one of the best cream cheese brands from the store. Cream cheese is the main ingredient in cheesecake recipes, so it’s worth going out of your way to buy the best.
- Heavy whipping cream: Be sure you’re buying heavy whipping cream and not just whipping cream. They have slightly different fat percentages that make a big difference in the final texture of the Japanese cheesecake.
- All-purpose flour: A Japanese-style cheesecake is closer in texture to a souffle. Souffles are a bit breadier than custard-based cheesecakes, and need a bit of flour to get that airy, jiggly consistency.
- Eggs: You’ll need six egg yolks and 12 egg whites for this Japanese cheesecake recipe. Be sure to carefully separate the egg whites from the yolks, otherwise your whites won’t fluff up. Never sure of what to do with leftover egg yolks? Save that precious liquid gold and use it to make cookies, custard and more.
- Vanilla extract: When a dessert recipe doesn’t have a super prominent flavor, vanilla extract has to do a lot of the heavy lifting. That’s why we always recommend using the best vanilla extract (or vanilla paste!) you can find for vanilla-flavored recipes.
- Lemon: Use 2 teaspoons of grated lemon zest if you want a nice, pronounced lemony flavor, or go with 1-1/2 teaspoons if you just want to brighten the flavor up slightly.
- Sugar: We sweeten this Japanese jiggly cheesecake with 3/4 cup of granulated sugar. Do not sub brown sugar or it may discolor the cheesecake.
- Topping: Our Japanese cheesecake recipe is topped with a homemade cherry sauce. Make it with fresh cherries if they’re in season. Otherwise, frozen cherries are best.
Directions
Step 1: Prep the pan
Preheat your oven to 325°F. Place a 9-inch springform pan on a double thickness of heavy-duty aluminum foil (about 18-inch square). Wrap the aluminum foil securely around the pan. Line the bottom and inside of the pan with parchment, and set aside.
Step 2: Melt the butter and cream cheese
In a small saucepan, cook and stir the butter and cream cheese over medium heat until melted.
Remove the saucepan from the heat, and whisk in the heavy whipping cream until smooth. Let the mixture cool completely to room temperature.
Step 3: Make the egg yolk batter
Sift flour and cornstarch together twice, then place them in a large bowl.
In a small bowl, whisk together the egg yolks, vanilla, lemon zest and cooled cream cheese mixture until smooth. Add the egg yolk mixture to the flour mixture, and beat until they’re well blended.
Step 4: Whip up the egg whites
In a large bowl with clean beaters, beat the egg whites on medium speed until foamy.
Gradually add the sugar, 1 tablespoon at a time, beating on high after each addition until the sugar is dissolved. Continue beating until soft, glossy peaks form.
Editor’s Tip: It’s imperative you avoid over-beating the egg whites to stiff peaks, or you’ll throw off the texture of the cheesecake. Here’s a visual guide to the difference between soft peaks and stiff peaks.
Step 5: Fold the egg whites into the batter
Fold a fourth of the egg whites into the batter. Once that’s combined, gently fold in the remaining whites.
Gently transfer the batter into the prepared springform pan.
Step 6: Prepare a hot water bath
Place the springform pan in a larger baking pan (such as a roasting pan), and add 1 inch of hot water to the larger pan.
Step 7: Bake the cheesecake
Bake the cheesecake for 25 minutes, but do not remove the cheesecake from the oven just yet! Reduce the oven setting to 280°, and continue to bake it until the top is puffed and springs back when lightly touched and the center appears set, 55 to 65 minutes longer.
Step 8: Make the cherry sauce
Meanwhile, in a small saucepan, whisk together the sugar, cornstarch and, if desired, cayenne.
Whisk in the water until the mixture is smooth, then add the cherries. Cook and stir the mixture over medium heat until it’s thickened and bubbly, about five minutes. Remove the saucepan from the heat.
Whisk in the butter, and let the mixture cool completely to room temperature.
Step 9: Remove the cheesecake from the pan
Remove the springform pan from the water bath. Run a knife along the inside rim to loosen the cheesecake from the pan. Remove the aluminum foil, then remove the rim from the springform pan. Peel the parchment paper away from the cheesecake.
Step 10: Serve and enjoy!
Serve the cheesecake warm with a light dusting of confectioners’ sugar and the cherry sauce. Refrigerate any leftovers in an airtight container once the cheesecake has cooled to room temperature.
Japanese Cheesecake Variations
- Flavor the cheesecake: Give the cheesecake a strawberry flavor with freeze-dried strawberry powder, or a chocolate flavor with cocoa powder. Matcha and sakura cherry blossom are popular flavors in Japan. Matcha powder gives the cheesecake a gorgeous green hue and earthy flavor, while sakura cherry blossom powder colors the cheesecake a beautiful baby pink and flavors it with sweet, floral notes. Two tablespoons of one of these powders in the egg yolk batter should do the trick.
- Simplify the topping: Canned tart cherry pie filling may be used in place of the homemade cherry sauce. Simply add the butter to the filling, and heat them just until the butter melts. No need to add any of the other cherry sauce ingredients.
- Add extra spice to the cherry sauce: Adding cayenne to the cherry sauce gives it an extra zing. You can also try adding minced fresh ginger root instead.
How to Store Japanese Cheesecake
Store Japanese cheesecake in an airtight container in the fridge. It can be kept for up to one week. Try to store the cherry topping in a separate airtight container in the fridge as well.
Can you freeze Japanese cheesecake?
We don’t recommend freezing Japanese cheesecake. Whipped egg whites do not freeze well; they’ll deflate and weep when they thaw.
Japanese Cheesecake Tips
Why is my Japanese cheesecake dense?
Your cheesecake may turn out dense if you under-whip your egg whites or over-fold them into the batter. This knocks out too much of the air, deflating and compressing the cheesecake.
Why did my Japanese cheesecake crack?
Japanese cheesecakes will crack if you don’t use a hot water bath. The hot water bath creates a steamy environment in the oven, which regulates the temperature and keeps the cake moist.
Another tip you can use to prevent your cheesecake from cracking is to let the cake cool slowly once it’s done baking. Big shifts in temperature can cause the cheesecake to crack. Instead, once the cake has finished baking, turn off the oven and leave the door ajar. Let the cheesecake cool off in the oven for 5 to 10 minutes before removing it.
Japanese Cheesecake
Prep Time
1 hour
Cook Time
1 hour 20 min
Yield
12 servings
Ingredients
- 6 tablespoons butter, cubed
- 4 ounces reduced-fat cream cheese
- 2/3 cup heavy whipping cream
- 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
- 1/4 cup cornstarch
- 6 large egg yolks, room temperature
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1-1/2 to 2 teaspoons grated lemon zest
- 12 large egg whites, room temperature
- 3/4 cup sugar
- TOPPING:
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 2 tablespoons cornstarch
- 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper, optional
- 1/2 cup water
- 2 cups fresh or frozen pitted tart cherries
- 1 tablespoon butter
- Confectioners' sugar
Directions
- Preheat oven to 325°. Place a 9-in. springform pan on a double thickness of heavy-duty foil (about 18 in. square). Wrap foil securely around pan. Line bottom and inside of pan with parchment; set aside.
- In a small saucepan, cook and stir butter and cream cheese over medium heat until melted. Remove from heat; whisk in cream until smooth. Let cool completely.
- Sift flour and cornstarch together twice; place in a large bowl. In a small bowl, whisk egg yolks, vanilla, zest and cooled cream cheese mixture until smooth. Add to flour mixture; beat until well blended.
- In a large bowl with clean beaters, beat egg whites on medium speed until foamy. Gradually add sugar, 1 tablespoon at a time, beating on high after each addition until sugar is dissolved. Continue beating until soft glossy peaks form. Fold a fourth of the whites into batter, then fold in remaining whites. Gently transfer to prepared pan. Place springform pan in a larger baking pan; add 1 in. hot water to larger pan.
- Bake for 25 minutes. Reduce oven setting to 280°. Bake until top is puffed and springs back when lightly touched and the center appears set, 55-65 minutes longer.
- Meanwhile, for topping, in a small saucepan, mix sugar, cornstarch and, if desired, cayenne. Whisk in water until smooth. Add cherries; cook and stir over medium heat until thickened and bubbly, about 5 minutes. Remove from heat; whisk in butter. Cool completely.
- Remove springform pan from water bath. Loosen rim from pan with a knife; remove foil. Remove rim from pan; remove paper. Serve cheesecake warm with confectioners' sugar and cherry topping. Refrigerate leftovers.
Nutrition Facts
1 piece: 294 calories, 16g fat (9g saturated fat), 132mg cholesterol, 157mg sodium, 31g carbohydrate (24g sugars, 1g fiber), 7g protein.
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Michigan is known for its amazing cherries, especially the tart ones, so we have plenty of opportunities to find new ways to try and use them. They became my muse for this recipe—a twist on the traditional American cheesecake recipe. I decided to make use of the extraordinary texture and unique taste found in a Japanese-style cheesecake, which is light and melts in your mouth. —Laura Kurella, Wellston, Michigan
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