Japanese Cheesecake
Gluten-Free Amazingness
I'm sure the recipe name sounds like I'm over-hyping it a bit, but seriously this cake is the most delicious cake* I've ever had. (*Not sure what the official criteria is of a cake, but this is cake in my book). Made with everything you'd expect in cake, but with only 2 tablespoons of cornstarch in place of flour! It's incredibly moist, almost mousse-like, with a light sweet flavor. My husband took one bite and said, "This is special." As in - stop the presses. This is so good.
I found it when searching for gluten-free cake recipes on Youtube. I found this Japanese Cheesecake recipe from Epipastry but it was in metric, so I have converted all measurements for American bakers, below. I also wrote down my process because I didn't use a double boiler. This recipe makes a small cake, perfect for 4-6 lucky people.
8 oz cream cheese
2 Tablespoons sugar, plus 4 Tablespoons for meringue step
2 ¾ Tablespoons oil (eyeball the ¾ Tablespoon)
¼ cup milk
3 eggs, separated
2 teaspoons lemon juice
2 Tablespoons cornstarch
You'll need a straight sided tall baking pan. 7" diameter, and 2 1/2" deep (I'm sure something close would be fine). Prepare it with butter and cornstarch or line with parchment.
Preheat the oven to 300 degrees F.
In a large mixing bowl, let the cream cheese come to room temperature or warm it up for 30 seconds in the microwave. With a hand mixer, combine cream cheese, sugar, and oil until smooth. Add milk, mix well. Mix in the egg yolks, one at a time, until well combined. Add lemon juice and cornstarch. Mix well.
In a separate bowl, whip egg whites until fluffy but does not peak yet. Gradually add sugar and whip to soft peaks.
Add 1/3 of the meringue to the batter, folding in. Add another 1/3 of the meringue, folding completely, then the final 1/3, until totally incorporated.
Place the cake pan in a larger pan, at least 2" deep. Fill the outer pan 3/4" deep with very hot water. Bake for 80-90 minutes. Cake is done when a skewer inserted into the cake comes out clean.
Let cake cool completely for 2 hours. Remove from pan and serve with powdered sugar or other topping.
UPDATE 7/5: Since many of you only have small springform pans, and these tend to let moisture in during the steaming/baking stage, I found a pan online that is the right type: http://amzn.to/2uKCfzX
