Weird Japanese Cotton Cheesecake

Note 1 : Inspired by <https://runawayrice.com/desserts/cotton-cheesecake-japanese-cheesecake/>

Ingredients (all room temp)

1/4 cup (60gm) of butter

1/2 cup of fine sugar, divided into 1/4 + 1/4 cup

8oz (225 - 250gm) of cream cheese (Bega Tatura)

1/2 cup (125gm) of milk (full cream Dutch Lady)

5 whole eggs (separated into egg yolks & whites)

1 tbsp lemon juice

1/4 cup (30gm) of all purpose flour

2 tbsp of corn flour

1/4 tsp cream of tartar

1. In a bowl, cream butter and 1/4 cup of sugar until light and fluffy.

2. Add in cream cheese. Cream until light and smooth.

3. Stream in milk slowly into the cream cheese mixture. Beat until light and fully incorporated.

4. Add in egg yolks one at a time. Beat until light.

5. Add in lemon juice. Beat until well incorporated.

6. Sift in flour. Beat until well incorporated. Beware of any flour lumps. For a finer result, strain the batter using a sieve.

7. In another separate bowl, beat egg whites until foamy.

8. Add cream of tartar to egg whites and beat until it started to thicken.

9. Add in 1/4 cup of sugar gradually and beat until egg whites mixture produced soft peaks.

10. Add 1/3 of the egg white meringue into the cake batter. Carefully fold in to not let the batter collapses on itself & deflate. Continue folding the egg white meringue into the cake batter in batches.

11. Pour the cake batter into the 8-inch springform pan. You may choose to line the cake pan with baking paper and wrap the outer layer with aluminium foil. You may also choose to gently lift and drop the cake pan on the counter to remove any large air bubbles.

12. Bake in a preheated oven of 160°C in a waterbath for 1 hour and 10 minutes. You may choose to bake an additional 10-15 minutes to brown the top. Test with the toothpick once done. Toothpick should come out clean.

13. Once done, turn off the oven & crack the door slightly open (2-3 inches) to allow hot steam out. Let the cheesecake rest in the oven for 1 hour.

14. Remove the cheesecake from cake pan & refrigerate in a closed container for at least 4 hours. Best served cool.