JAPANESE CHEESE CAKE 😋

Preparation

Step one, my friends, involves a bit of paper and pan – line your trusty non-removable mold with baking paper. Next, a gentle warmth – heat your oven to a cozy 150 ºC.

While your oven hums along, let’s get that pot on the stove, water bubbling away. In a bowl, bring together milk and Philadelphia cheese, melting into one. Throw in the butter and wait for it to cool, like a serene pond on a summer’s eve.

Now, for the yolks – whisk them into the milk-cheese mixture along with the zest of lemon, until they’re all one happy family. Sift in the flour and cornstarch, shooing away lumps like unwanted dinner guests.

And in another corner, we have the whites, parted from their yolky siblings, beating them with sugar until they stand firm like a meringue soldier.

Time for unity – fold the meringue into the cheese mixture, gently, gently, for we do not wish to deflate such delicate dreams.

Prepare for the bake – pour the batter into the mold, sit it in a baking tray, and give it a water bath. Into the oven it goes, for a long 80-minute bake. If it dares to brown too much, tame it with a foil shield.

Once done, coax it to cool by cracking the oven door, a whisper of a gap, and wait with bated breath for 15 minutes. Free it from the oven, let it rest until cool, and then, only then, can you unmold it to reveal its beauty.

Your slice of fluffy, jiggly, oh-so-light Japanese Cheesecake awaits. But wait, there’s a sprinkle of finishing tips on the next page!