Japanese Cheesecake (Takumi Pastry)

Here is a recipe that has been on my "to try" list for a very long time, but I had never taken the time to try it! The famous Japanese cheesecake, much lighter than its American cousin, with a very airy and fluffy texture. When I stumbled upon the recipe from Takumi's pastry shop in the latest Fou de pâtisserie, I finally took the plunge, and I was not disappointed! It took me a few tries to get the cooking I wanted in my oven (everything is detailed in the recipe), but the result convinced me: a delicious and very light cake, perfect for this season with some strawberries 😉
 
Equipment:
Cheesecake mold

Preparation time: 30 minutes + 1 hour minimum cooking + 10 minutes rest
For an 18 cm diameter cake

 Ingredients:

 147g whole milk
 147g cream cheese
 94g egg whites (about 3 whites)
 70g granulated sugar
 67g butter
 57g egg yolks (about 3 yolks)
 56g flour
 
 Recipe: 

 Line your mold with parchment paper.
 On a bain-marie, mix the butter and cream cheese without exceeding 40°C.
 
 

 
 Add the milk, then the flour, and finally the egg yolks.
 
 

 
 Blend with an immersion blender, then let rest for 5 minutes.
 Beat the egg whites until stiff, add the sugar, and whisk for another 4 minutes.
 
 

 
 Gently mix the two preparations.
 
 

 
After several tries, I realized that the instructions given in the original recipe did not suit my oven; so I'll first provide the original instructions, and then my way of doing it, feel free to adapt to your oven 😊

Original recipe: Preheat the oven to 200°C. Fill a dish with hot water at 90°C (large enough to hold your mold), and place it in the oven, lowering the oven temperature to 180°C.
fill the mold with the batter.

Bake lowering the temperature to 165°C for 40 minutes. Then increase the temperature to 185°C for an additional 10 minutes of cooking, and finally raise the temperature to 200°C for 5 to 10 minutes (if the cheesecake browns too much, you can cover it with a sheet of aluminum foil for the end of cooking). Turn off the oven, slightly open the door, and let it rest for 5 minutes.

Adapted recipe: and here is my way of doing it (with the previous technique, my cake was too browned on top and collapsed when it came out of the oven): preheat the oven to 190°C. When you put the cake in (as above, in a bain-marie), lower the oven temperature to 160°C and bake for 45 minutes. Lower the temperature to 140°C and continue baking for 15 minutes. Finally, raise the temperature to 190°C for 5 minutes. Slightly open the oven door and leave the cake inside for about fifteen minutes.
 
Then, remove the cake from the oven and unmold it. Let it cool completely and then enjoy!