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Home » Recipes » Cheesecakes

Jiggly Japanese cheesecake

Published: Nov 9, 2020 · Modified: Oct 7, 2021 by Katalin Nagy · This post may contain affiliate links. This blog generates income via ads. Please read our Disclosures.

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This Jiggly Japanese cheesecake recipe is the ultimate fluffy, souffle-like cheesecake that some refer to as Japanese Cotton cheesecake due to its unique texture. The jiggly cheesecake consists of a few basic ingredients you probably already have at home, the most important part of the recipe is the actual technique that I will teach you!

Jump to:
  • What is Japanese cheesecake
  • Why this is the best recipe
  • Reasons why this is the best recipe
  • Ingredient notes
  • 4 Expert Baking tips
  • Equipment notes
  • Recipe FAQs
  • More Japanese dessert recipes
  • Jiggly Japanese cheesecake

What is Japanese cheesecake

Japanese jiggly cheesecake (soufflé style cheesecake, cotton cheesecake) has a characteristically wobbly, airy texture similar to a soufflé when fresh out of the oven and a chiffon cake-like texture when chilled.

The recipe was created by Japanese chef Tomotaro Kuzuno who was inspired by käsekuchen cheesecake (a German variant) during a trip to Berlin in the 1960s. It is less sweet and has fewer calories than standard Western-style cheesecakes, containing less cheese and sugar. It is a crustless cheesecake and traditionally made in a bain-marie (water bath) similar to most baked cheesecakes.

Since I visited Japan in 2019 and tried the famous Ricuro´s cheesecake in Osaka I want to bring this fluffy Japanese cheesecake recipe to you so that you can make it at home no matter where you live in the world! The Ricuro cheesecake has raisins on the bottom as you can see in this picture, however, it is not strictly necessary from a baking technique point of view.

I visited Japan in 2019 and tried the famous Ricuro´s cheesecake in Osaka, the most amazing Japanese jiggly cheesecake ever!

Why this is the best recipe

While making Japanese cheesecake the perfect result we are looking for is a tall, evenly risen fluffy cake that has no cracks on the top, holds its shape, and its texture is similar to a souffle; creamy and airy at the same time. It is not too sweet, in fact, literally feels like eating the clouds from the sky.

Please make sure you follow the recipe in order to avoid typical mistakes such as cracked top, soggy inside, deflated structure, burnt top, etc.

Reasons why this is the best recipe

  1. It has the perfect creamy & airy texture – This fluffy Japanese cheesecake has the most perfect texture no other cheesecakes. The secret behind its unique texture is 1. using low protein content flour & starch mix 2. whipping and incorporating the egg yolk and white separately 3. baking at low temperature
  2. It comes together super quickly using everyday ingredients - The recipe is made of using a few basic ingredients like cream cheese, butter, milk, sugar, and flour and comes together in 10 minutes, however, don´t confuse quick with easy. This is one of the recipes that I tested the most, so do not be disappointed if your first attempt will not look quite perfect. Keep practicing, it´s so worth it!
  3. It is super delicious – What does Japanese cheesecake taste like? Imagine a pillowy melt-in-your-mouth texture that is only lightly sweet, rich like a cheesecake but airy and fluffy like a soufflé. It has elements of both a rich custard and a light, airy sponge cake
  4. It is an honest, detailed tutorial – While this 6-inch Japanese cheesecake recipe might look long, all the information I have written here, every tip and trick will help you achieve the perfect results without any issues on the way. Remember, baking is science, and every little detail written here is to help YOU!

Ingredient notes

Japanese cheesecake ingredients.
Japanese jiggly cheesecake ingredients
  1. Cream cheese: I always use Philadelphia when I state cream cheese in my recipes. I find it easy to cream and very pleasant in taste, I suggest using the full-fat version. Check out some of my other cream cheese desserts as well!
  2. Milk: Whole milk is the best, definitely avoid using milk substitutes for this recipe unless you are aware of how to reformulate the recipe
  3. Butter: Use always unsalted butter as you want to be in control of the quantity of the salt. I am using 82% fat content butter in all my recipes. While in most of the recipes butter needs to be at room temperature, this is an exception. Since butter will be heated, it is fine to use it straight out of the fridge
  4. Flour & Cornstarch: I suggest using pastry flour, which is low in protein, combined with cornstarch for the fluffiest results. Perhaps it is not called pastry flour in your country, however, you can identify low protein flours by looking at the flour pack and checking the protein %
  5. Sugar: I recommend using superfine sugar that you can either buy or make at home by pulse-blending granulated sugar until it breaks into tiny pieces. Please do not skip this step, granulated sugar and powdered sugar can cause an extra potential issue while making the meringue, superfine sugar is exactly what you will need
  6. Egg: Use room temperature eggs as always. You will have to separate the egg white from the yolk. Make sure that you do not get egg yolk into your white as it can totally break the meringue and therefore the entire recipe

4 Expert Baking tips

1. Step-by-step process

Assembling the jiggly cheesecake is super easy, but a step-by-step process.

  1. Make the superfine sugar by pulse blending granulated sugar to superfine sugar then measure
  2. Measure all other ingredients with the help of a Digital scale and prepare your baking pan
  3. Pre-heat oven to 150C / 302F
  4. Separate egg yolk and egg white. Make sure you use room temperature egg white that is absolutely free from any sort of fat (e.g. egg yolk). If you get some egg yolk into the egg white in the process of separating, start again. It is easier to separete fresh eggs, so try to use those
  5. Heat cream cheese, butter, and milk in a saucepan on low heat until completely smooth. Remove from the stove as soon as the mixture is smooth, you do not need to cook it
  6. Sift dry ingredients (flour, corn starch, salt) into the cream cheese mixture and mix in throughout just until combined
  7. Start whipping egg white while adding superfine sugar to it slowly. Add one tablespoon of sugar at a time while the mixer is on. You can use a hand mixer or stand mixer, it does not really matter however you have to pay close attention to the meringue
  8. You will want to whip the egg white until soft peaks form, not stiff peaks. A soft peak is the optimum stage for the meringue while making Japanese cheesecake for two reasons. 1. It is easier to fold with the rest of the ingredients 2. It will continue to expand in the oven while baking. Stiff peaks can result in Japanese cheesecake collapsing straight after baking.
  9. Once egg white reached soft peaks, gently fold into the egg yolk flour mixture. Make sure that the batter stays fluffy, do not deflate it too much
  10. Pour cheesecake batter into the prepared baking pan
  11. Place baking pan into water bath
Japanese cheesecake process.

2. What is bain-marie (water bath)

Bain-marie (water bath) is a common method to bake cheesecakes or Crème brûlée.

A water bath is simply a tray of hot water placed in the oven. A regular oven typically would produce a rubbery texture crème brûlée or cheesecake with cracked surfaces. 

Using a water bath has two important benefits:

1. The water bath adds moisture to the oven and this is important to avoid cracks on top of the Japanese cheesecake

2. The water bath also provides more even baking as opposed to the side baking too quickly and the middle would stay raw

While preparing the water bath, make sure the water does not go into the cheesecake so the water level should be lower than the side of the baking pan.

I have tried different kinds of bain-marie and the one I recommend using is a few cm / inches bigger springform or baking tin, fill ⅓ with water and place it into the oven while preheating the oven. In this way, the baking tin with the cheesecake in it will be "surrounded" by water all around and the water level will come up rather high around the baking tin which works much better, than just a simple large baking tray filled with water. Place this springform into a bigger tray so the water certainly won´t end up in your oven.

Please note that with water inside the oven, you have to be super careful with the baking temperature as if it is lower than recommended, your cheesecake might stay raw even after 1,5h. That brings us to the next topic.

Water bath for cheesecake.
water bath

3. How to bake

I have tried several ways of baking this cheesecake and find the best if I bake it in two stages, first at a higher temperature that encourages the rise, then at a lower temperature that helps achieve an evenly baked souffle-like texture. Please note that baking is the most critical part of this recipe, and somewhat you might need to use your own judgment considering your own oven. If you happen to run into an issue along the way, please see my Recipe FAQs section below for solutions.

Two important considerations, regarding oven temperature;

  1. The temperature on paper - if it’s too low, it won’t bake especially this super fluffy, tall Jiggly Japanese cheesecake however if the oven temperature is too high, the cake will rise too fast resulting in cracks on the top. I find the ideal oven temperature is starting with 150C / 302F (no fan) until the cheesecake is nicely risen then reducing the temperature to 110C / 230F (no fan) and baking for another hour. Your cheesecake should not brown too much at this temperature and if you are unsure, I would rather over-bake the cheesecake than under-bake.
  2. The second consideration is your REAL oven temperature - what do I mean on that? Most home ovens and over or under heat and for delicate desserts, like this cheesecake, it can be fatal. See my oven for example. The oven temp dropped when I opened the door and I had to turn my oven to 180C / 356F in order to quickly heat it back up to 150C / 302F. In my recipes, I always state the real oven temp using my Digital oven thermometer. I strongly suggest that you also make sure about your real oven temperature particularly when it comes to recipes like this Jiggly Japanese cheesecake or other delicate pastries like eclair, macaron, etc.

Please note that you have to test your own oven and find the sweet spot where the oven temperature is high enough so the cheesecake will properly bake, but not too high, so it won´t break.

Cheesecake in water bath before and after baking.
before vs after baking

4. How to serve

Once the cheesecake is nicely baked; remove it from the oven, flip it over with the help of a plate, then flip it back with the help of another plate.

Please note that the cheesecake will be jiggly only for a few minutes, straight after baking. During this time the cake is super fragile, make sure that you do not break it.

Over time, as the cheesecake cools, it will further set into a chiffon cake-like consistency, will lose its jiggly texture and some wrinkles might appear on the top, which is normal, and exactly how the Japanese cheesecake I tried in Osaka also behaved.

It is common to dust the top of powdered sugar, other than that I do not really feel the need to serve it with anything. I prefer to enjoy its unique texture and mild cream cheese flavor on its own, it is so special, will blow your mind!

Japanese cheesecake.

Equipment notes

I recommend using a 15 cm (6 inch) round cake pan and this is definitely not the recipe that you want to double and bake in a huge pan unless you are super experienced and aware of how to bake a huge, souffle-like cake. Line the bottom and side of the baking pan with parchment paper so it will be easy to remove the cheesecake from the tin once it is baked. I would avoid using loose base spring form as during the water bath, it is very easy to get some leakage and ruin the whole cheesecake.

For consistent happy baking always use a Digital scale, this is a must, along with using a Digital oven thermometer, as the current baking temperature is absolutely critical.

Baking tin for Japanese cheesecake.
correct baking pan preparation

Recipe FAQs

Can I make this recipe in a bigger pan?

This is a 6-inch Japanese cheesecake recipe. I intentionally make this cheesecake in a 6-inch / 15 cm pan because the bigger the pan the more difficult it is to bake the souffle-like cheesecake throughout. Of course, you can try to bake it in a smaller / bigger pan, however, you will need to adjust the ingredient quantities and baking time accordingly.

Can I make this cheesecake eggless, gluten-free, etc.?

Most probably yes, you can, however, you can´t just leave out / change an ingredient without reformulating the entire recipe. When one ingredient changes, some other ingredients need to be changed too in order to keep the balance in the texture and flavor. Sadly, I am not able to provide substitutes for all sorts of allergies and diets.

Why does my cheesecake have a crack on the top?

This is the most common issue and the main reason for cracks is too high oven temperature meaning the cheesecake rises too quickly. As said above, it is so important that you measure the oven temperature and it is accurate! I find that in my oven if the second stage baking temp goes above 110C / 230F, there is a huge risk that the cheesecake will crack on top. You have to test your own oven and find the sweet spot where the oven temperature is high enough so the cheesecake will properly bake, but not too high, so it won´t break. In the picture below the oven temperature was too high:Japanese cheesecake cracked.

Why is my cheesecake burnt on the top?

The cheesecake should not burn at 150C / 302F so most probably your oven is over-heat or burning too much from the top. You can try to move the cheesecake further down in the oven but most importantly, invest in an oven thermometer

Why is my Japanese cheesecake raw in the middle?

There are a couple of reasons why your dessert can turn out to be raw, and fixing it requires different actions.
1. The souffle cheesecake is meant to set further as it cools, so if it is not super raw, it might even set in a few hours
2. If the dessert seems raw even after being chilled, you most probably underbaked it. Underbaking can happen for two reasons: either because of incorrect oven temperature (lower than stated in the recipe) or simply because the cheesecake would have needed a bit more time in your oven. Make sure you invest in an inexpensive Digital oven thermometer if you tend to struggle with the baking part. Since the baking temp is 110C / 230F for the most part, if your oven is just slightly under-heat, it is very likely that the cake will stay raw
3. Another issue that can cause raw texture on your jiggly cake is measuring the ingredients inappropriately eg. adding less flour to the recipe. Make sure you use a Digital scale during baking, cups are not an accurate way of measuring for consistent results.

Why is my Japanese cheesecake deflated after baking?

This issue is mainly caused by under-baked cheesecake. See the solutions above.

How to store?

Any leftovers can be stored in an air-tight container in the fridge for 2-3 days

How to freeze?

I do not recommend freezing this souffle-like cheesecake as its texture would change.

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Japanese cheesecake.

Jiggly Japanese cheesecake

This Jiggly Japanese cheesecake recipe is the ultimate fluffy, souffle-like cheesecake that some refer to as Japanese Cotton cheesecake due to its unique texture. 
4.98 from 68 votes
Print Pin Rate
Course: Dessert
Cuisine: Japanese
Prep Time: 15 minutes minutes
Cook Time: 1 hour hour 30 minutes minutes
Total Time: 1 hour hour 45 minutes minutes
Servings: 6
Calories: 253kcal
Author: Katalin Nagy

Equipment

  • Digital scale
  • Electric hand mixer
  • Rubber spatula
  • 15 cm (6 inch) round cake pan
  • Digital oven thermometer

Ingredients

  • 180 g (¾ cups) Cream cheese Philadelphia
  • 30 g (2 tablespoons) Unsalted butter
  • 50 g (⅕ cups) Whole milk
  • 35 g (⅓ cups) Pastry flour Ideally use low protein content flour. Can be substituted with all purpose flour
  • 10 g (1¼ tablespoon) Corn starch
  • Pinch of salt
  • 75 g Egg yolk yolk of approx 4 eggs
  • 125 g Egg white white of approx 4 eggs
  • 50 g (¼ cups) Superfine sugar

US customary cup measurement is an indicative figure only. Measure the ingredients with a digital scale by weight (gram). Baking is art but also science which requires precision and accuracy.

Instructions

  • Start with preparing a 15 cm (6 inch) round cake pan with parchment paper and pre-heating the oven with a water bath in it
  • Pulse blend granulated sugar to superfine sugar then measure
  • Heat cream cheese, butter, and milk in a saucepan on low heat until completely smooth. Remove it from the heat
  • Mix egg yolks into the cream cheese mixture, one at a time, mixing after each addition
  • Sift dry ingredients (cornstarch, salt and flour) and fold into the cream cheese-egg yolk mixture. Fold until mixture well combined and without any lumps
  • Whip egg whites starting on low speed on your Stand mixer or with an Electric hand mixer 
  • Start adding one tablespoon superfine sugar at a time really slowly while increase the speed of your mixer. Once all the sugar in, whip for a few more minutes until soft peaks form and the sugar completely dissolves. Remember, do not overbeat to stiff peaks, check the consistency of the meringue regularly to avoid over beating
  • With the help of a Rubber spatula gently fold the meringue into the rest of the ingredients. The batter should stay fluffy
  • Pour batter into the prepared 15 cm (6 inch) round cake pan
  • Bake the cheesecake in the water bath at 150C / 302F (no fan) for 30min then lower temp to 110C / 230F (no fan) and bake for another 60min. Make sure your oven is at the right temp by using a Digital oven thermometer
  • Once the cheesecake is nicely baked; remove it from the oven, flip it over with the help of a plate, then flip it back with the help of another plate
  • Enjoy while it is warm and jiggly, or serve it chilled withing 1-2 days
  • Store in the fridge

Notes

INGREDIENT NOTES
  1. Use always unsalted butter in baking
  2. I suggest using full-fat cream cheese and milk
  3. For the flour try to look for low protein content pastry flour 
  4. When separating the eggs, make sure no yolk goes into the white part as that would make it difficult to whip up
TECHNIQUE NOTES
  1. While folding the ingredients, try not to deflate the batter
  2. The baking part is absolutely critical when making Jiggly cheesecake. The most common reason for the cheesecake top to crack is a too high oven temperature
  3. Make sure you use a water bath

Nutrition

Calories: 253kcal | Carbohydrates: 16g | Protein: 7g | Fat: 18g | Saturated Fat: 10g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 5g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 180mg | Sodium: 141mg | Potassium: 123mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 10g | Vitamin A: 722IU | Calcium: 60mg | Iron: 1mg
Tried this recipe?Mention @spatuladesserts or tag #spatuladesserts would love to see your creation on Instagram!
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  1. Fidha

    September 05, 2023 at 10:18 am

    5 stars
    My oven works with FAN only and generally I have to reduce oven temperature by 20 degrees to bake at non-fan temperature. Do you think this will work.

    Reply
    • Katalin Nagy

      September 06, 2023 at 8:09 am

      You can try however if your fan is too strong, it might cause uneven baking so covering the fan would be even better.

      Reply
      • Janet

        September 20, 2023 at 7:33 pm

        Could I divide them into cupcake?

        Reply
        • Katalin Nagy

          September 20, 2023 at 9:34 pm

          No, this is a very delicate texture recipe and I do not recommend to change anything on it.

          Reply
  2. Margaret Cape

    July 21, 2023 at 6:23 pm

    Can we use powder sugar to sub for the super fine sugar or do we just try to stick to using the super fine sugar you call for in this recipe? I can't wait to try this recipe. Thank you.

    Reply
    • Katalin Nagy

      July 22, 2023 at 9:28 am

      No, most of the time you cannot switch these two sugar, they work very differently.

      Reply
  3. Joyce

    May 30, 2023 at 2:51 pm

    When you say once the cake is bake remove from oven and flip it over with a plate and flip it back with a plate, do youmean as soon as you take out from the oven or do you let it cool in the panand then flip it?

    Reply
    • Katalin Nagy

      May 30, 2023 at 6:56 pm

      Yes as soon as it is out of the oven. Pls note that it is not absolutely necessary, I am mentioning this if you want to see the cheesecake to jiggle. Once the cheesecake cools, it won´t be jiggly.

      Reply
  4. Kris

    May 14, 2023 at 6:21 pm

    I just tried making this for the first time, and it seems the bottom half of the cake was not fluffy like the top - maybe has to do with the water bath temperature? Should I add hot water (or make sure the water temp is the oven temp)?

    Reply
    • Katalin Nagy

      May 15, 2023 at 8:07 pm

      Hey, hard to say what has gone wrong, I am thinking maybe it is over baked from the bottom? No need to add hot water as the water will get hot very quickly in the oven. This cheesecake takes a few trial, make sure to check the oven temp with a thermometer.

      Reply
  5. Dawn

    February 07, 2023 at 9:50 pm

    I have the same problem with someone else who made a comment. I have a conventional oven with fan. I have no idea what temp to use. I tried one recipe from another blogger and the cake came out so wet. I put it back in the oven without the water bath just not to waste it. It is very hard for me to make anything sensitive due to my oven. Do you have any suggestions?

    Reply
    • Kata

      February 09, 2023 at 10:09 am

      If you use a fan it adds an extra 15C vs non fan ovens. Whenever a recipe states the oven temp, we mean the temp IN the oven. I always recommend using an oven thermometer that ensures that the temp is correct. Having said that, some desserts such as this Japanese cheesecake or eclairs do not like the fan so I have Readers who eventually had to cover their fans to succeed. Good luck!

      Reply
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I am Katalin Nagy, and it is my pleasure to welcome you to Spatula Desserts, a baking blog where I will teach you how to bake like a Pro with the help of my foolproof recipes, baking tutorials, and online baking classes! 

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