For the longest time now I’ve wanted to try making the very trendy Japanese cheesecake, which I first spotted on Tasty Japan. Although everything they make on the Tasty pages look super easy, I was rather sceptical after reading all sorts of troubleshoot/ horror stories online about people who had baked this cheesecake and got disappointing results. We are talking about cracked tops and dodgy textures. Also, it didn’t help that I’d NEVER made a cheesecake in my life! Eek.

But heck! It’s about time to try something new in the kitchen.

A good Japanese cheesecake is described as being very fluffy and light with a nice brown velvety dome.

After navigating through recipes on Pinterest and other recipe websites and blogs, I found Foxy Folsy’s Japanese cheesecake recipe. This recipe looked easy enough to follow, and without too much to lose in case of a mishap.

But I have to say that it exceeded my (rather low) expectations.

The ingredients are very easy to find in most local grocery stores; eggs, milk, cream cheese, butter, lemon juice, flour, corn flour, sugar (for a smooth result I opted for caster sugar), and some cream of tartar which is optional.

Personally, this bake was quite soothing. I don’t know if it’s about keeping focused on making sure all ingredients were measured to the gram, or if it’s following the recipe meticulously, but this session was quite a stress relief. It’s not called a Japanese cheesecake for nothing.

Tasting the batter, I thought it was a bit bland and egg-y. So, I cheated by adding a few drops of vanilla essence to the meringue before whisking it into to the cheese-and-egg mix.

Lining your pan all around with baking paper can be tricky but oh-so-important, as well as cooking the cheesecake in a bain-marie, to keep it moist.

And there you go! Check out that jiggle!

Foxy Folsy’s recipe was also very precise about the cooking and resting time, which is really cool. I have often taken bakes out of the oven or of the baking pan too soon!

This Japanese cheesecake turns out to be like a sweet pillow you want to bury your face into. A tasty cloud that could pass off as the love child of a fluffy sponge and a flan. It is the perfect treat for people who do not really like overly sweet desserts.

And like a gift that keeps on giving, this cheesecake tastes even better on the following day.

I think that was not so bad for a first cheesecake.

Sometimes, things you do for the first time don’t come out as you’d expect it, and can even be disappointing. Other times, first times bring you positive surprises.

Those moments are indeed important. They can be either a learning curve or a stepping stone towards something else, and everybody can experience what appears to be the same thing, in different ways.

So, just give whatever you have been putting off for a while a chance. The outcome might be unexpected, and yet, sweet and fluffy all at the same time.

 JAC.