I Baked Japanese Cheesecake!

What exactly is a Japanese cheesecake? Interesting question. The only answer that I can come up with is that it is lighter than the traditional American cheesecakes devoured at Cheesecake Factory. I sprinked in green tea powder in the mixture in my attempt for a marbelized cheesecake swirl...but sadly, it came out looking like sprinked dots. I'll need to find out how to do this in the future!

Ingredients

7 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature

1/4 cup whole milk

1/2 cup superfine sugar (baker's sugar)

3 eggs, separated

1/4 cup cornstarch (don't use flour)

2 tablespoons lemon juice

1/2 teaspoon cream of tartar

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray a 9-inch cake tin with cooking oil spray. Beat cream cheese with milk to soften. Add half of the sugar, egg yolks, cornstarch and lemon juice. Beat until smooth. Beat egg whites in a separate bowl until foamy.Gradually add remaining sugar and cream of tartar, beating on high speed until soft peaks form, about 8-10 minutes. Gradually fold beaten egg whites into the cream cheese mixture, stirring gently. Pour into cake pan and smooth the surface. Place cake pan into a larger roasting pan and place in lower rack of oven. Pour enough water into the roasting pan to come half way up the side of the cake pan. Bake 35-40 minutes, until a pick inserted in the middle of the center comes out clean.

Here is the cheesecake as it came out of the oven. However after 30 minutes, the cake deflated a little and easily separated around the edges. But once it was presented on a pretty plate, it looked (and more importantly, tasted!) delicious!