Japanese cake recipe

Absolutely! 🍰✨ When people say “Japanese cake,” they usually mean Japanese Cotton Cheesecake or Japanese Sponge Cake (Castella) — light, fluffy, and subtly sweet, almost like eating a cloud. I’ll give you a classic Japanese Cotton Cheesecake recipe, which is soft, airy, and slightly tangy.

🍰 Japanese Cotton Cheesecake

🧂 Ingredients (8-inch cake)

250 g (9 oz) cream cheese, softened
50 g (¼ cup) unsalted butter, softened
100 ml (about 7 tbsp) milk
60 g (¼ cup) cake flour
20 g (2 tbsp) cornstarch
6 large eggs, separated
140 g (2/3 cup) granulated sugar
1 tsp lemon juice
¼ tsp cream of tartar (optional, stabilizes egg whites)
Powdered sugar for dusting

🥣 Instructions

1. Preheat oven

320°F (160°C). Prepare an 8-inch round cake pan (springform or loose-bottom) by greasing lightly and lining with parchment paper.
Wrap the outside with foil to prevent water from seeping in (for water bath).

2. Make the cheese mixture

In a heatproof bowl, combine cream cheese, butter, and milk.
Gently heat over a double boiler until smooth and fully combined. Let cool slightly.
Sift in cake flour and cornstarch, and mix until smooth.
Add egg yolks and lemon juice; mix until just combined.

3. Whip the egg whites

In a clean bowl, beat egg whites with cream of tartar until frothy.
Gradually add sugar and beat until stiff peaks form.

4. Fold mixtures together

Gently fold 1/3 of the egg whites into the cream cheese mixture to lighten it.
Carefully fold in the remaining egg whites until no streaks remain — don’t overmix or deflate the batter.

5. Bake in a water bath

Pour batter into the prepared pan.
Place the pan in a larger baking dish, then pour hot water into the larger dish to create a water bath.
Bake for 60–70 minutes, until the top is golden and a toothpick comes out mostly clean.

6. Cool

Turn off the oven, leave the cake inside with the door slightly open for 15 minutes.
Remove from oven and cool completely in the pan, then chill in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours before serving.

7. Serve

Dust with powdered sugar or serve with fresh berries.

💡 Tips

Use room-temperature ingredients to prevent lumps.
Fold egg whites gently to keep the cake airy.
This cake is light and jiggly — that’s how it should be!

If you like, I can also give a simpler Japanese sponge cake (Castella) recipe, which is sweeter, more honey-flavored, and doesn’t require a water bath. Do you want me to provide that version too?