Tasty Japanese "cotton" cheesecake

O - very airy, light, weightless, with a porous and delicate structure

Ingredients

• For test:
• Cream cheese ("Philadelphia") - 250 g
• Yolks - 6 pcs.
• Sugar - 75 g
• Vanilla sugar - 16 g
• Butter - 60 g
• Milk - 100 ml
• Lemon juice - 1 tbsp. l.
• Lemon zest - 2 tsp
• Flour - 60 g
• Corn starch - 25 g
• Salt - 1/4 tsp. (pinch)
• For the meringue:
• Egg whites - 6 pcs.
• Citric acid - 1/4 tsp.
• Sugar - 75 g

Directions

1. First, prepare a form with a diameter of 18 cm or 20 cm. Wrap foil around the outer edge, and line the bottom and sides with parchment paper inside.
2. Pour hot water into a saucepan, put the bowl in a water bath.
3. Put cream cheese into a bowl.
4. Stir with a whisk until the cheese mass is smooth.
5. Divide the eggs into whites and yolks.
6. Gradually add the yolks to the cheese and continue stirring until the yolks are combined with the cream cheese.
7. Then add sugar, vanilla sugar and stir until sugar dissolves.
8. Add butter to milk and microwave for 1 minute. Then add the warm milk mixture to the cheese-egg mass, stirring well.
9. Add a pinch of salt, lemon juice and lemon zest, mix everything well and remove from the water bath.
10. Mix flour with corn starch, sift through a fine sieve.
11. Gradually add the flour mixture to the cheese base, while stirring the mass gently so that there are no lumps.
12. Beat egg whites on low speed, when foam appears, immediately add citric acid. Then increase the speed of the mixer and, without stopping whipping, gradually add sugar to the whites a little and beat until soft peaks.
13. In order to preserve the airiness of the dough as much as possible, gradually, in several stages, introduce whipped proteins into the cheese base.
14. Carefully pour the dough into the prepared baking dish.
15. Set it in a deep baking sheet lined with a towel.
16. Put in the oven. Pour hot water into the pan, about 1.5-2 cm.
17. IMPORTANT!!! Bake on the lowest rack in an oven preheated to 160°C (top and bottom heat, no fan) for 30 minutes. The cheesecake will rise and the top will lightly brown.
18. Then turn off the oven and leave the cheesecake there for another 1 hour without opening the door - let the heat in the oven with the door closed gradually lower.
19. If the top of the cheesecake is cracked, it means the oven was too hot or you set the cheesecake too high. Adjust the baking temperature next time. And, by the way, cracks do not affect the taste in any way.
20. Before cutting the cheesecake, it must be completely cooled for several hours, for example, put in the refrigerator overnight.
21. If desired, you can sprinkle powdered sugar on top and decorate as you wish.
22. You need to cut the cheesecake with a hot knife, then wipe the knife with a napkin and cut again.
23. The dessert is so tasty and delicate, airy - it just "hisses" that it is difficult, even impossible, to refuse it!
24. Japanese "cotton" cheesecake is ready.
25. Bon appetit and happy baking!