Simple Japanese Cotton Cake

Everyone loves cake, and I’m definitely no exception. I come from a family that’s big on New York style cheesecake. Being from New York, we’ve had our share of good cheesecake, and I grew up helping my mother bake it for my father every year on his birthday. 

When I was 16, I found a recipe for Oreo cheesecake, and I never looked back at plain old cheesecake ever again. Now, being a little older and a little wiser, I can appreciate that sometimes you just want to have a classic without all the extra fixings.

And sometimes you want the classics but with a little twist to make it more special. While working out different combinations to try, my husband asked if I ever had Japanese Cotton Cake. I told him I hadn’t, and he worked with me to put this recipe together. It’s a bit simple and it doesn’t have the same texture as the cheesecake I grew up with, but I think this recipe is definitely a keeper!

Now I just have to figure out how to sneak in the Oreos…

Cookware: 
–Mixer
–9″ spring form cheesecake pan

Ingredients: 
-2 blocks (16 oz) cream cheese
-6 eggs
-1 cup almond flour
-1 tsp baking powder
-1 tsp granulated swerve/sugar (adjust to taste)

Steps:

1. Preheat the oven to 350F. Create a water bath in a baking tray and wrap the bottom of the pan in aluminum foil so no water leaks through. No one likes a soggy cake! 

2. Microwave the cream cheese for 30 seconds to 1 minute, until it’s soft and workable.

3. Separate the egg whites from the yolks. Put the egg whites in a mixing bowl and put the yolks in with the cream cheese. Then beat the egg whites until stiff peaks form.

4. Keeping the bowls separate, take your cream cheese and yolk bowl and beat it until it’s mixed. Now you can add the almond flour, baking powder, and stevia and beat until it’s combined. To make sure that the mixture is fully combined, pour the batter through a sieve to make sure there aren’t any “lumps” hidden in the mixture.

5. Add a big scoopful, about a third of the stiff egg whites, into the yolk bowl and fold it in. When it’s mixed together, add another third and then repeat with whatever’s left. It’s really important that you fold this carefully so that it doesn’t deflate.

6. Pour the mixture inside the spring form pan and place it in the water bath. Bake for 40 minutes at 350F and then decrease the temperature and cook for 10-20 more minutes at 300F until done.

7. Let it cool before serving. Serve alone, with ice cream, or with a delicious homemade lite strawberry confit as shown! Enjoy!