This recipe was taken from a cute Japanese baking cookbook. I just love the rustic quality of the design and photos of the book. The format of the book is like a journal with lined pages inside. The author has a “website”. There’s not much information on there, so I am better off just reading the cookbook. I decided to try this recipe because I happened to have all the ingredients at home, and more importantly, I have my homemade strawberry jam made from local strawberries. The flavour and colour of the jam is just so much better than store-bought — I don’t think I will buy them again. I am patiently waiting for local berries to be in season again so I get to pick and eat them!
Don’t expect a very dense cheesecake from this recipe, it is rather soft and smooth, more like a custard. I have noticed Japanese cheesecake recipe often yield a softer and creamier texture than North American recipes — probably because of the high liquid contents. For this recipe, strawberry jam is actually mixed into part of the cheesecake batter and them poured on top. I don’t know if it is the ingredients here that made the difference, my cake didn’t turn out like the one on the picture — it turned out more like a swirl instead. However, it was quite tasty and creamy.
Ingredients
- 250g Cream Cheese (1 package)
- 100g Sour Cream
- 200 mL Whipping Cream
- 90 g Granulated Sugar
- 20 g Cake Flour, sifted
- 2 Eggs, lightly beaten
- 1 tbsp Lemon Juice
- Pinch of Salt
- 1 tsp Vanilla Extract
- 60 g Strawberry Jam
- 130 g Graham Crackers
- 60 g Butter (melted)
- 100 g Sour Cream
- 3 tbsp Whipping Cream
- 1 tbsp Icing Sugar
Method
- Preheat oven to 325F/160C, heat water for water bath.
- Line spring-form pan with parchment paper and wrap bottom with foil to prevent water from going in when baked in a water bath.
- Place graham crackers in a plastic bag and crush them into little pieces using a rolling pin.
- Mix graham cracker crumbs with melted butter, press onto the bottom of the prepared pan. Refrigerate until ready to use.
- Place cream cheese in a mixing bowl, with an electrical mixer, cream together cream cheese, sugar, and salt until well combined.
- In the following order, blend in: sour cream, eggs, whipping cream, cake flour, lemon juice, and vanilla extract.
- Reserve about one-third of the batter, pour the rest into the prepared pan.
- Mix strawberry jam into the reserved batter, pour into the pan.
- Bake in a water bath for about 45 minutes, until the center sets.
- Mix together whipping cream, sour cream, and icing sugar.
- When cake is done baking, increase oven temperature to 350C/180C.
- Pour topping mixture carefully onto the baked cake, smooth top.
- Return cake to the oven and bake for about 3–5 minutes.
- When done baking, cool cake and chill overnight before serving.
Notes
Recipe adapted from Takako Inada’s “Small Baked Goods and Sweets to Share”, 2007.
I like the creamy and light texture of this cheesecake, it is also not too sweet. The jam also adds a subtle strawberry flavour. You can also top it off with more strawberries, or a strawberry sauce, but I find it delicious as is.
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