Recipeneon Kitchen

A reliable Japanese souffle cheesecake with staged baking, water bath, and slow cooling for less cracking, less shrinkage, and a creamy, stable crumb.
This version is designed for reliability, not just height. The method uses a warm smooth base, medium-soft meringue, deep hot water bath, and staged cooling. That combination is what helps reduce cracking, hard collapse, and wet bottom layers.
At the end of baking, the cake should be set around the edge, lightly golden on top, and jiggle like soft gelatin in the center. It should not slosh like liquid. A skewer can come out slightly moist, but not with raw batter.
Your site dropdown can scale the ingredients automatically, but pan size still changes baking behavior. Use these practical targets:
Because depth changes, monitor doneness by jiggle, not only by time:
If using your dropdown for scaling, keep the same method sequence and water bath depth, then adjust only final bake duration based on visual doneness.
This cheesecake is best baked the day before serving. Chill overnight so flavor and structure settle. Unmold while cold, then hold at cool room temperature for 15 to 20 minutes before slicing for the cleanest cut and best texture.
A reliable Japanese souffle cheesecake with staged baking, water bath, and slow cooling for less cracking, less shrinkage, and a creamy, stable crumb.

Whip meringue only to medium-soft peaks, not stiff peaks.
Keep water bath hot and deep enough to stabilize oven heat.
Cool gradually in stages to reduce collapse and wrinkles.
Chill fully before unmolding for clean sides.
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Line the base of an 8-inch pan with parchment.
Add a tall parchment collar that rises 2 to 3 cm above the rim.
Wrap the outside of the pan with 2 layers of heavy-duty foil.
Set the wrapped pan in a roasting tray.
Preheat oven to 160 C (fan off if possible).
Over low heat, melt cream cheese, butter, and milk together until smooth. Do not let the mixture get steamy.
Remove from heat and whisk in salt, vanilla, and optional lemon juice.
Sift in cake flour and cornstarch, then whisk smooth.
Add yolks one at a time and whisk until glossy.
Strain through a fine sieve into a clean bowl.
Whip egg whites on medium speed until foamy.
Add cream of tartar.
Add sugar gradually in 3 to 4 additions.
Whip to medium-soft peaks: the tip should bend and droop when the whisk is lifted.
Whisk one-third of meringue into the yolk batter to loosen it.
Fold in remaining meringue in 2 additions using a cut-and-fold motion.
Stop once large white streaks disappear.
Pour batter into pan, tap gently 2 to 3 times, then run a skewer in a loose S.
Place tray with filled pan in the oven.
Add hot water to reach halfway up the cake pan.
Bake at 160 C for 20 minutes.
Reduce to 140 C and bake 40 to 50 minutes more.
Turn oven off and leave cake inside 15 minutes with door closed.
Crack oven door open and rest 10 minutes.
Remove cake from water bath and cool on a rack.
Cool fully, then chill at least 4 hours (overnight is best).
Unmold while chilled for clean sides.
Dust with icing sugar if desired.
2/20/2026
Slight wrinkle on top but crumb was soft and even. Will reduce final bake by a few minutes next time.
2/20/2026
I used the optional cornstarch in the meringue sugar and the rise was very stable.
2/20/2026
Finally got the jiggly texture without a cracked top. The staged cooling made a big difference.
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Serving Size: 1 slice (1/10 cake)
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet. Your daily values may be higher or lower depending on your calorie needs.
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