3-Ingredient Japanese Souffle Cheesecake

Name: How to Make a Perfect Japanese Souffle Cheesecake with Only 3 Ingredients
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 45 min
Total time: 55 min
Yield: 1
Ingredients: 6 eggs, room temperature; 1 1/2 cups white chocolate; 1 (8 oz.) package cream cheese, softened

by Ala

1 Cheesecake

55 min

Asian parents rave: “This Japanese cheesecake is pretty good.”

Okay, so maybe those “raving Asian parents” are my own parents, and maybe “pretty good” doesn’t sound like the most impressive praise on the Internet for a 3-Ingredient Japanese Cheesecake that my friends have subsequently called “soooooooo delicious,” “absolutely mmmmazing,” and their “new favorite dessert of all time. Ever.” But if you grew up in a household where direct praise was as rare as snow days in Los Angeles, you know exactly what I mean when I say that a verdict of “pretty good” basically means that I am Goddess of the Best Dessert on Earth. Period.

What makes this recipe extra special is revealed in its not-so-subtle name. (For the record, this cheesecake is also known on the web alternately as a “Japanese soufflé cheesecake,” a “Japanese cotton cheesecake,” and “that cheesecake that broke the Internet a couple of years back.”) The reason is simple: With an insanely light, spongy texture and just three simple ingredients, this whatever-you-want-to-call-it is probably one of the easiest and most unique recipes you will ever try.

And what are those three secret ingredients to this delectable, to-die-for dessert, you may be asking? Well, so glad you asked, my friends…SO glad you asked…Can you guess?

Eggs. Cream cheese. And…white chocolate!

The third one always throws everyone in for a loop when they ask for the recipe (which they inevitably will, I promise) and was definitely a surprise to me as well. But with whipped egg whites to fluff everything up and white chocolate to sweeten the concoction just enough, you’re going to want to keep these three basic ingredients in your pantry ALL the time now just like I do, so that you’re ready to wow the crowds at a moment’s notice!

Final food for thought: Food journalist Michael Pollan once advised that, in the age of overly processed foods and unidentifiable ingredients, we should stick to what he calls the “5 ingredient rule”: Simply put, don’t eat anything that doesn’t contain five ingredients or less. Now while I know this 3-ingredient Japanese Cheesecake isn’t exactly what Pollan had in mind, I can’t help but wonder what he would do if I presented him with a platter of this simple, light, faintly-sweet Asian dessert. Probably inhale it as quickly as I did the first three times I’ve already made it!

3 ingredient japanese souffle cheesecake

3-Ingredient Japanese Souffle Cheesecake

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Recipe details

Yield 1 Cheesecake
Time spent: Prep time: 10 Minutes Cook time: 45 Minutes Total time: 55 min

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Per serving

% Daily value

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line bottom of 8-inch springform pan with lightly oiled parchment paper and set aside.
Separate egg yolks from egg whites. Set aside.
Place white chocolate in a microwave-safe bowl. Heat on high in 20-second increments, stirring each time until white chocolate is melted. (Pro tip: Be careful to watch your white chocolate as it seizes very easily when overheated!)
Add melted white chocolate and softened cream cheese to a large bowl. Cream together until completely smooth. Beat in egg yolks.
In a separate large mixing bowl, beat egg whites with a hand mixer on high until stiff peaks form. Fold 1/3 of the whites into the cream cheese mixture until everything is slightly lightened. Gently fold remaining egg whites into cream cheese mixture until no white streaks remain.
Pour batter into prepared pan. Place pan into a 9x13-inch pan that has been filled with 1 inch of boiling water.
Bake in oven for 40-45 minutes, or until top is a golden brown and cheesecake is slightly jiggly. Turn off oven and allow cheesecake to sit for an additional 10 minutes, then transfer 8-inch cake pan to a wire rack. Allow cheesecake to cool completely before removing from pan and transferring to plate. Chill for an additional 4 hours (or overnight) and enjoy!

Comments

Maggie Stone on Aug 16, 2021

I wish you had a video of this. I’m confused about the 8” cake pan. Where did that come from?

30 Reply
- See 24 previous
- Mandy Wagner Carpenter on Aug 16, 2021
  
  See step one. I’d say they’re speaking of the 8” springform pan it is baked in.
  
  2
- Corrine Shirota on Aug 16, 2021
  
  instruction #1 indicated a 8 inch springform cake pan.
  
  4
- Pan12917919 on Aug 16, 2021
  
  The ingredients go into the 8” spring form pan. The pan goes into the water in the 9”x13” pan that has water in it. Wrapping the bottom of the spring form pan with aluminum foil is a good idea to keep water out. Good luck. 🙂
  
  10
- Doglover on Aug 16, 2021
  
  Thh he at is the cheesecake pan that sits in the other larger pan that you fill in with 1 inch of boiling water and then into the oven both pans go! Make sense now?
  
  4
- Doglover on Aug 16, 2021
  
  should read
  
  That is the
  
  3
- Sus23701525 on Aug 16, 2021
  
  Read step #1.
  
  2
- Shi25303257 on Aug 16, 2021
  
  Maggie I read your comment. I use springform cake pans. What is it you need to know about them?
  
  Like
- Jgf12631692 on Aug 16, 2021
  
  Won’t the water leak into springform pan
  
  4
- Ala on Aug 16, 2021
  
  Thanks to everyone who hopped in here and pointed to step #1! You can wrap the edges of the pan in foil if worried about water leakage. Happy baking!
  
  2
- Keepfit on Aug 16, 2021
  
  The 8" cake pan; came from Amazon!
  
  1
- Gwen on Aug 16, 2021
  
  Maggie, the batter is poured into the prepared 8 inch springform pan and then placed in the water bath in the large pan to bake😊
  
  2
- Gail on Aug 16, 2021
  
  See instruction #1.
  
  Like
- Ida9464 on Aug 16, 2021
  
  Do you have to use springform pan and if so, please explain why. Tia
  
  12
- Win31626565 on Aug 16, 2021
  
  Read first paragraph “8 inch spring form pan”
  
  3
- Blue iris on Aug 17, 2021
  
  You pour the ingredients into 8 inch spring form pan then place that pan into the 9 x 13 inch pan filled with an inch of boiling water to cook.
  
  Like
- Liz on Aug 17, 2021
  
  It prevents the cheese cake from cracking on the top to cook it in the water bath.
  
  1
- Julie Johnson on Aug 17, 2021
  
  What is there to be confused about, you use the 8" pan for the cheesecake and you set it in the 13 x 9 pan to bake. ☺️
  
  2
- Marc Block on Aug 17, 2021
  
  The first pan is a springform. Then they call it a cake pan that is put into into a water bath. Water baths are generally optional on "thinner" cheesecake. The thicker (height) it is, the better it is to use a bath.
  In addition to a new heat source closer to the batter, water baths add moisture to the oven - the thought being less chance of the top cracking.
  HELPFUL HINT:
  Use a turkey bag! No chance of water leaking into springform pan! This recipe doesn't even mention wrapping the lower half of the cheesecake pan in several layers of aluminum foil. This is a standard practice (that never seem to work!). You can fold the excess turkey bag away from the cheesecake.
  Another option (and easier) is to put the 13 X 9 pan on the rack BELOW the cake. This adds moisture to the oven and no chance of leaks.
  
  11
- Lynn on Aug 17, 2021
  
  Thanks for the tips
  
  Like
- Cathy on Aug 18, 2021
  
  She is talking about the 8 inch springform pan.
  
  Like
- Nancy Farnie on Aug 18, 2021
  
  A springform pan is made to disassemble so the cheesecake is not damaged trying to cut and remove slices. The rim detaches, leaving the cake on the flat bottom disk of the pan.
  
  4
- Sandy on Aug 21, 2021
  
  They were talking in general terms, referring to the springform CAKE pan
  
  Like
- Eve30147733 on Aug 22, 2021
  
  I believe it's the pan from Step 1 of the recipe, in which you place all the cheesecake batter. The larger pan mentioned later contains boiling water and you place the cheesecake pan in it.
  
  8
- Lll48825112 on Sep 08, 2023
  
  The 13x9 is a water bath for the 8in cake pan
  
  2
- Geri on Sep 08, 2023
  
  It was in the 1st direction. That is the size of the spring form pan.
  
  Like
- Fred Vaughan on Sep 09, 2023
  
  SLOW DOWN , Maggie. 'Direction #1' - Springform Pan ! 🤪
  
  1
Goc22168091 on Aug 16, 2021

Can milk chocolate be substituted for the white chocolate!

28 Reply
- See 5 previous
- Ala on Aug 16, 2021
  
  Hey! It needs to be white chocolate, which is different than conventional chocolate. Happy baking!
  
  2
- Ida9464 on Aug 16, 2021
  
  But would it work with conventional chocolate chips for ppl who don’t care for white chocolate?
  
  27
- Ca on Aug 17, 2021
  
  Yes, I would like to hear that answer as well. I detest white chocolate.
  
  2
- Terry on Aug 17, 2021
  
  Yes, I hate it too and will try it with dark chocolate even tho I'm not a chocolate lover.
  
  1
- Dusty on Aug 17, 2021
  
  I’m going to guess that regular chocolate chips would not work because of the fat content. White chocolate is not really chocolate. It’s a whole lot of sugar. Chocolate chips has a lot of fat and would PROBABLY separate from the cream cheese. That’s just a guess on my part.
  
  3
- Ala on Aug 17, 2021
  
  Yep, Dusty is exactly on point here. Using white chocolate is critical since its composition differs entirely from that of conventional chocolate, so I wouldn't recommend attempting this with chocolate. The cheesecake itself doesn't taste overtly of white chocolate, so folks don't need to worry too much if they're not fans.
  
  6
- Janine on Sep 09, 2023
  
  Really? If you don't want to make a white chocolate cheesecake, perhaps you should seek a brown chocolate recipe elsewhere. After all the composition of various chocolates is different. White chocolate is not chocolate at all.
  
  2