If you haven't noticed by now, I'm a little obsessed with food trends. There has been one food trend going around for a while now that I've been keeping my eye on, and that's Japanese Cheesecake.

As I've come to find out, Japanese Cheesecake goes by a few different names, all of which do their fair share of describing this cake; Japanese Cotton Cake, Soufflé Cake, Jiggly Cake, and Pillow Cake, just to name a few.

This cake is pretty easy to make, but it also requires precision and accuracy in not only measuring but in following the instructions as well. If one little thing is off, the cake won't quite work out the way that it's supposed to. That's why I've listed most of the ingredients needed in weight rather than in cups/spoons.

The end result of this cake is somewhere between a cheesecake and an angel food cake. It's light and fluffy and very delicate, but also surprisingly not dry (like angel food cake.) The biggest difference would have to be that this cake is more 'rich' than angel food cake, but still not quite as rich as a traditional cheesecake.

I served mine with some fresh mixed berries, and that's really all this cake needs with it. In the same way, as either cheesecake or angel food cake, it's pretty stand alone.

If you are feeling extra fancy, you might try a drizzle of a berry sauce, similar to what's done with a cheesecake. Other than that, it's good as-is.

Skinny Japanese Cheesecake
TheSkinnyFork.com

The Skinny:
Servings: 16 • Size: 1 Slice • Calories: 145 • Fat: 10 g • Saturated Fat: 5 g • Carb: 11 g • Fiber: 0 g • Protein: 4 g • Sugar: 7 g • Sodium: 121 mg

Ingredients:
9 Oz. Reduced Fat (Neufachtel) Cream Cheese
100 Ml. Reduced Fat Milk
2 Oz. Butter
2 Oz. Cake Flour
1 Oz. Corn Starch
1 Tbsp. Lemon Juice
1/4 Tsp. Salt
6 Eggs, Separated
1/4 Tsp. Cream of Tartar
1/2 C. Sugar
1/4 C. Natural Sweetener

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees and prepare an 8x8" or 9x9" springform pan by lightly coating the inside of it with non-stick baking spray and sticking parchment paper to it to line the inside of the pan.

Wrap the bottom of the pan in 2 layers of foil to keep any water from sinking in during the cooking process.

Melt the 2 Oz. Butter, 9 Oz. Reduced Fat (Neufachtel) Cream Cheese, and 100 Ml. Reduced Fat Milk over a double boiler.

Remove from the heat and stir in the 2 Oz. Cake Flour, 1 Oz. Corn Starch, 1/4 Tsp. Salt, 1 Tbsp. Lemon Juice, and 6 Egg Yolks until well mixed; set aside.

In the bowl of a stand mixer with the whisk attachment, whisk the 6 egg whites with the 1/4 Tsp. Cream of Tartar or a medium-high speed until starting to foam and bubble.

Add in the 1/2 C. Sugar, and 1/4 C. Natural Sweetener and continue to whisk until soft peaks form a meringue.

Fold 1/3 of the meringue mixture into the cream cheese mixture.

Fold in another 1/3 of the meringue mixture into the cream cheese mixture.

Finally, pour the meringue/cream cheese mixture into the remaining meringue and FOLD GENTLY.

Pour the mixture into the prepared springform pan.

Place the pan into a larger baking dish (I actually used a large/deep baking sheet but a roasting dish will work too) and add HOT water to the dish/sheet outside of the springform pan to be at least 1/4 of the way up the side of the springform pan.

Transfer carefully to the oven in the water bath and bake for about 1 hour and 10 minutes, or until the top of the cake is golden brown.

Once done, shut the oven off and open the door, allowing the cake to cool slowly.

When the cake has cooled, remove from the oven and release the springform.

Slice the cake into 16 pieces and enjoy!

Nutritional Claims: Low Sodium, Low Potassium, Kidney Friendly, Vegetarian, Pescatarian, Peanut Free, Tree Nut Free, Soy Free, Fish Free, Shellfish Free, Pork Free, Red Meat Free, Crustacean Free, Celery Free, Mustard Free, Sesame Free, Lupine Free, Mollusk Free, Alcohol Free, Kosher