Japanese Soufflé Cheesecake

Preparation

1. Grease a tall cake tin (23 cm diameter, 10 cm high) with butter. Cut a circle of baking paper for the base and a 10 cm wide strip for the side, lay two more strips crosswise under the base as lifting aids and press everything into the tin.
2. Preheat the oven to 180 °C (fan 165 °C); the cake will be baked later at 160 °C. On the hob, bring a pot with about 5 cm of water to a gentle simmer; this is the bain-marie.
3. Separate the eggs and chill the whites. Put the cream cheese, butter, cream and the 55 g of sugar in a large bowl, set it over the bain-marie, melt and stir until smooth. Take off the heat.
4. Stir in the egg yolks one at a time. Sift in the flour and stir until smooth, with no dry patches left. Pass the mixture through a sieve into a clean bowl and stir in the lemon zest and juice.
5. Slide a deep baking tray into the oven and pour in hot water to a depth of about 1.5 cm. Whisk the egg whites in a clean, grease-free bowl, first on low speed for 30 seconds, then on medium for 2 minutes, until foamy and white. Sprinkle in the remaining sugar in three portions and whisk on high speed to a stiff, glossy meringue.
6. Whisk one third of the meringue into the cheese mixture, then lightly fold in another third. Add this mixture to the remaining meringue in the bowl and fold only until everything is evenly combined.
7. Pour the batter into the tin in one stream in one spot and tap the tin a few times on the work surface to release air bubbles. Immediately set it on the tray with the hot water bath.
8. Reduce the temperature to 160 °C (fan 145 °C) and bake for 70 to 75 minutes. Then set to 150 °C (fan 135 °C) and bake for 10 more minutes, until the surface is golden brown.
9. Turn the oven off, open the door a crack and leave the cake in for 15 to 20 minutes so it does not collapse. Then lift it out of the tin using the paper strips.
10. Stir the jam with the hot water and brush a thin layer over the surface. Let it cool to room temperature, then chill for at least 4 to 6 hours, ideally overnight. Take it out of the fridge 10 to 15 minutes before slicing and cut with a knife dipped in warm water.

Drink with it

• Sparkling wine · excellent match

  Moscato d'Asti

  Low alcohol, delicate bubbles and peach-apricot fruit suit the airy crumb and pick up the apricot glaze; the sweetness is on a level with the cake.

  Sparkling wine, Champagne, and Prosecco: what's the difference? ↗

• Sweet wine · excellent match

  Riesling Spätlese

  The residual sweetness keeps pace with the cake, and the high acidity picks up the lemon in the batter and lifts the cream cheese.

  Which wine goes with dessert? Comparing sweetness deliberately ↗

• Cream liqueur · excellent match

  Cream liqueur on ice, small glass

  Milky creaminess and light sweetness complement the cream cheese, and the ice keeps it light.

• Junmai sake · good match

  Junmai, chilled

  The soft, milky rice note suits the creaminess of the only mildly sweet cake.

  Junmai, Ginjo, Daiginjo: What do these mean for sake? ↗