Matcha Japanese Cheesecake

All of a sudden, I craved for matcha Japanese Cheesecake; full of matcha flavored, fluffy, cottony soft, fine texture, light & heavenly cheesecake. Without thinking much, I bake one by adapting the popular Japanese Cheesecake (aka sponge cheesecake or cheese sponge cake). Thus, here is my version of delicious Matcha Japanese Cheesecake that not only known for its deliciousness but also packed with awesome health benefits from the matcha powder.

Matcha has skyrocketed in popularity lately, with matcha shots, lattes, teas and even desserts appearing everywhere from health stores to coffee shops. Like green tea, matcha comes from the Camellia sinensis plant. However, it is grown differently and has a unique nutrient profile.

Amongst its many health benefits, matcha…

Is packed with antioxidants including the powerful EGCg

Boosts metabolism and burns calories

Detoxifies effectively and naturally

Calms the mind and relaxes the body

Is rich in fiber, chlorophyll and vitamins

Enhances mood and aids in concentration

Provides vitamin C, selenium, chromium, zinc and magnesium

Prevents disease

Lowers cholesterol and blood sugar

Matcha tea is an easy and simple way to add powerful health benefits to your everyday diet.

~ source ~

Japanese Cheesecake Recipe

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If you have baked the Japanese Cheesecake with the recipe I shared previously and got it done successfully, this Matcha Green Tea version is just a slight modification from the original recipe; that is, by substituting part of the flour with matcha powder. In case you are new to this 2-part batter recipe, it is important to read through the recipe and the notes given, not forgetting to watch the video repeatedly.

Let’s bake the healthy yummy delicious Matcha Japanese Cheesecake!

Happy Baking!

Watch “How-To-Bake” Video

Matcha Japanese Cheesecake

Delicious Baking Recipe

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Yield: 8" round cake / 12 servings

Matcha Japanese Cheesecake

Delicious Matcha Japanese Cotton Cheesecake recipe for a soft, fine texture, light & heavenly cheesecake you will want more. Best fluffy Matcha Cheesecake to bake.

Prep Time 30 minutes

Bake Time 58 minutes

Chill Time 4 hours

Total Time 5 hours 28 minutes

Ingredients

~Cream Cheese Mixture~
250 gram Philadelphia cream cheese
6 egg yolks
70 gram castor sugar
60 gram unsalted butter
100 ml full-cream milk or whole milk
60 gram cake flour / superfine flour
12 gram matcha powder (bakery grade for enhanced color)
8 gram cornstarch
1/4 tsp salt
~Meringue~
6 egg whites
1/4 tsp cream of tartar or 1/2 tsp lemoin juice
70 gram castor sugar

Instructions

Pre-heat oven to 200°C / 392°F (Top and bottom heat, no fan force)
Grease 8″ x 3″ cake pan with butter, line bottom with baking or parchment paper
Whisk cream cheese till smooth over a warm water bath
Add yolks and whisk
Add half the sugar (70 gram) and whisk
Warm milk and butter in microwave (high, 1 min) or stove, whisk into batter
Add salt and whisk
Remove from the water bath, sift cake flour, matcha powder, and corn starch and fold into mixture
Whisk egg whites at low speed till foamy
Add cream of tartar and beat at high speed till bubbles become very small but still visible
Gradually add the balance 70 gram of sugar and beat till soft peaks
Fold whites into batter 1/3 at a time
Pour into the cake pan and tap the pan on the counter to release air bubbles
Bake with water bath on the bottommost rack in a preheated 200°C / 392°F for 18 mins, then lower to 140°C / 284°F for another 30 mins (let the heat in the oven to drop gradually with door closed) and turn off the oven and leave cake in the closed oven for another 30 mins. Remove water bath and open the door of the oven slightly at the end of the baking for another 30 mins for the cake to cool.

Notes

Egg – Size: large, I measured mine, it was about 118g in total for the yolks. Separate the yolk and white by using cold eggs. By the time you’ve finished preparing the cream cheese batter, the egg whites are just nice to beat into the meringue.
Cream Cheese – I used Philadelphia throughout all my Japanese cheesecakes, hence, I am not sure how other brands of cream cheese work for this recipe.
Sugar – Caster sugar is slightly finer than fine granulated sugar if you cannot find caster sugar, lightly grind the fine granulated sugar to break them smaller. Do not use powdered sugar as it contained cornstarch.
If you prefer a stronger matcha flavor, you may increase the matcha powder up to 20 gram to replace part or the total corn starch weight. Alternatively, you may reduce the matcha powder and replace it with the same weight of corn starch if you prefer lighter matcha flavor. Total weight of matcha power + corn starch in this recipe is 20g.
Cake pan – I recommend that you use a 3″ tall non-black round cake pan of an 8″ (maybe this cake pan is a good fit, found in Amazon). If you cannot find a 3″ high cake pan, then replace it with a 9″ round cake pan with at least 2.5″ tall. Use a 1-piece punch out cake pan, not springform pan or any other seamed pan.
Grease & Pan Lining – grease the side of the pan with butter and line only the bottom of the pan. If you want to line the side of the pan, please grease the parchment paper after lined.
Batter – the cream cheese batter after adding flours and before folding into meringue should be a little warm, about 40-50 °C.
Meringue is in soft peak stage, do not overbeat it. I shared a video at my facebook page about the stage of peaks from Marth Stewart page, watch it and follow Craft Passion’s Page if you haven’t done so.
Meringue folding *** VERY IMPORTANT *** – folding egg white meringue to cream cheese batter needs to be gentle to minimize the deflation of tiny pockets of air in the meringue. Make sure both batter and egg whites are well incorporated and come together.
Batter filling – only fill Japanese cheesecake batter about 15mm (1/2″) from the rim, if you have extra batter (it shouldn’t be a lot left), discard it.
Water bath- Use a roasting pan of about 2″ high and at least 11″ diameter. Place a small towel on it to act as a layer of thin insulation for the cake pan so that the bottom is well protected from direct heat. Fill hot water to about 1″ high after placing the cake pan on the roasting pan and send into the oven.
Oven – this is crucial and very important. The temperature stated in the recipe is in-oven temperature. Each oven is different so if you are not too sure if the temperature inside your oven is accurate as what you have set at the control panel, get an oven thermometer to check. The brand of my oven is Electrolux (model EOB307X-1), it is measured with 10 °C shy, so I have to set 10 °C higher at my control panel in order to get the required baking temperature.
Cool-down – After the cool down period with the door closed for 30 mins, I open the oven door to remove the water bath, put the cake back into the oven and open the oven just a tiny bit (about 10mm). I use a mitten to stop the door from closing back. Removing the water bath is optional but I find that it will prevent the bottom of the cake being wet by the condensation. *Note: if you want a jiggling cake and do not bother to have a cake with wrinkle top and sides, you may take the cake out without having sitting for this extra 30 mins cool down time.*
Unmold cake – The cake pan should be able to handle by bare hand after cooling off in the oven with door slightly open for 30 mins. Use a cake board to cover the cake pan, invert the pan and carefully remove the pan. Remove the bottom liner and place another cake board or plate on the bottom of the cake, invert it back. The cake should be soft and fluffy and jiggly when it is still warm. Leave it to cool before sending it into the fridge. The final cake size after shrinkage is about 7.5″ x 3″ (highest point)
Cake serving – Decorate the top with snow powder sugar then with matcha powder. Cut the cake with a warm knife, wipe the knife clean before the next cut. Buy Congratulation Cake Stencil, or other designs.

Conversion:

For your convenience, please use this unit conversion, powered by UnitConversion.org to convert the measurement to other units.

PHOTO REFERENCES:

Please watch the entire video for better flow of info, this is just a quick recap

Gather all the ingredients and tools, measure and prepare them in advance before getting started.
Don’t forget to preheat the oven for at least 20 minutes before sending your cake for baking. An in-oven thermometer is good to check the actual temperature of your oven.
All ingredients are in room temperature.

Grease the pan with an abundance of butter then line the base with parchment paper.

Cream the cream cheese over a hot water bath.

Add egg yolks and whisk, 2 at a time.

Add sugar and whisk.

Heat up the milk and butter before adding them into the cream cheese mixture and whisk.
Then add salt and whisk.
Remove the hot water bath.

Next, mix all the flour (cake flour, corn starch & matcha powder) in a bowl. This will help the matcha powder to blend into the mixture better. However, You can do it after weighing all the flours before even start the first step of creaming the cream cheese.

Sift 1/2 of the flour into the cream cheese mixture, mix well. Add the balance and mix until they are well blended together. Take note that matcha powder is a bit difficult to dissolve in the mixture.

Set the cream cheese mixture aside and prepare the meringue.

The meringue has to beat till soft peak condition. In order to achieve a silky smooth texture, slow down your mixer speed towards the end of beating. Beat for a few more seconds to get a fluffy smooth silky meringue.