This soft fluffy light and airy Japanese Chocolate Souffle Cheesecake just melts in your mouth with deliciousness. And it’s not overly sweet and has a slightly tangy cream cheese flavor with a rich chocolate flavor. You can even eat a whole cake by yourself and you’ll surely want to bake it again and again.
This recipe bakes up a beautiful tall Chocolate Souffle Cheesecake with a smooth top without cracks, almost exactly the same as the Chocolate Souffle Cheesecake you’ll buy at a famous restaurant. In this post, I am sharing with you a foolproof recipe, techniques, and the top tips for making the best Japanese Chocolate Souffle Cheesecake.
About Japanese Chocolate Souffle Cheesecake
Japanese souffle cheesecakes (also known as Japanese cotton cheesecake or Japanese cheesecake) are light airy and fluffy cheesecakes that are quite different than regular dense baked cheesecakes.
This Chocolate Souffle Cheesecake is one of the chocolate versions of Japanese Souffle Cheesecake and it’s just like a combination of Chiffon Cake, Cheesecake, and Chocolate Cake. Fluffy and airy like a Chiffon Cake, moist, and creamy at the same time like a Cheesecake with a rich chocolate flavor.
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How do you make a chocolate souffle cheesecake?
This chocolate souffle cheesecake is made from 2 basic components; chocolate cream cheese mixture (the base) and beaten egg whites. The base provides the flavor and some structural support, and the whites provide the “lift”.
The chocolate cream cheese mixture is made with cream cheese, butter, milk, sugar, egg yolks, melted chocolate, flour, and cocoa powder. Egg whites are separately beaten until soft peaks form. Then the beaten egg whites are folded into the chocolate cream cheese mixture. After pouring the batter into the prepared pan, you bake the cake in a hot water bath.
Steps to Make a Chocolate Souffle Cheesecake
- Do the preparation
- Preheat the oven
- Make the cream cheese batter: The cream cheese and butter are melted with milk over a double boiler so that it gets extra smooth and creamy. Let it cool.
- Melt the chocolate: While the cream cheese mixture is cooling, melt the chocolate with milk over a double boiler and mix until smooth.
- Add the egg yolk: When the cream cheese mixture is cooled, mix in the egg yolks one by one until well combined.
- Sift in the flour mixture: After everything is smooth sift in the flour mixture. Make sure to sieve the flour, cornstarch, and cocoa powder in advance.
- Whip the egg whites until soft peaks form: This part is very important, so please follow the instructions and read through the post to learn the tips.
- Make the cake batter: Gently mix the meringue and cream cheese batter, being careful not to deflate the whites too much.
- Bake in a hot water bath: Souffle cheesecakes are delicate so you’ll need to bake them in a hot water bath.
- Cool: Follow the instruction and let it cool very slowly.
Ingredients You’ll Need
- Cream Cheese: Use full-fat white cream cheese like Philadelphia cream cheese
- Sugar: Use fine granulated sugar to make the meringue
- Eggs: Use large-size eggs
- Butter: Use unsalted butter
- Milk: Use full-fat milk
- Chocolate: I used semisweet dark chocolate. Use your choice of dark chocolate
- Cake Flour: Cake flour is a fine-textured flour with low protein content than all-purpose flour, so it keeps cakes more tender
- Corn Starch (NOT corn flour): Corn starch is used to make the cake lighter and fluffier
- Cocoa Powder: Cocoa powder enhance the chocolate flavor
- Cream of Tartar: Cream of tartar to stabilize the egg whites. As a substitute, you can use 1 teaspoon of lemon juice
- Salt: Adding a pinch of salt balances out all other flavors
Cake Flour Substitute: 100 g of cake flour can be made by combining 85 g of all-purpose flour with 15 g of cornstarch. Make sure to sift the two ingredients together 3 times before using them.
How to Prepare the Pan
A pan with a removable bottom (removable bottom pan or loose bottom pan) or a round springform pan is recommended as it helps to remove the cheesecake very easily.
You need to line the pan with parchment paper that extends about 2 cm above the pan as the cake rises during baking. But if you use parchment paper too high above the pan, it will prevent the browning of the top of the cake.
As the pan has a removable bottom, so you need to cover it with 2 or 3 layers of aluminum foil to avoid any leakage. Make sure the foil comes up all around the sides at least 2/3 of the height of the pan.
How to make a DIY double boiler?
A double boiler is essential whenever you’re warming up temperature-sensitive ingredients that require gentle, indirect heat like melting chocolate.
In this recipe, I used a double broiler to make the cream cheese mixture. You can easily assemble a double boiler in your kitchen. You just need a medium-sized pot/saucepan and a heatproof metal or glass mixing bowl.
Fill a saucepan/ pot with about an inch of water. Bring the water to a simmer, not boiling water, as we need to gently heat the ingredients. Place the bowl with your ingredients inside over top. Make sure the mixing bowl can sit over the saucepan or pot, with the base of the mixing bowl about an inch above the water level. If it dips into the water, it will get too hot.
Tips, Tricks, & Techniques for Making
the best Chocolate Souffle Cheesecake
Measure the Ingredients properly
It is important to measure the ingredients properly. I use a scale for the dry ingredients and a measuring cup for the wet ones but sometimes I use a scale to measure even wet ingredients depending on the recipe. For small quantities of ingredients, I use teaspoons and tablespoons.
Prepare the Ingredients
Make sure to bring cream cheese, butter, eggs, and milk to room temperature before combining them. Eggs are easy to separate when they are cold. Separate the eggs while they are cold and then let them come to room temperature.
Prepare the pan
You will need to prepare the pan before you start making the cake. (see the tips in the section on how to prepare the pan below) I usually heat the prepared pan in the preheated oven for about 10 minutes before pouring the batter, as I found that it prevents leakage.
First, Make the chocolate cream cheese mixture
Make sure to make the chocolate cream cheese mixture before you make the meringue.
Beat the Egg Whites to Soft Peaks
You need to whip up your whites to create soft peaks NOT stiff peaks. Be careful not to over-whip. You’ll know you’ve made it to the soft peak stage when you turn over your beater and then lift it upright to see the tips of the whites curling a bit. You can see a peak shape, but it will flop over and go back into the mixture after a few seconds.
DO NOT OVER-MIX
If you over-mix the batter, the cake will not rise. Make sure to fold the meringue into the cream cheese batter being careful not to deflate the air out of the whites as much as you can. Use a balloon whisk to gently fold them in so you can keep as much air in the batter as possible.
DO NOT under-mix
If you under-mix it, your cake will be uneven. The egg white will float to the top, so you’ll have a light and airy cake at the top, and a dense cheesecake at the bottom.
Bake in a hot water bath
Japanese cheesecake is a very delicate cake, so you’ll need to bake it in a hot water bath.
Keep an eye on the cake through the baking process
The oven temperatures vary depending on your oven so the baking time can be varied. So, keep an eye on the cake through the baking process and make sure to adjust the oven temperature and time as needed.
Bake the Cake at Different temperatures
Changing and controlling the temperature is very important when baking this cheesecake. I changed the oven temperature several times. First, I preheated and bake the cake for 5 minutes at high so it can get a lot of heat to help it rise. Then I baked it at a lower temperature slowly in order to bake it evenly with a light brown top without cracks.
Adjust the temperature as needed
Around 25 minutes, the cake should rise. If your cake is not rising, your oven temperature is too low. Raise by 10 to 20 degrees and give it time to rise. If the cheesecake starts to crack on top, your oven is too hot, lower the temperature by 10 to 20 degrees.
Slow Cooling
When it comes out of the oven, a soufflé is generally very large and fluffy, and then will ‘fall’ after 5 to 10 minutes. I found that leaving this souffle cake in the oven after it’s done baking for about 30 minutes helps to minimize the shrinking. However, this souffle cheesecake also will shrink a little bit after cooling as risen dough does and it’s normal.
Do you care for a jiggly souffle cheesecake?
It should be soft, fluffy, and jiggly while it’s still warm before cooling it. So, if you like a jiggly souffle cheesecake, remove it from the pan once it’s cool enough to touch and enjoy the jiggly shake probably that you’ve seen on the internet.
serving Suggestions
This cake is at its best on the day of preparation after chilling for a few hours in the fridge. However, you can also serve it when the cake is still warm and giggly. It is perfect for serving just plain with a cup of hot coffee. You can also dust it with some powdered sugar if you like or serve it with some ice cream.
storing Suggestions
In the Refrigerator: You can store it in an air-tight container in the refrigerator for about 3 days.
In the Freezer: You can freeze the whole cake or individual slices for about 1 month. Wrap the whole cake (or individual slices separately) with plastic wrap and then transfer them to a freezer-safe bag.
Thawing: Transfer the wrapped cakes from the freezer to the refrigerator one day before serving without unwrapping them from the plastic wrap.
MORE CHEESECAKE RECIPES
I am a big fan of cheesecake and I have tried pretty much many cheesecake recipes. I have shared several cheesecake recipes on this blog and many more to come…
Japanese Chocolate Souffle Cheesecake
Step-by-Step Recipe
Prep Time: 30 minutes
Bake Time: 35 to 40 minutes
Cooling Time: 30 to 60 minutes
Yield: 15 cm (6 inches) Cheesecake
Equipment
15 cm (6 inches) baking pan with a removable bottom
A larger deep baking pan for a hot water bath
Ingredients
For the Chocolate Cream Cheese Mixture
120 g cream cheese, at room temperature
20 g butter, at room temperature
80 ml milk, at room temperature, divided
2 large egg yolks, at room temperature
30 g cake flour
15 g cornstarch
2 g cocoa powder
150 g dark chocolate
1 tablespoon rum
For the Meringue
3 large egg whites, at room temperature
1/8 teaspoon cream of tartar or 1 teaspoon lemon juice
Pinch of salt
50 g sugar
For Hot Water Bath
Hot water, as needed
INSTRUCTION
Preparation
- Gather the ingredients
- Sift the flour, cornstarch, and cocoa powder together
- Separate 3 eggs. Place 2 egg yolks in a small bowl, and 3 egg whites in a large bowl
- Break the chocolate bar into small pieces
- Prepare a deep rectangular baking pan or dish and hot water for making a water bath (bain-marie)
- Preheat the oven to 200°C
Lightly butter and line the bottom and sides of a 15 cm (6 inches) baking pan with parchment paper. As the pan has a removable bottom, cover it with 2 or 3 layers of aluminum foil to avoid any leakage. Place the prepared pan into a deep baking dish.
Make the Chocolate Cream Cheese Mixture
Cut the cream cheese and butter into small cubes and place them in a heatproof mixing bowl with the milk (80 ml). Make a double boiler placing the bowl on top of a pot of simmering water. When the cream cheese and butter are soft, whisk until smooth with a balloon whisk.
Remove from the double boiler and stir again until smooth. Let cool completely.
When cooled, add egg yolks, one by one, and mix until combined.
Sift in the flour mixture
and whisk until thoroughly combined.
Meanwhile, place the chocolate in a heatproof mixing bowl with the rest of the milk (50 ml). Make a double boiler placing the bowl on top of a pot of simmering water. When the chocolate is soft, whisk until smooth. Let it cool.
After cooling, add the melted chocolate to the cream cheese mixture and mix well. If the batter is smooth enough, you don’t have to strain it. Set aside until you make the meringue.
Make the Meringue
In a clean mixing bowl, whip egg whites with cream of tartar and salt until foamy for about 1 minute on medium-high speed.
Add sugar, a tablespoon at a time, while continue beating for about 2 minutes on high speed until the meringue reaches a soft peak stage and has a glossy texture.
Finally, beat on low speed for about 1 minute. Be careful not to over-whip.
Make the Batter
First, add one-third of the meringue to the cream cheese mixture and stir them completely into the batter. This will lighten the batter and make it easier to fold the rest of the egg whites in. Add half of the remaining whites and whisk into the yolk batter, being careful not to deflate the whites.
Transfer the egg yolk mixture to the bowl with the remaining egg whites and continue folding gently until all of the white lumps of meringue have disappeared.
Baking
While you make the batter, place the prepared pan in the preheated oven for about 10 minutes before pouring the batter.
Place a kitchen towel into a large deep baking dish and place the heated pan on top to ensure the cheesecake doesn’t have any contact with direct heat.
Gently pour the batter into the prepared pan. Carefully pour the hot water into the large baking dish about 1/3rd of the way up the pan.
Bake for 5 minutes at 200°C. Then, lower the temperature to 160°C and bake for about 30 minutes. Adjust the time and temperature as needed. (see the tips). The cake is done when the top is nicely brown and the center is firm.
Cooling
After baking time, turn off the oven and leave the cake inside without opening the door for another 30 minutes. Next, open the oven door and remove the water bath. Place the cake back into the oven and leave the door slightly open and let the cake cool for another 30 minutes. This will ensure that the cake cools gradually preventing cracks and shrinkage.
Remove the pan from the oven and place it onto a cooling rack. Let it sit to cool. Remove the cheesecake from the pan and then remove the parchment paper.
Serve & Enjoy!
Transfer the cake to a serving plate. You can serve it warm, after cooling or chilling it in the fridge as you like.
JAPANESE CHOCOLATE SOUFFLE CHEESECAKE Recipe
THE BEST JAPANESE CHOCOLATE SOUFFLE CHEESECAKE
Equipment
- 15cm (6 inches) baking pan with a removable bottom
- A larger deep baking pan for a hot water bath
Ingredients
For Chocolate Cream Cheese Mixture
- 120 g cream cheese at room temperature
- 20 g butter at room temperature
- 130 ml milk at room temperature, divided
- 2 large egg yolks at room temperature
- 30 g cake flour
- 15 g cornstarch
- 2 g cocoa powder
- 150 g dark chocolate
- 1 tablespoon rum
For Meringue
- 3 large egg whites at room temperature
- 1/8 teaspoon cream of tartar or 1 teaspoon lemon juice
- 1/8 teaspoon salt
- 50 g sugar
Instructions
PREPARATION
- Gather the ingredients
- Sift the flour, cornstarch, and cocoa powder together
- Separate 3 eggs. Place 2 egg yolks in a small bowl, and 3 egg whites in a large bowl
- Break the chocolate bar into small pieces
- Prepare a deep rectangular baking pan or dish and hot water for making a water bath (bain-marie)
- Preheat the oven to 200°C
- Lightly butter and line the bottom and sides of a 15 cm (6 inches) baking pan with parchment paper. As the pan has a removable bottom, cover it with 2 or 3 layers of aluminum foil to avoid any leakage. Place the prepared pan into a deep baking dish.
- Note: I usually heat the prepared pan in the preheated oven for about 10 minutes before pouring the batter, as I found that it prevents leakage some far.
MAKE THE CHOCOLATE CREAM CHEESE MIXTURE
- Cut the cream cheese and butter into small cubes and place them in a heatproof mixing bowl with the milk (80 ml). Make a double boiler placing the bowl on top of a pot of simmering water. When the cream cheese and butter are soft, whisk until smooth with a balloon whisk.
- Remove from the double boiler and stir again until smooth. Let cool completely.
- When cooled, add egg yolks, one by one, and mix until combined.
- Sift in the flour mixture
- and whisk until thoroughly combined.
- Meanwhile, place the chocolate in a heatproof mixing bowl with the rest of the milk (50 ml). Make a double boiler placing the bowl on top of a pot of simmering water. When the chocolate is soft, whisk until smooth. Let it cool.
- After cooling, add the melted chocolate to the cream cheese mixture and mix well. If the batter is smooth enough, you don’t have to strain it. Set aside until you make the meringue.
MAKE THE MERINGUE
- In a clean mixing bowl, whip egg whites with cream of tartar and salt until foamy for about 1 minute on medium-high speed.
- Add sugar, a tablespoon at a time, while continue beating for about 2 minutes on high speed until the meringue reaches a soft peak stage and has a glossy texture.
- Finally, beat on low speed for about 1 minute. Be careful not to over-whip.
MAKE THE BATTER
- First, add one-third of the meringue to the cream cheese mixture and stir them completely into the batter. This will lighten the batter and make it easier to fold the rest of the egg whites in. Next, again add about one-third of the meringue and gently fold it into the batter being careful not the deflate the whites.
- Now, place all the cream cheese mixture into the bowl with the meringue and continue folding gently being careful not to deflate the whites until all of the white lumps of meringue have disappeared.
BAKING
- While you make the batter, place the prepared pan in the preheated oven for about 10 minutes before pouring the batter. Remove the heated pan from the oven and gently pour the batter into the pan.
- Carefully pour the hot water into the baking dish about 1/3rd of the way up the pan. Bake for 5 minutes at 200°C. Then, lower the temperature to 160°C and bake for about 30 minutes. Adjust the time and temperature as needed. (see the tips)
COOLING
- The cake is done when the top is nicely brown and the center is firm. Turn off the oven and remove the water bath. Leave the oven door slightly open and let the cake cool for about 30 minutes in the oven.
- Remove the pan from the oven and place it onto a cooling rack. Let it sit to cool. Remove the cheesecake from the pan and then remove the parchment paper.
SERVE & ENJOY!
- Transfer the cake to a serving plate. You can serve it warm, after cooling or chilling it in the fridge as you like.
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