Recipe: Mr. Cheesecake Tokyo

Mr. Cheesecake is a brand name created by Japanese chef Koji Tamura, who has trained and worked at several Michelin Star restaurants in France and Japan. Although I have been to Tokyo numerous times, I have never had the chance of tasting this cake, partly because it can only be ordered two days (Sunday and Monday) a week.

This recipe was published on Mr. Cheesecake’s official website. I made some adjustments as I do not have certain ingredients (i.e tonky beans), nor am I a fan of sour cream – I replaced it with more Greek yogurt instead. It turned out beautifully – subtle flavours, creamy and smooth texture – I can say that it is the BEST cheesecake I’ve ever had.

Here is how I make it:

Ingredients:

• 200 grams cream cheese, at room temperature (I used Ricotta)
• 1/2 cups sugar
• 220 grams Greek yogurt
• 100 grams/litres heavy cream
• 50 grams white chocolate, chopped into small pieces
• 2 eggs, at room temperature
• 2 teaspoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
• 2 1/2 tablespoon corn starch
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Instructions:

1. Preheat the oven to 180°C (350°F).
2. Line a loaf pan with parchment paper. (see video of how to do this)
3. In a bowl sitting on top of a water bath, combine cream cheese with sugar, using a spatula whip until smooth.
4. In another bowl, combine yogurt with eggs, one at a time.
5. Add lemon juice, mix well.
6. Add corn starch, mix well.
7. Heat cream in a small pan on medium heat.
8. Add vanilla extract, stir untill boiling, turn off the heat.
9. Add chocolate, stir until completely melts.
10. Add warm cream and chocolate mixture to the cream cheese and sugar mixture, mix well.
11. Add yogurt mix, mix until smooth.
12. Strain the mixture and pour into loaf pan.
13. Put the loaf pan in the center of a baking sheet, pour boiling water (about 2-3cm) onto the baking sheet. Take care not to spill/splash into the cake mixture.
14. Bake in the oven at 180°C for 25 minutes.
15. Reduce the heat to 150 °C(300°F) and bake for another 20 minutes.
16. Take the cake out of the oven. Let it cool completely and lift it out of the loaf pan.
17. Cool the cake in the refrigerator for at least 4 hours.
18. Enjoy cold or at room temperature for a softer and creamier texture.

Note: The original recipe calls for egg yolks, I used whole eggs in mine. While it did not ruin the texture nor the taste of the cake, I would stick to the yolks next time around.

Enjoy!