Japanese Cotton Cheesecake

The first time I encountered this cake in a Tokyo bakery, I watched the server slice into it and saw the whole thing tremble. Not jiggle like American cheesecake, but shiver, as if it were alive. When I tasted it, the texture vanished on my tongue like morning mist burning off the harbor. I understood immediately why lines wrapped around the block.

This is not the dense New York cheesecake I grew up eating at Lindy's. Japanese cotton cheesecake borrows technique from the French soufflé and marries it to cream cheese, creating something entirely new. The meringue folded into the base gives it lift. The water bath creates gentle, enveloping heat. The result is a cake that weighs almost nothing yet satisfies completely.

Do not be intimidated by the technique. Yes, you will fold a meringue. Yes, you will use a water bath. Neither requires culinary school training. What they require is attention and care, qualities any home cook can summon for something this beautiful. The wobble you achieve when you pull it from the oven will make you proud. The faces around your table when you serve it will make you proud again.