As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. This post may contain affiliate links, view our disclosure policy for details.
Living in Japan, I tend to get overwhelmed by all the desserts sold in convenience stores, grocery stores or restaurants. I feel there's an overwhelming amount of sweets sold and it can be hard to stick to my diet because there's so much temptation everywhere. One of my favourite dessert has always been cheesecake but I haven't eaten or made one in a few months!
A few weeks ago, someone posted a video of a Japanese Cotton Cheesecake in a Keto group on Facebook and asked if anyone could make the recipe keto friendly. I decided to make one because I live in Japan and I love cheesecake so much, or to be honest, it was probably an excellent excuse for me to eat cheesecake!
Japanese Cotton Cheesecakes are a bit different than normal cheesecakes as they are based on a meringue and are very light and fluffy. They don't require as much sugar as regular cheesecakes and often contain flour. Some cheesecakes use chocolate instead of sugar and some can also add milk or sour cream.
I chose to keep it simple and only used 5 ingredients: cream cheese, eggs, blanched almond flour, stevia powder and baking powder. I realize that when you start eating sugar-free, you tend to like things a bit less sweet than normal and so I didn't need to add a lot of stevia because I found it was sweet enough.
These cotton cheesecakes usually need to be baked in a water bath in order to prevent cracks as they do rise considerably high in the oven. When baking a cake in a water bath, remember to add aluminum foil around your cake pan as the water can go in! I didn't do it the first time I made cheesecake years ago and the bottom got all soggy! Oops. I learned my lesson!
Japanese cotton cheesecake can be eaten as is, or you can top it with whatever ingredient you have on hand. I used some frozen blackberries that I had and microwaved them for a minute and topped them over the cheesecake. The texture of this cheesecake should be extremely fluffy if all goes well.
I like to add a bit of parchment paper around the cake so that it doesn't stick to the mold and comes out easily! When it's out of the oven, just let it cool down completely before cutting it!
Recipe Card
Japanese Cotton Cheesecake (Gluten-free, Sugar-free, Low Carb)
Ingredients
- 3 eggs
- 200 g cream cheese (7oz**)
- ½ cup blanched almond flour (60g)
- ½ tsp baking powder
- ½ tsp stevia powder
- 1 cup blackberries (optional, I used frozen berries that I microwaved for a minute)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 160C/320F. Add some water, about 2cm, to a baking tray and put it in the oven on the bottom rack.
- Line the sides of an 18cm/7” spring form pan with a loose base
. Wrap the outer bottom and sides of the pan with aluminum foil. - Add the cream cheese to a microwave-safe bowl and microwave for 40 seconds or until soft.
- Separate the eggs, place the whites into a bowl and the yolks into the bowl with the cream cheese.
- Using a hand mixer, beat the egg whites for a minute and add ⅛ tsp of the stevia powder. Continue beating until stiff peaks form.
- Using the same mixer, beat the cream cheese and yolks for 2 minutes. Add ⅛ tsp of the stevia powder, the almond flour and the baking powder. Beat until combined. Pour the mixture through a sieve to make sure that there's no more "flour" bumps. Sift it until it's all transferred to a large bowl. (*This took me a good 5 minutes, just keep on scraping the batter until it comes out of the sieve)
- Add ⅓ of of the meringue to the cream cheese mixture and carefully fold it in. When incorporated, add the next ⅓ and carefully fold it in again. Add the last ⅓ of the meringue and fold GENTLY.
- Pour the cheesecake mixture inside the springform pan and place it in the preheated oven in the water bath. Bake for 40 minutes, decrease the temperature to 140C/285F and bake for 10 more minutes.
- Take the cheesecake out of the oven and let cool completely. When cooled, cut into 4 slices. Top the cheesecake with the berries.
Notes
Nutritional information is provided through calculations made on fatsecret.com. They are approximate only. We cannot guarantee the accuracy of the nutritional information given for any recipe on mypcoskitchen.com. Sugar alcohols are included in the fiber count. Net carbs are the total carbs minus fiber (which include sugar alcohols).
All text, pictures & videos are copyright protected © by Mira Richard-Fioramore for My PCOS Kitchen.
Shares are very much appreciated, just make sure to share a link and not a screenshot.
Copy/pasting full recipe text to websites and social media is prohibited. Excerpts, single photos, and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to www.mypcoskitchen.com with appropriate link back to the original content.
pauline richmond
i have made other cheese cakes in my instant pot that turned out great...wonder if this one would work in there too
Sandra
I'm incredibly happy I found this recipe. It tastes exactly like a Japanese cotton cheesecake with its original ingedients. I mean why eat something that is unhealthy when you can eat this fantastic easy and delicious cheesecake!! EXCEPTIONAL!
Thank you so much for sharing this recipe. It will now be my go-to recipe!
Fernando
Hello,
I'm new at this and this looks amazing. I was wondering if the almond flour has to be blanched or it does not matter? since the almond flour I get it doesn't say blanched or something like that.
thanks
Mira
Hi Fernando, it just needs to be without the shell/skin. That's what blanched means. White almond flour and not the brown kind.
Jane
This was YUMMY! The only changes I made were: substituting xylitol instead of stevia and I added a vanilla bean. It is airy and light, nothing like regular cheesecake. It was delicious with a fruit topping, but it can be eaten plain paired with coffee or tea. Restraining myself from eating another piece 🙁 I will definitely make this again!!!
Vanessa
This looks so good! Does it keep long?
Mira
Hi Vanessa, it should keep for a week or so.
Hina
If i want to uae erythritol what would be the quantity? 1/2 tsp stevia seems really less for a cheese cake. Am i missing something here?
Mira
Stevia is 300 times sweeter than sugar, which is why in any recipe, you'll never find more than a tsp. Try adding 1/2 cup to 1 cup of erythritol and see how sweet you like it.
j
can you use coconut flour instead of blanched almond flour
thanks
Mira
Hmm, I haven't tried! Let me know if it works.
Safaa
Hi Mira!
I am allergic to almond flour, can I replace it with coconut flour? If yes, what is the ratio?
Thanks!
Mira
I haven't tried, but maybe a couple of tbsp? It's just to replace that "spongy" feeling the original version has.
Michelle
Usually the coconut flour substitution is 1/3 that of other flours, because of its dryness. Let me know if it works
Kassidy
Could I replace the stevia with Monk Fruit and what would be the ratio?
Mira
Hi Kassidy,
Yes and it should be the same amount as the stevia as they're pretty much the same sweetness.
Khristy
Would it be possible to leave out the sugar altogether?
Mira
Hi Khristy, of course. It just won't be sweet that's all.
Jieun Newland
Oh, so happy find this recipe! I used to bake Japanese cheese cake while I was living in Korea.
One question, Can I use liquid stevia?
Mira
I think you could, but you'd need to add a bit more and taste test the batter before baking!
Brandy
I only have a 9" spring form pan. Would this be OK to use vs a 7"? I am not sure what the cook time adjustment would be.
Mira
Yes, should be fine. You could even double the recipe. It should be around the same time.
Brandy
Thank you. I ended up just doubling the recipe since you had directions up there for that. You can never have too much cheesecake.
jen
In the video it looks like you are using 6 eggs-- are you making a double batch??
Mira
Yes I was making a double batch!
Sharon
The calorie count doesn't add up. It says 338 calories, but adding the protein, carbs, and fat only gives me about 115. Which is right?
Mira
Ingredients Fat(g) Carbs(g) Fiber(g) Net C(g) Prot(g) KCals
123.96 20.03 6.4 13.61 48.83 1354
3 large egg 14.91 1.16 - 1.16 18.87 220
8 oz cream cheese79.09 6.03 - 6.03 17.12 792
60g almond flour 29.96 12.84 6.4 6.42 12.84 342
All that divided by 4 gives you 338 calories.
Victoria Meredith
What is the sugar equivalent of the stevia powder in this recipe? I'd prefer to use a blend like Swerve. My research suggests it's about 1/4 cup of sugar, but I'm not sure.
Mira
I would use the confectioner's and half in the egg whites and half in the almond flour. About 1/2 cup and add more if needed.
Ana Nguyen
can you add mango or banana in the recipe?
Mira
I haven't tried, but I'm sure you could. You may need to change the egg ratio or something.
Shaina
What's is the carb content ??
Mira
Hi! There seemed to be a problem and I updated it! The carbs are 5.01g and net carbs are 3.41g.
Irene
Hi Mira! Can I replace almond flour with gluten free flour? Thanks!
Mira
You should be able to!