Japanese Cheesecake

1 tbsp butter (greasing pan & baking paper)
6 large eggs
300 g cream cheese
4 tbsp butter
¾ cup heavy (whipping) cream
4½ tbsp sugar
⅔ cup cake flour
½ lemon (for zest)
2 tbsp lemon juice
¼ tsp SIDS CRAZY LEMON
½ cup sugar
2 tbsp apricot jam (for glaze)
2 tsp hot water (for glaze)

Cut parchment paper for the bottom and side of cake pan. You will need a 23 cm round paper for the bottom, one 10 x 76 cm paper for the side of cake pan, and two 5 x 76 cm paper strips which will be used for “transporting”.
Grease the cake pan and baking paper (for bottom and sides) with butter (15 g). You don't need to use all of it.
Place the 2 “straps” criss-cross on the bottom of the cake pan. Then place the bottom and side parchment paper. The grease side of the 23 cm paper should face up, and face in on the 10 x 76 cm paper.
Preheat the oven to 180ºC. You will be baking at 160ºC but when you open the oven to place the cheesecake, you’ll lose some heat, so we’ll start off a bit higher.
Please note that it is very important that ingredients are all measured before starting. Separate the 6 eggs into yolks and whites. Refrigerate the egg whites.
Mix over Double Boiler
Set a medium saucepan filled with 5 cm water and bring to simmer. Add cream cheese, butter (60 g), heavy whipping cream (200 ml), and granulated sugar (60 g) in a large bowl. Put the bowl over the saucepan.
Using a silicone spatula, mash the cream cheese and butter. Once they are melted, use whisk to blend everything together. Remove from the heat.
Mix at the Counter
To the warm cream cheese mixture add 6 egg yolks, one yolk at a time while whisking. Make sure each egg yolk blended well with the mixing before adding the next one.
Using a fine-mesh strainer, sift cake flour (80 g) into the batter. Whisk and blend together.
Pass the batter through the same fine mesh strainer to a clean large bowl, creating the silky texture for the batter.
Zest half of a lemon into the batter. Make sure you only zest the yellow part, not the bitter white part. Then squeeze half lemon into a small bowl. Measure lemon juice, SIDS CRAZY LEMON and add to the batter. Whisk well to blend then set aside.
Set Up Bain-Marie
Put the baking dish inside the oven and pour hot water until half way or 3 cm deep. Close the oven.
Beat Egg Whites
Add cold egg whites into a large clean mixing bowl (of the stand mixer). Make sure there is no oil or water in the bowl. If you have space in your refrigerator, I highly recommend keeping the mixing bowl cold until you’re ready to use it. Start whisking on medium speed (speed 4) until the egg whites become opaque, foamy, and bubbly, about 2 minutes. Slowly add 100 g granulated sugar, ⅓ portion at a time while the mixer runs.
Once all the sugar has been added, increase the mixer speed to high (speed 8-9) and beat the egg whites until “soft” to “medium” peaks. When lifting the whisk, the egg whites shouldn’t fold ribbons (drizzle) anymore. When you turn your whisk upside down, the egg whites should cling to the whisk and hold their shape for a few seconds, but then start to flop over.
Fold in Egg Whites
Using a whisk, mix in ⅓ of egg whites into the cream cheese mixture until incorporated, then gently fold in another ⅓ into the mixture.
Lastly, pour the mixture back into the mixer bowl (with ⅓ of egg whites still in it) and fold in very gently.
Pour the mixture into the baking pan in all at once, avoiding air pockets while pouring. Tap the cake pan a few times on the kitchen counter to release any air pockets in the batter.
Bake the Cheesecake
Place the cake pan into the baking sheet that’s already in the oven. Reduce the oven temperature to 160ºC and start baking for 70-75 minutes. Then, reduce the oven temperature to 150ºC and bake for another 10 minutes, until the top is golden brown and the skewer inserted comes out clean. For a convection oven, reduce cooking temperature by 15ºC.
Let Cool
Turn off the oven and leave the oven door ajar for 15-20 minutes with the cake inside. If you take the cake out immediately, the sudden change of temperature could cause the cake to shrink or collapse. You want the cake to slowly shrink down to half the height, roughly from 10 cm to 5 cm. Remove the pan from the oven. Gently pull out the cake using the 2 parchment paper straps (with another set of hands).
Remove the parchment paper around the cake (leaving the bottom one). Combine apricot jam and hot water in a small bowl. Brush the apricot mixture over the top of the cheesecake. Let cool to room temperature.
To Serve
You can serve the cake at room temperature (fluffiest!) or chill the cake for 1-2 hours before serving.
To Store
You can store the cake in the refrigerator for up to 3-4 days or in the freezer for 3-4 weeks. Defrost the cake overnight in the refrigerator. The cold cheesecake is dense, so leave it at the counter until chilled/room temperature before serving.