Ingredients

• 150 g (5.3 oz) cream cheese, room temperature
• 2 Tbsp butter, room temperature
• 90 g (3.2 oz) sugar
• 3 eggs, separated
• 150 g (5.3 oz) warm milk
• 50 g (1.8 oz) cake flour, sifted
• 1/2 tsp lemon peel, grated
• 1/2 tsp lemon juice
• 1/2 tsp vanilla
• Melted butter and powdered sugar, for parchment paper
• 1 Tbsp apricot jam
• 1 Tbsp water

Instructions

1. Preheat oven at 320 F (160 C). Measure all the ingredients. Separate eggs into yolks and whites. Sift cake flour. Grate lemon peel. Prepare hot water for water bath.
2. Coat a 6″ round cake pan with melted butter. Place parchment paper in the pan, on the bottom and side. The parchment paper should also be coated with butter very well (the melted butter is not in the 2 Tbsp measurement). Sprinkle powdered sugar over the butter-coated parchment paper.
3. Cream soft cream cheese and 2 Tbsp butter with whisk, add 1/2 of sugar, and mix well. Add yolks one at a time, mixing well each time. Then add warm milk and mix until smooth. Add sifted cake flour and whisk well until there are no lumps. Mix in lemon peel, juice, and vanilla.
4. Separately, whip egg whites in an electric mixer, adding the rest of the sugar in 3 parts, until it forms a meringue with soft peaks.
5. Fold in 1/4 amount of the meringue into the cheese mixture. Then add the rest of the meringue, folding in, taking care not to deflate the foam of the meringue.
6. Pour the cake batter into the prepared pan. Place the pan in a hot water bath, and put in the oven. Bake at 320 F (160 C) for 20 minutes. Reduce to 285 F (140 C) and bake about 30 minutes. Turn up to 350 F (180 C) for 5 minutes for browning. Turn off the oven leaving the cake inside and the door open for 1 hour. Take the cake out from the oven and let cool completely before unmolding. Refrigerate at least 2 hours.
7. Heat jam and water in a small pan and let boil for a minute, and strain through a fine mesh. Cool for a few minutes, and brush the glaze on the top of the cheesecake.

Credit: JAPANESECOOKING101