This souffle cheesecake is melt-in-your-mouth light and delicate. With just 3 ingredients, this cake is easy to make and can be customized any which way!
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OMG, do I have a treat for you today!!!
This ultra-light and airy soufflé cheesecake is so incredibly delightful! It’s very similar to popular Japanese cotton cheesecake, but it only requires 3 ingredients!!!
I wish I can take the full credit for this genius idea, but I can’t. You may have seen a similar recipe with white chocolate. But I wanted to simplify it even further, so I substituted sweetened condensed milk for melted white chocolate. And voila, it turned out phenomenal!!!
How to Make Souffle Cheesecake:
Step 1. Prepare the pan
- For this recipe, you’ll need 8-inch springform pan with high sides, at least 2.5 inches tall.
- And line the pan with a parchment paper.
Tip
Make sure to cut the parchment paper for the sides taller than the pan. The cake rises pretty high during baking.
But keep in mind that it falls back to its original height, and it’s totally normal.
Step 2. Make the batter
- Separate the egg whites and yolks. Be careful not to break the yolk, because you don’t want any yolk get into your egg whites.
- Whip cream cheese until fluffy and then add sweetened condensed milk.
- Next, stir in egg yolks and beat until well combined.
- In another bowl, whip the egg whites until stiff peaks form.
- Now gently fold the egg whites into the cream cheese mixture. Gently mix everything until well combined.
Step 3. Bake
- Pour the batter into the prepared baking pan.
- Place the cheesecake in a preheated 325°F oven and place a baking pan filled with water on the lower rack.
- Bake for 45 minutes.
- Then turn off the oven and let the cheesecake cool in the oven for about 40 minutes.
Tip
Baking a souffle cheesecake in a humid environment helps to prevent cracks on top.
Step 4. Chill
As tempting as it is, you can’t serve the cheesecake as soon as it cools.
- After it comes to room temperature, remove the sides of the springform pan and peel off the parchment paper.
- Refrigerate the cheesecake for at 2-3 hours, or preferably overnight.
How do you prevent souffle cheesecake from cracking?
Bake the cheesecake in a humid environment for gentler cooking. It’ll minimize the chance of cracking. But hey, if your cheesecake has a small crack on top, don’t sweat. No baking police will be knocking on your door to write you a ticket for that. I promise.
Tip
Cover up any cracks by dusting the cake with powdered sugar and topping with fresh fruits.
And yes, there is a tiny crack under that pile of pomegranate seeds as well. What really matters is its not-too-sweet, melt-in-your-mouth light and delicious taste and texture!
How to serve this cheesecake:
This basic cheesecake is SO versatile. Since there’s no additional flavors, you can serve it with all kinds of delicious sauces:
- Seedless raspberry sauce
- Strawberry sauce
- Caramel sauce
- Fresh fruits and powdered sugar
- Chocolate ganache
Souffle Cheesecake Variations:
Why stop with basic version, when you can also enjoy Lemon Souffle Cheesecake and Milk Chocolate Souffle Cheesecake!!!
Soufflé Cheesecake
Ingredients
- 5 large eggs at room temperature
- 8 oz (225g) cream cheese at room temperature
- 1 can (14oz) sweetened condensed milk
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 325°F (160°C). (Note: If you watched the video, you may have noticed difference in oven temp. I made a mistake in the video. This cheesecake needs to be baked at 325°F.)
- To prepare the pan: You'll need 8in (20sm) springform pan and at least 2.5in (6cm) deep.
- Cut 3.5-inch (9cm)-wide long strip and 8-inch (20cm) round circle of parchment paper. Line the sides and the bottom of the springform pan with the prepare parchment paper. Set aside.
- To make the batter: Separate the egg whites and yolks.
- In a mixing bowl with paddle attachment, or using a handheld electric mixer, beat cream cheese until smooth and fluffy, about 1 minute.
- Add condensed milk and beat for another minute.
- Then add the egg yolks and continue to beat until well combined, 2-3 minutes.
- In a separate bowl, beat egg whites until hard peaks form. Make sure the bowl and the beaters are squeaky clean and free of grease. (Tip: Egg whites at room temperature are easier to beat and reach stiff peaks faster.)
- Fold in half of the whipped egg whites into the cream cheese mixture. Then add the remaining egg whites and gently fold until well-combined and no white streaks are visible.
- Transfer the batter into the prepared pan and tap on the counter a few times to release any air bubbles.
- To bake: Place a baking sheet on the lower rack of the oven and pour about 2 cups of boiling water.
- Put the cheesecake pan on the middle rack above the rack with water bath.
- Bake for 45 minutes.
- Turn off the oven and cool the cake in the oven for 40 minutes.
- Then bring the cheesecake out of the oven. Remove the sides of the springform pan and gently peel off the parchment paper from the sides.
- Cool completely on the counter, then refrigerate for at least 2-3 hours, or preferably overnight. This affects the taste and texture of the final cheesecake.
- When ready to serve, gently remove the parchment paper on the bottom. Make sure the cheesecake is chilled and set completely. Transfer the cheesecake onto the serving platter. If desired, dust with powdered sugar and top with fresh fruits.
Nutrition
This recipe was originally published on December 22, 2014.
I love any kind of cheesecake and must try this recipe! For those of us who want a fruit flavored cheesecake, here’s a little idea from chef Michael Symon. Heat a 10oz jar of all fruit spread in a sauce pan. Pour it over your cooled cheesecake. Let it drizzle down the sides a bit-it’s OK! The fruit spread gives the cheesecake a little more flavor and helps to hide any cracks on top that might occur!
Great tip, Susan. I also use fruit sauces to add fruity flavor to plain cheesecake. Hope you’ll love this cheesecake. Let me know if you try it. 🙂
Now you can buy extracts in just about any flavor, they can be kind of expensive though. I might try that one of these times, depending on how the one I just made turned out.
I haven’t gotten to try the soufflé cheesecake I made. It’s cooling but it came out very thin (9 inch springform pan) and I don’t think the heat was right. The written recipe says 325 degrees but the video says 350 degrees. I baked at 325 for 45 minutes. Which degree is correct because I am sure I will make another attempt at this cheesecake?
Hi, Tabetha. Sorry for delayed response. I apologize for the incorrect info on the video. We want to bake the cheesecake at 325°F. The reason your cheesecake is thin is that you used 9-inch springform pan. The recipe calls for 8-inch pan, and that makes quite a bit of difference in the thickness of the cheesecake. But I hope you enjoyed the cake nonetheless.
For those that had theirs turn out flat, wonder if they are over beating and takes the air out of 5he egg whites.
Just a thought.
Thanks for the input, Amos. I noticed most people use a bigger pan.
I made it and it was very easy. Everybody loves it!
Awesome! Thank you for your feedback, Maria!
I made it and it was a hit!! Very easy to make it. Thank you!
Has anyone tried it with the caramel and chocolate flavored condensed milk? I think I’m gonna have to try one of them….
Hi, Tracy. I had no idea there were flavored condensed milk! I’m sure it’ll work great. Let me know if you give it a try!
Hello – have you tried substituting the cream cheese with mascarpone?
Hi, Shirley! No, I’ve never tried mascarpone, but that sounds interesting. Let me know if you give it a try!
Hi, thank you for the recepie ! I love the flavor and how easy it is ! The only thing is that mine deflated and became pretty thin … I used a 9inch pan is that why ?
Hi, Lidiya! So happy to hear you loved the cheesecake. Yeah, it’s totally normal for the cheesecake to puff up during baking and come back to its original height as it cools. With 9-inch pan, it does yield flatter one, so I highly recommend 8-inch pan.
Hi what type of cream cheese should I use? whipped, regular, or philadelphia?
Hi, Rachel. I recommend regular brick-style cream cheese. My personal favorite is Philadelphia cream cheese.
I made this recipe today and it is truly as simple as you said! The hardest part was the parchment 🙂 I found the texture to be like an Italian cheesecake, not totally smooth but not gritty, simple perfect. I did find the flavor a little flat though so I think next time I will add some vanilla or maybe almond. Have you ever put anything into it like chocolate or berries, like a swirl? Just curious if it changes the souffle’s ability to rise.
Ah, yeah, I hate the parchment part as well. But using those paper clips helps a ton! I have a lemon version of this cheesecake, which I love. Though I never tried swirling in other ingredients, I don’t think it’ll work. I think the chocolate, or berries will be too heavy on the batter and will just sink to the bottom at the very best. I suggest serving the plain or vanilla version with fruit sauce or chocolate ganache on the side for variation. Hope this helps. Thank you for your feedback, Kristina!
How do you get the top layer? It looks like bread!? But there is no flower!
Hi, Sandra. That’s the magic of this cheesecake. 🙂 I don’t know how it works out like that, but it comes out of oven like that. Hope you give it a try.