Why not try a Japanese twist on a worldwide favourite dessert? This is the recipe for a Japanese Style Lemon Rare Cheesecake (レモンレアチーズケーキ).
What is Rare Cheesecake?
Rare cheesecake is basically the Japanese term for a no-bake cheesecake. The best thing about no bake cheesecakes is of course, you don't have to bake! This is great seeing as owning an oven in Japan is a bit of a luxury.
Not only that, but in the summer many people don't feel like baking... but we still need dessert in summer right?!
No-bake cheesecakes are usually lighter than their baked counterparts, which makes them refreshing and equally delicious!
How is Japanese Rare Cheesecake Different?
Whilst many no-bake cheesecake recipes use whipped cream to help make the mixture thicker, Japanese rare cheesecake uses yogurt and gelatin instead.
The yogurt adds a little bit of sourness and makes the cheesecake lighter. It also becomes a bit more calorie friendly compared to double cream. (I couldn't go as far as saying it's healthy though, haha!)
The gelatin helps it hold it's shape. As I'm sure you know, gelatin is an animal protein that is used in jelly and other wobbly desserts.
Using Gelatin
Gelatin Powder
I'll admit, I rarely use gelatin in desserts or any other kind of cooking. I'm not a huge fan of jelly or jelly-ish textures. Somehow it's really delicious in this cheesecake recipe! When making this rare cheesecake, I used gelatin powder, and it took a few tries to get it right! Here are some tips from my learning process:
- First sprinkle the gelatin into cold water. It's better this way. If you pour water onto the gelatin, it can clump together. (extra mixing can fix this though)
- Use cold or warm water, not hot. If you use hot water, the powder expands too quickly.
- Leave for 5-10 minutes so it can 'bloom'. This is when the powder granules absorb the water and expand.
- After 10 minutes, the gelatin gets thicker but will still be lumpy.
- Before adding it to your cheesecake mixture, melt it a bit. You can do this in a saucepan but microwave is quicker and easier, about 30 seconds should do it!
Alternatives to Gelatin Powder
Gelatin Sheets
Although I used powder, of course you can use gelatin sheets. Around 6 sheets are equal to 7g of gelatin powder. You soak the sheets in ice cold water for about 5-10 mins, then take out the sheets, squeeze out the liquid and then heat them up so they melt. You then add the melted sheets to your cheesecake filling.
Agar Agar and Kanten
Agar agar is a natural and vegetarian friendly alternative to gelatin. There is a similar ingredient called kanten (かんてん) in Japanese. It's used in many Japanese desserts and jellies and is made of seaweed! How you use it is very different from gelatin though. Agar agar and kanten need to be boiled for about 5 minutes and they set quite quickly. Most recipes state that you should use half the amount of agar agar or kanten as a replacement for gelatin however, citrus like lemons or limes weakens the agar agar so I recommend using the same amount or more.
Using Agar Agar to Make this Recipe
If you decide to use agar agar, you have to use a different method. I've tried just swapping the gelatin for agar agar and it didn't set. I tried a few different ways and the following steps produced the best results.
- Follow the instructions for the base as usual.
- For the filling, mix the cream cheese, sugar, yogurt, lemon juice and vanilla essence in a bowl and set aside.
- In a sauce pan (one big enough for the filling) mix 20g (about 2 tbsp) agar agar powder into 100ml of water on a low heat and bring to the boil. Keep stirring for 2 minutes.
- Add ⅓ of the cheesecake filling to the pan and mix with the agar agar. Keep mixing on a medium-low heat for 2-3 minutes.
- If the mixture gets too hot just add a bit more of cold mixture bit by bit and mix thoroughly.
- After 5 minutes of cooking in the pan, add the last of the cheesecake filling into the hot mixture and mix well.
- Turn off the heat and mix for 1-2 minutes to let some of the heat out.
- Pour the mixture through a sieve onto the biscuit base and refrigerate. Agar agar sets very quickly so it will be ready in 1-2 hours.
Because of the lemon juice and yogurt, this Japanese style Rare Cheesecake is a little sour whilst being deliciously light and refreshing! I hope you enjoy it as much as we do!
Check out our video for Japanese Style Lemon Rare Cheesecake (No-Bake)
Print
Japanese Style Lemon Rare Cheesecake (レモンレアチーズケーキ)
- Prep Time: 20 mins
- Cook Time: 3 hours
- Total Time: 3 hours 20 mins
- Yield: 8 Slices 1x
Description
How to make Zesty Japanese Style Lemon Rare Cheesecake
Ingredients
For this recipe, you will need:
- 18cm Cake tin (springform or one with removable base is best)
- Parchment or baking paper to line the base
- Sieve
For the base
- 100g plain rich tea biscuits/graham crackers
- 70g Unsalted butter
- Zest of 1 Lemon
For the Cheesecake
- 300g Cream cheese
- 300g Plain no-fat yogurt
- 90g Granulated sugar
- 7g (2 and ½ tsp) Gelatin powder (see note)
- 60ml Cold water
- Juice of ½ Lemon
- 1 tsp Vanilla extract
Instructions
For the Base
- First, let's make the base. Put 70g of cubed butter into a microwavable container and microwave for 30 seconds. If it's not melted enough, heat for another 10 seconds.
- Grate the zest of one lemon into the butter and mix.
- Put the 100g of rich tea biscuits (or graham crackers) into a zip lock back and bash them up using a rolling pin until you have a fine crumble.
- Pour the melted butter into the bag and rub the butter into the crumbs, making sure there are no crumbs left dry.
- Butter an 18cm cake tin around the edge and cut a circular piece of parchment paper. Line the bottom of the tin. (If you don't have a baking tin with a removable bottom or spring form cake tin, cut two long pieces of parchment paper and put them underneath the circular piece. They should be going across the middle vertically and horizontally, then hanging over the edge. This will help you lift the cheesecake from the tin later.)
- Pour the buttery crumbs over the top of the parchment paper and press down firmly to complete the base. Pop it in the fridge while you prepare the rest of the cheesecake.
For the Filling
- Pour 7g of gelatin powder into a small heat proof bowl and mix with 60ml of cold water for 5-10 minutes to allow the powder to expand. Set aside for later.
- Put 300g of cream cheese into a microwavable bowl, and heat for 40 seconds until softened.
- Whisk the cream cheese until smooth and add 90g of sugar, whisk again.
- Add the 300g of yogurt and continue to whisk.
- Squeeze in the juice of half a lemon and 1 tsp of vanilla extract, whisking between each ingredient.
- Your gelatin powder should of thickened by now but might be lumpy. Remove the lumps by microwaving for 30 seconds OR pouring boiling water into a larger bowl and sitting your bowl of gelatin in it. Mix until it's warmed with no lumps, add into your cheesecake mixture and mix well. (Don't add boiling water to the gelatin mix, otherwise you're adding extra unneeded liquid to your cheesecake.)
- Take your base from the fridge, and using a strainer or sieve, pour the cheesecake mixture onto the base. It might not go through easily, use a spatula to help it through the sieve.
- Smooth over the top and leave to chill in the fridge for at least 3 hours.
- Cut, serve and enjoy! This recipe makes one 18cm diameter cheesecake which can be cut into about 8 slices!
Notes
If you use gelatin sheets instead of powder, you will need about 6 sheets.
If you use agar agar, you need to following different instructions as it needs boiling time. When I made this recipe with agar agar powder, I used 2 tbsp (20g) and boiled it in a pan with 100ml of water. You can see full instructions on how to make this recipe with agar agar powder in the blog post above.
- Category: Desserts
- Method: Mixing
- Cuisine: Japanese
Keywords: Japanese style cheesecake recipe,Japanese no bake cheesecake,how to make no-bake cheesecake,Cheesecake with yogurt,Lemon no bake cheesecake,Lemon rare cheesecake recipe,how to use agar agar in cheesecake,gelatin alternatives in cheesecake,what is kanten,how to use kanten,
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