A super fluffy, light and soft chocolate Japanese-style cheesecake that is easier to make than the traditional version and is just as delicious. It’s only three ingredients and doesn’t require flour, butter or oil. It comes out so light and airy.
This cake comes out incredibly fluffy and airy. I love Japanese cheesecake but traditional Japanese cheesecake takes a long time to make and can often collapse if it’s not made correctly. This shortcut version uses only a few ingredients so the prep work is much shorter.
A few years ago, the 3 ingredient Japanese cheesecake became very popular. I’ve made it multiple times. This is a chocolate-flavored version of the popular 3 ingredient Japanese cheesecake (the original actually uses white chocolate but it doesn’t taste like white chocolate).
Ingredients
- Milk Chocolate Chips
- Cream Cheese
- Eggs
Milk Chocolate Chips: This cake is flavored and sweetened with milk chocolate chips. I don’t recommend using semisweet chocolate because your cake will not be sweet enough (and may be a little dry). You can make this with white chocolate but it won’t have a white chocolate flavor. It will just taste like the plain/original Japanese cheesecake. You can find the original version here.
Cream Cheese: Make sure to use full fat cream cheese. I like using Philadelphia brand as I have found that it is creamier and doesn’t leave any lumps in the batter.
Eggs: The light and fluffy texture of the cake comes from separating the eggs and whipping the egg whites to stiff peaks.
How to Make Chocolate Japanese Cheesecake
- The chocolate is melted down until smooth. The cream cheese is then mixed in until fully incorporated. Finally, whisk in the egg yolks.
- In a mixing bowl, add egg whites and beat at highest speed until stiff peaks form.
- The egg whites are then gently folded into the chocolate mixture in three batches.
- The cake is baked in a 7 inch round cake pan. It is best to use a solid one-piece pan (not springform and not one with a removable bottom). The reason for this is because the cake needs to be baked in a water bath. Using a cake pan with a removable bottom can have issues with water leaking in or even if water doesn’t seep in, the bottom of the cake cooks too fast resulting in a dense bottom layer.
- When lining the cake pan, you want to first create a set of handles. This will allow you to easily lift the cake out after it’s done baking. Grease the inside of the cake pan. Then place in two strips of parchment paper that run across the cake pan from one side to the other with some overhang. The two strips should cross and form an “X’ at the bottom of the pan. Then line the bottom and sides of the cake pan with parchment paper as you would normally do.
Cheesecake Texture
Japanese cheesecake has a very light and fluffy texture. It is like a cross between a souffle and a cake. This cheesecake is also not as sweet as American cheesecake. While this cheesecake can be eaten after it is cooled, much like traditional Japanese cheesecake, it tastes even better if you let it refrigerate for several hours or overnight. The flavors become more pronounced and the cake is also sweeter.
More Cheesecake Recipes
- 3 Ingredient Japanese Cheesecake
- 3 Ingredient Cheesecake (made with condensed milk)
- 3 Ingredient Instant Pot Japanese Cheesecake
- 3 Ingredient Keto Japanese Cheesecake
3 Ingredient Fluffy Chocolate Cheesecake
Ingredients
- 4 large eggs, separated straight from fridge
- 1 1/4 cups (198 g) milk chocolate chips
- 7 oz (198 g) cream cheese softened to room temperature
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 325°F (163°C). Spray the inside of a 7 inch round cake pan with a cooking oil spray. Use a solid one-piece cake pan (no removable bottom). Line with parchment paper. You will want to create handles along with lining the bottom and sides so that you can remove the cake easily after it is done. See notes and post for how to line the cake pan properly.
- Separate egg yolks and whites. Place eggs whites into fridge until ready to use.
- Add chocolate chips to a large mixing bowl. Melt either in the microwave or on the stove (using the double boiler method). I used the microwave. If using microwave, heat chocolate in 15 second intervals, stirring in between with a spatula, until chocolate is completely melted and smooth.
- Add in cream cheese. Mix in the cream cheese with spatula until fully incorporated and no cream cheese streaks remain.
- Add in egg yolks. Using a hand whisk, whisk in the egg yolks until no egg streaks remain and batter is smooth.
- Remove egg whites from fridge. Place into a separate clean large mixing bowl. Beat at highest speed until stiff peaks form. I prefer to use a stand mixer but you can also use a hand mixer.
- Add one third of the egg white mixture to your egg yolk batter. Fold it in gently with a spatula until no egg white lumps remain (it's okay if there are a few streaks of white in your batter). Make sure you scoop up batter from the very bottom of the bowl each time you fold to make sure all of the batter gets incorporated with the egg whites. Repeat with the next 1/3 and then remaining 1/3.
- Pour batter into prepared baking pan. The cake will be baked in a water bath. To do this, place your cake pan into a slightly larger baking pan. I used a 9 x 9 inch baking pan. Place your cake pan into the bigger pan. Pour just enough cold tap water into the outer pan so that the water level reaches 1/2 inch. Make sure to add the water to the outer pan after you've put the cake in. If you add 1/2 inch of water before, the added weight of the cake pan and cake batter will push up your water level more than 1/2 inch. I recommend using a ruler to measure the water level. If your water level is too high, the bottom of your cake will cook too much, causing a dense bottom layer.
- Place cake with water bath into your oven. Bake for 55 minutes. Turn off the oven but do not open the oven door and leave the cake in the oven for one hour. It is important to leave the cake in the oven (unopened) because this allows the cake to finish cooking and the gradual drop in temperature prevents the cake from suddenly collapsing. The cake will shrink down, but it shouldn't completely collapse. After one hour, you can remove the cake from the oven. Use the cake handles to lift the cake from the pan and transfer to a plate. Let the cake cool to room temperature. While cake can be enjoyed once cooled, the flavors won't be as pronounced and the cake won't be as sweet. See notes for more details. For best result, place cake in the fridge (uncovered) for several hours or overnight. If putting it in the fridge, let it come to room temperature before serving. If desired, dust top with powdered sugar before serving.
Notes
- This cake tastes best after it is refrigerated for several hours. You can eat it after it has cooled, but the flavors won't be as pronounced, the cake is not as sweet and it has a slightly eggy flavor. This is true for all Japanese-style cheesecakes. However the milk chocolate does mask most of the eggy flavor. You can always try a small slice to see the difference. If you refrigerate the cake for several hours or overnight, the flavors of the cake become much stronger and the cake is sweeter. If you do refrigerate the cake, make sure to bring it back to room temperature (about 2 hours) before serving because the cake will be much firmer and not as fluffy and light when it is cold.
- While this shortcut version tastes just like regular Japanese cheesecake, it doesn't bake up as beautifully. The cake does shrink a little more, and the surface of the cake will be slightly smaller than the bottom of the cake.
- If you have a kitchen scale, I recommend weighing the chocolate chips. Different brands have different sizes for chocolate chips which can make the cup measurement inaccurate.
- Lining the cake pan: Before lining the cake pan, you want to create some handles so that you can easily lift your cake out of the pan. First, grease the interior of your cake pan (I used an oil spray). Then place two long strips of parchment paper across the cake pan. Each strip should run from one side of the cake pan to the other with some overhang and should overlap and form an "X" at the bottom of your cake pan. See photo in post for reference. Then, line the cake pan as you normally would (bottom round parchment paper and parchment paper for the sides). You'll want to either regrease the cake pan after adding the handles or grease the bottom round and side parchment strips so that they stick to the cake pan.
- This cake is best made in a solid one-piece round cake pan that does not have a removable bottom. A springform cake pan or a cake pan with a removable bottom results in the bottom layer of the cake cooking too fast, which will produce a dense bottom layer.
- I used US standard large eggs. You should have approximately 142 grams of egg whites and 75 grams of egg yolks.
- Measurements are using US measurements.
- The following equipment links are affiliate links. This means I earn a commission from qualifying purchases.
Equipment
Nutrition
The nutrition information provided are only estimates based on an online nutritional calculator. I am not a certified nutritionist. Please consult a professional nutritionist or doctor for accurate information and any dietary restrictions and concerns you may have.
Can not wait to try it
We hope you love it!
Sounds so worth trying.
Thanks
hope you enjoy!
I love baking and so on
We hope you try this recipe soon!
I haven’t baking for so many years an just seeing this makes me want to go back into baking especially when it’s only three ingredients thankyou so much for putting this on google.??
You’re welcome! We hope you give it a try.
When do you add the egg yolks? It never said to add them.
It states to add them in step 5.