Strawberry & Apricot Almost Japanese Cheesecake

Welcome to month #4 in my Summer of Strawberry Cake series. Summer may be coming to an end but the hot weather sure isn’t. If you want something delicious but not too decadent, you’re in luck.  This Strawberry & Apricot Almost Japanese Cheesecake is just rich enough but will still keep you in shape for swimsuit season— provided you don’t eat the entire cake!

If you’ve never had Japanese cheesecake, you need to run out to an Asian bakery right away. I haven’t had Japanese cheesecake in quite a long time but it isn’t the sort of dessert you easily forget. Unlike Western-style cheesecake, Japanese cheesecake is light and fluffy. Rather than dense and sinfully rich, it’s pillowy soft with a hint of tangy cream cheese.

Honestly, I may just prefer Japanese cheesecake on texture alone.

(Although its calorie-saving nature is definitely a bonus!)

And my strawberry-apricot version will save you even more calories because it uses less cream cheese and less eggs than most recipes. For that reason, I’ve characterized it as “almost Japanese cheesecake” rather than a proper Japanese cheesecake.

No worries. With its swirls of apricot jam and sliced strawberries, my take on this dessert is still wonderfully airy.

And what’s more wonderful than a sweet airy cake?

A sweet airy surprise birthday cake!
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