Step 1

Preheat and prepare pan. Preheat your oven to 300°F and line the bottom and sides of your 6 inch round baking pan with parchment paper.

Step 2

Melt the butter and cream cheese over a double boiler. Fill a small saucepan with water halfway and then bring it to a boil. In a mixing bowl that fits on top of the sauce pan, add the cream cheese, butter and milk. Whisk until the butter and cream cheese are melted and fully combined and reach about 130°F (55°C)

Step 3

Add egg yolk and vanilla. Remove the cream cheese bowl from the heat and whisk in the egg yolks and vanilla until combined.

Step 4

Sift in the cake flour. Using a fine mesh sieve, sift in the cake flour and cornstarch. Whisk until smooth. Then pour the batter through the fine mesh sieve to make sure batter does not have any remaining lumps.

Step 5

Make the meringue. In a large mixing bowl, add the egg whites and lemon juice. Using an electric hand mixer, beat the egg whites on high until white and frothy. Then working in 3 batches, slowly pour in 1/3 of the sugar while the mixer is running. Keep mixing with the remaining thirds of sugar until the meringue reaches medium soft peaks or when you lift the mixer the peaks will slowly fold over like soft serve ice cream. Once it reaches soft peaks, turn the mixer on low and mix the eggs for an additional 30 seconds to beat out any large bubbles.

Step 6

Mix 1/3 of the meringue into the egg batter. Mix 1/3 of the meringue into the egg batter and fold until it is completely combined and smooth.

Step 7

Mix the egg batter into the meringue. Then take the egg batter and gently pour it into the meringue and carefully fold the batter with a rubber spatula until just combined. Make sure to not over-mix and deflate all the air in the batter.

Step 8

Prepare the pan. Pour the batter into the lined baking pan at about 5 inches from the pan to pop the remaining large air bubbles. Place the cheesecake round pan into a larger deep baking tray and fill it up with about 1-2 cm of hot boiling water.

Step 9

Bake. Bake in the oven at 300°F (150°C) for 30 minutes. After 30 minutes, lower the temperature to 230°F (110°C) and bake for another 30 minutes. Then increase the temperature to 275°F (135°C) for 13-15 minutes. Keep a close eye to prevent it from cracking, if the cake begins to crack that means your oven is too hot so slightly crack the oven to remove the steam for about 5 seconds. The cake is done when the top is golden and if you place a toothpick in the center and it comes out mostly clean.

Step 10

Cool. Once the cake is done cooking, turn off the oven and leave the cake in the oven for about 15 minutes with the oven door cracked. Then remove the water bath and let the cake sit in the oven for another 15 minutes. This will prevent any shock in temperature and having the cake shrink dramatically. Remove the cake from the tin and place the cake on the rack to cool completely. Sift some powdered sugar on top and enjoy!