Previously I actually made the ang-moh (:western) version of cheesecake. Although youngsters like limbeh (and probably you) would dig it, the cream-cheese was too strong, and the texture too heavy for my mother. So I thought, for mother's day, why not make the Japanese version of it? Unlike the western version, the Japanese rendition is lighter, fluffier and way milder. This recipe is an adaption of Cooking with Dog's souffle cheesecake. They have brilliant recipes (especially Japanese cuisine, and the dog is real cute too).
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Difficulty: Intermediate
Yields 1 6-in round cake
Ingredients
cake
100g cream cheese
30g sour cream
20g unsalted butter
2 egg yolks
2 egg whites
20g cake flour
pinch of salt
40g caster sugar
100ml milk
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
deco (optional)
icing sugar
4 strawberries, halved
*ingredients must be in room-temperature before incorporating*
Steps
1. Grease a 15cm cake tin (preferably with removable bottom) with butter. Cut a piece of parchment parchment paper into a ~15cm circle (alternatively, before greasing, remove the tin base and use it as a reference). Place it at the greased base.
2. Wrap the outside of the cake tin with aluminium foil (I used two layers). This is to prevent mixture from seeping out into the bain marie (:water bath), and vice versa. Place the cake tin in another tray/plate (with at least 3cm depth).
3. In a mixing bowl, combine the sour cream, unsalted butter and cream cheese together until smooth. Add in the milk and combine. Incorporate the egg yolks, one by one. Sift the cake flour and salt into the mixture. Mix in the vanilla essence.
4. Sift the mixture into another bowl. This is to prevent any flour clumps, as well as to make sure that the mixture has a smooth consistency.
5. In a separate mixing bowl, use a hand mixer to mix the egg whites. Incorporate the caster sugar in three parts. Mix for approximately 2 minutes of mixing or until stiff peaks have formed. Now you have your meringue.
6. Using a spoon, carefully incorporate the meringue (in 3 parts) into the cream cheese mixture. DO NOT whisk and beat the mixture violently. For a fluffy cheesecake, you want to avoid breaking the air bubbles in the meringue.
7. Pour the combined mixture into the prepared cake tin. If needed, use a spatula to even out the surface for even baking.
Nomsaurus' tips: Tap the cake tin lightly on a hard surface twice or thrice (this is to break up any unnecessary air cavities in the batter which prevents your cake from rising properly).
9. Return the cake tin to the tray/plate. Carefully pour hot water into the surrounding to make a bain marie. For the love of God, don't pour the water into the cake tin.
10. Place the bain marie into an oven, preheated to 150C. Bake for 10 minutes. Reduce the temperature to 140C and bake for another 40 to 50 minutes. If the top browns too quickly, cover the cake tin loosely with aluminium foil. The cheesecake is ready once you insert a tooth pick into the cheesecake and it comes out clean.
Nomsaurus' tips: Even if the cake is done, do not take it out from the oven immediately. The sudden fluctuation of temperature may cause the structure of the cake to collapse. After the tooth pick comes out clean, switch off the power and wait 15 to 30 minutes before removing the cake from the oven.
11. After it is cooled, wrap it with cling-wrap and place into the refrigerator for 2 hours.
12. Remove the plastic wrap. The cheesecake should have shrunk a little at the sides, this is perfectly okay. Just to ensure that the cheesecake comes out swee-swee (:nicely), you might want to use a spatula to go around the edges of the cheesecake. Carefully remove the cheesecake from the cake tin.
There you have it - your homemade Japanese Souffle Cheesecake!
Read on if you are decorating your cake.
13. Arrange the strawberries evenly on the top of the cheesecake and sift icing sugar evenly.
14. Slice equally and serve (preferably immediately).
There you have it - your homemade, decorated Japanese Souffle Cheesecake!
