Chasing away the exam blues..

My exam is finally over. The questions were so so tough! I am dead  Been thinking of what to bake after the horrifying paper. Will start with this light japanese cheesecake I saw at Red Vanilla. It has been on my to-bake list for quite some time. I was googling for a light japanese cheesecake recipe as the traditional american cheesecakes isn’t something you can eat alot of. This japanese style cheesecake is actually a cheese flavour sponge cake. Using only 1 block of cream cheese (instead the usual 4), it is definitely a less guilty treat. As for the 6 eggs in the cake….. Just have to run that extra mile on the treadmill later

I forgot to double wrap my springform pans with aluminium foil so I had to bake them without the water bath. Of course, the cheesecake cracked terribly, but it does look pretty, like a flower no? The cake is superbly light, almost like eating clouds! A nice change from the heavy cheesecake I always make.

Japanese Cheesecake
(Adapted from Red Vanilla)

Ingredients:

250g (8 oz) cream cheese
50g butter
100 ml fresh milk
60g cake flour
20g corn flour
1 tbsp lemon juice & 1 tsp vanilla extract
6 egg yolks
6 egg whites
1/4 tsp cream of tartar
140g castor sugar

1. Preheat oven to 160C. Line the bottom an 9 inch springform pan with parchment. Wrap the outside of the pan with 2 layers of aluminum foil to prevent water seeping in later.

2. Melt the cream cheese, butter and milk over a double boiler until smooth. Cool. I reckon it would be much easier to melt the butter and pulse the whole mixture in a food processor. In this way, you will get a very smooth consistency. Sift the flour mixture.

3. To the cooled cream cheese mixture, add the flours, egg yolks, lemon juice and vanilla extract. Mix well and set aside.

4. In a large bowl, whisk egg whites until foamy. Add in cream of tartar and whisk until thick. With your electric mixer on, slowly add in sugar. Whisk until firm and glossy (but not stiff) peaks form.

5. Add one third of the egg whites into the cream cheese mixture and stir to combine. Fold in the remaining egg white in two batches quickly. 

6. Pour mixture into prepared pan. Using the lower third of your oven, bake the cheesecake in a water bath for 55 minutes at 160C. Lower to 150C and continue to bake for another 15 minutes. The top of the cake should be golden brown. Tent it with aluminum foil if it browns too quickly.

7. Turn the oven off and leave the cheesecake in the oven (with the door closed) to cool slowly. Cheesecake will shrink slightly. Remove to room temperature after 30 minutes and let it cool completely.

8. Slice with a long serrated knife, wiping down your knife after each slice. Store, covered in the fridge. It’ll turn a little denser after being chilled.