Japanese Soufflé Cheesecake

from Cafe Of The East blog

YIELDS: 1 (9") round cake pan (mixtur was almost full)

COMMENT: Smelled like mamon. Curst is mid brown, upper part was fluffy/"mamony" due to egg whites, lower part was very soft, custardy taste like eggtart. Eggy taste rather than cream cheesy... Comments regarding sunken cheesecake on: discusscooking, chef2chef

CHANGES:
250ml All Purpose Cream for 200ml of thickend cream
didn't add any lemon flavorings
use granulated sugar for caster sugar



EQUIPMENT:
325º - 15min
300º - the rest of baking time. Total bake time 1 hr 15min
Then open the door ajar till semi cool, remove from oven
Mid rack (inner of oven). Bottom of pan: gr/Lined/gr; Sides of pan: gr w/ butter wrapper
Steam Bath Method

PROCEDURE:
1. Didn't do the double boiler, but use microwave to soften the cream cheese then add the all purpose cream. Have to mix vigorously coz it formed lumps. I manage to get quite a smooth mixture, though not perfect
2. Whisk yolks then gradually adding sugar w/ fork. Fold in Cream cheese mixture - smooth
3. Fold sifted cornstarch - formed lots of lumps even if strained. So i have to strain the mixture to remove the clumps of starch
4. Whip eggwhites til bubbly then add salt & cream of tartar. When it turned white and bubbly, I gradually add sugar til soft peak
5. Fold the whites into CC mixtre. At the bottom of the whipped whites, there were some unbeaten eggwhites. Maybe because the whip didn't reach the bottom of the mixing bowl
6. Pour in pan. Domed at 30 min of baking above the rim.
7. After baking for 1 hr 15min, the size decrease
8. I let cool w/ oven door ajar, then after a few min of cooling, the center sunked!

RECIPE:

Makes one 20cm cheesecake.
250g cream cheese
200ml thickened cream (35% milkfat)
40g (1/3 cup) cornflour
4 egg yolks
75g (1/3 cup) caster sugar (A)
finely grated zest from 1 lemon
40ml (2 tablespoons) lemon juice
4 egg whites
75g (1/3 cup) caster sugar (B)

Apricot Glaze:
Heat 1 tablespoon Apricot Jam with 1 tablespoon water, then sieve to get a smooth glaze

1. Preheat oven to 200°C. Grease a 20cm round cake tin and line bottom with baking paper.
2. Dissolve cream cheese with thickened cream in a bowl placed over simmering water (or in a double-boiler). Remove from heat. Whisk until smooth. Cool slightly.
3. Beat egg yolks with caster sugar (A), lemon zest and juice. Gradually whisk the warm cheese mixture into the yolk mixture. Fold in cornflour.
4. Beat egg whites until foamy with uniform tiny bubbles. Gradually beat in caster sugar (B), spoonful by spoonful, until firm but not to stiff peaks stage.
5. Fold 1/3 of the meringue into the cheese mixture. Repeat two more times with the rest of the meringue.
6. Pour batter into the prepared tin. Place the cake tin in a deep roasting tray and fill the tray with hot water to halfway up the sides of the cake tin.
7. Bake for 10 - 15 minutes, or until the top of the cake starts to colour. Then turn oven temperature down to 150°C and bake for another 25 - 30 minutes, or until cooked. Let cool completely before turning out. If the cake is hard to turn out, assist it by placing the tin over warm water briefly. Glaze the top of the cheesecake before serving.

UPDATE:
Baked another Japanese Soufflé Cheesecake, but this time I used 150°C from beginning to end (thanks Cete!) and baked in water-bath for just over one hour (could try 1 1/4 to 1 1/2 hours next time) - yipee, NO big cracks!