It has been 15 years I have not laid my hands on baking. Just a month ago, I decided to start baking again because it is one of my interests. My first baking product was a Lemon Crystal muffins, then it was Orange Chiffon Cake and now Japanese Cheesecake. Since there are a few that requested for the recipe for the Japanese Cheesecake, let me share it with you here. I will share the Orange Chiffon Cake recipe in another post.

I came across this recipe from “Christine’s Recipe” blog (recipe extracted from her blog).

I love the texture and the taste of Japanese cheesecake. For me, the taste and the creaminess of the cheese in this cake is just nice for you to have a few pieces instead of just a few scoops of it. It practically melts in your mouth and makes you want to grab another piece of it. Please read the tips after the recipe for better results :)

Mine sunk a little in the middle as I did not follow Step 7 thoroughly (please read the tips). But it still tasted good

Fluffy and creamy cheesecake



Ingredients:
Two baking pans (9”x3.5”x3”) – aluminium ones works good

Mixture A
250ml milk
250 gm cream cheese (Cubed and softened at room temperature)
60 gm butter (Softened at room temperature)
6 egg yolks

Mixture B
55 gm cake flour – (I used superfine flour)
20 gm corn flour

Mixture C
6 egg whites
1/4 tsp cream of tartar
130 gm caster sugar – (I used brown sugar)

Others
1 lemon zest

Method:
1. Preheat oven to 150C (302F).
2. Mixture A: Use a large bowl, pour in milk. Place the bowl over simmering water. Don’t let the bottom of the bowl touch the water. Add cream cheese, stir occasionally, until completely dissolved and the mixture turns smooth. Stir in butter, till dissolved. Remove from heat. Let it cool down a bit, then add the egg yolks and combine well. (Note: Make sure the mixture is not too hot, as you don’t want to cook the egg yolks at this stage.). Some will use the double boiling method for the cream cheese mixture. I used steaming method
3. Sift in mixture B into Mixture A, a small amount at a time. Mix well between every addition, and make sure there aren’t any flour lumps. Stir in freshly grated zest. Set aside.
4. Mixture C: Place egg whites in a large clean bowl. (Note: Make sure there’s no oil or water in the bowl at all.) Use an electric mixer to beat the egg whites for 3 minutes, then add cream of tartar and blend again. Pour sugar in the egg whites and blend until very stiff peaks form.
5. Fold-in Mixture C into mixture No.3 gently with a rubber spatula just until all ingredients are incorporated. Do not stir or beat. For a better result, fold in egg whites with a small amount at a time, at least for 3 times.
6. Pour the mixture into the two baking pans. Place the pans into another larger baking tray. Add hot water in the tray up to half way. Bake for about 50 to 60 minutes. Test with a needle or skewer that comes out clean.
7. Turn off the oven. Leave the oven door ajar for 10 minutes. Remove from the oven and remove from the pans. Let cool completely on a wire rack. Chill in a fridge for about 3 hours.

TIPS:
1. Make sure the cream cheese and butter is really soft in room temperature before starting your double boil/steam method. It will take lesser time to do the cream cheese mixture plus if the cream cheese is too cold, it will have little lumps when you heat it up with the milk.
2. Make sure you prepare Mixture C properly. This is one of the biggest reasons of a failed cake. Make sure that a stiff peaks form (meaning, if you turnover your mixture, it does not fall to the ground)
3. Step 7 is important as the cake will sink a little if taken out straight from the oven after baking. Leave it in the oven for awhile to let it cool down slowly
4. Make sure you FOLD and not stir the egg white mixture into the cream cheese mixture.

ENJOY yourselves while baking and enjoy the cake after that with your love ones!