Japanese Souffle Cheesecake

Ingredienser

Yellow Team

250g Philadelphia cream cheese (1 block)

6 egg yolks

70g castor sugar (This is half of the total 140g)

60g butter (1/4 block)

100 ml full cream milk

1 Tbsp. lemon juice

1 tsp lemon zest (or lemon essence) (optional)

60g cake flour

20g cornflour

1/4 tsp salt

2 tsp Vanilla extract (optional)

White Team

6 egg whites

1/4 tsp cream of tartar

70g castor sugar (This is half of the total 140g)

Vejledning

1. Pre-heat oven to 200°C (Top and bottom heat, no fan force)

2. Spray 8in x 3in cake pan with non-stick spray, line bottom with baking paper. If you don’t have non-stick spray at hand, just brush the pan with butter and dust evenly with cornflour.

3. Whisk cream cheese till smooth over a warm water bath

4. Add yolks and whisk

5. Add half the sugar (70g) and whisk

6. Warm milk and butter in microwave or stove, whisk into batter

7. Add vanilla, salt, lemon juice, lemon zest and whisk

8. Remove from water bath, sift flour and fold into mixture

9. Whisk whites at low speed till foamy

10. Add cream of tartar and beat at high speed till bubbles become very small but still visible

11. Gradually add sugar and beat till just before soft peaks

12. Fold whites into batter 1/3 at a time

13. Pour into cake pan and tap the pan on the counter to release air bubbles

14. Bake in a waterbath on the bottommost rack in a preheated 200 degree C oven (top and bottom heat, no fan force) for 18min, lower to 160 degree C for 12 mins and turn off the oven and leave cake in the closed oven for 30mins. Open the door of the oven slightly at the end of the baking for 10mins for cake to cool.

15. De-panning the Cake

If you have done everything right, de-panning should not be a problem. Just make sure you jiggle the cake to loosen it from the sides and de-pan when the cake is still warm and never do it after the cake cools in the fridge as the “skin” becomes damp and sticks to whatever you are using to de-pan it! The baking paper is just an extra guarantee to ensure the top of the cake does not stick to whatever you are using to de-pan the cake. (If the cake is warm, you don’t really need it)

16. Glazing the top of the cake

The cake looks best when it is just out of the oven. It needs to be aged in the fridge for four hours (better overnight) for its flavour to mature. But by that time the top will become wrinkly (It’s just like us humans!). In order to have a cake that looks good, you need to A. Take a photo of it when it is just out of the oven so that you can show the world how great your cake looks before it turns wrinkly, or B. Glaze it before it turns wrinkly.

To glaze you need apricot gel or glazing gel which you can buy from baking supply shops ie Phoon Huat, Bake King etc. Add an equal amount of water to the gel (1:1) and microwave it till it is boiling hot and stir till it becomes a smooth liquid and apply to the top of the cake while it is still warm. It is important to glaze it as soon as you take it out of the oven as the surface needs to be warm or the gel will just set too quickly. If it cools too much, heat the top with a hair-dryer to warm it up before you apply the glaze. Apply the glaze with as wide a brush as you can and do it with as few strokes as possible. (You will only get 2-3 strokes before the gel sets and further brushing will result in a rough surface) You will need at least two coats to give it a nice smooth surface.