I love long weekends, I really do!
And I love it especially when I have a lot of time on my hands to dabble in the kitchen.
While grocery shopping with mum today, I happened to walk pass the dairy section and came across cream cheese. Call me weird but I felt like it was calling out to me. :p I am weak and I succumbed to temptation, so today I attempted my very first Japanese cotton cheesecake. I love a good cheesecake (well, ANY kind of cheesecake really), and Japanese cotton cheesecakes are very different from other kinds of cheesecakes. They taste very light - almost like chiffon cakes, with a light whiff of cheese, and you don't feel too grossed out if you eat too much at one go.
I used The Little Teochew's recipe and my cheesecake turned out quite alright. One thing I like about this recipe, is that everything is in moderation (except for the eggs because this is supposed to be somewhat of a souffle). Not too much cheese, not too much sugar, and hardly any butter. It helps me feel less guilty about eating too much of this yummy cake. :p
Ingredients:
5oz (140g) fine granulated sugar
6 egg whites
6 egg yolks
1/4 tsp cream of tartar
1.8oz (50g) butter
250g cream cheese
100ml fresh milk
2.11oz (60g) cake flour
0.7oz (20g) corn flour - I didn't have any so I substituted with tapioca flour, not sure if it made any difference
1/4 tsp salt
Directions:
1. Preheat the oven at 160C. Put four tart molds filled with water at four corners of the oven to provide the sauna effect. This is a substitute method for a water bath.
2. Use a double boiler to melt the cream cheese, butter and milk.
3. Fold in the flour, cornflour, salt, and egg yolk into the cooled mixture. Mix well.
4. Strain the mixture to ensure that there are no lumpy bits.
5. Whisk egg whites with cream of tartar until foamy. Add in the sugar and whisk until soft peaks form.
6. Fold in the egg whites into the cheese mixture.
7. Line springform cake pan (bottom and sides) and lightly grease. Pour mixture into cake pan, and cover loosely with aluminum foil. This prevents the top of the cake from browning.
8. Bake cheesecake for 1 hour 10 minutes, and then remove the aluminum foil and bake another few minutes until top of the cake is golden brown.
9. Leave cheesecake to cool in oven with door ajar for about 30 minutes to an hour. Sudden changes in temperature may cause the cake to cool too quickly and collapse, although the cake will sink regardless. This just slows down the process and the cheesecake won't sink so drastically.
My cheesecake was a hit. I know this because my dad, who isn't much of a cheesecake fan, proclaimed that it was good. :)
I'll need a few more practices to perfect this cake, and perhaps over-bake it a little more to get a more golden top. I'll also have to remember to use a larger springform cake pan. I used my medium-sized one this time around, but the cake rose too high over the top.
And I love it especially when I have a lot of time on my hands to dabble in the kitchen.
While grocery shopping with mum today, I happened to walk pass the dairy section and came across cream cheese. Call me weird but I felt like it was calling out to me. :p I am weak and I succumbed to temptation, so today I attempted my very first Japanese cotton cheesecake. I love a good cheesecake (well, ANY kind of cheesecake really), and Japanese cotton cheesecakes are very different from other kinds of cheesecakes. They taste very light - almost like chiffon cakes, with a light whiff of cheese, and you don't feel too grossed out if you eat too much at one go.
I used The Little Teochew's recipe and my cheesecake turned out quite alright. One thing I like about this recipe, is that everything is in moderation (except for the eggs because this is supposed to be somewhat of a souffle). Not too much cheese, not too much sugar, and hardly any butter. It helps me feel less guilty about eating too much of this yummy cake. :p
5oz (140g) fine granulated sugar
6 egg whites
6 egg yolks
1/4 tsp cream of tartar
1.8oz (50g) butter
250g cream cheese
100ml fresh milk
2.11oz (60g) cake flour
0.7oz (20g) corn flour - I didn't have any so I substituted with tapioca flour, not sure if it made any difference
1/4 tsp salt
Directions:
1. Preheat the oven at 160C. Put four tart molds filled with water at four corners of the oven to provide the sauna effect. This is a substitute method for a water bath.
2. Use a double boiler to melt the cream cheese, butter and milk.
3. Fold in the flour, cornflour, salt, and egg yolk into the cooled mixture. Mix well.
4. Strain the mixture to ensure that there are no lumpy bits.
5. Whisk egg whites with cream of tartar until foamy. Add in the sugar and whisk until soft peaks form.
6. Fold in the egg whites into the cheese mixture.
7. Line springform cake pan (bottom and sides) and lightly grease. Pour mixture into cake pan, and cover loosely with aluminum foil. This prevents the top of the cake from browning.
8. Bake cheesecake for 1 hour 10 minutes, and then remove the aluminum foil and bake another few minutes until top of the cake is golden brown.
9. Leave cheesecake to cool in oven with door ajar for about 30 minutes to an hour. Sudden changes in temperature may cause the cake to cool too quickly and collapse, although the cake will sink regardless. This just slows down the process and the cheesecake won't sink so drastically.
I'll need a few more practices to perfect this cake, and perhaps over-bake it a little more to get a more golden top. I'll also have to remember to use a larger springform cake pan. I used my medium-sized one this time around, but the cake rose too high over the top.
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