Light and creamy japanese style cheesecake!

I'm glad I managed to squeeze in a couple of hours to bake again this weekend. I had some ingredients in my fridge that I intended for other uses, but looking at some of the expiry dates, I decided to change the plans a little.

I had a pack of cream cheese, well we rarely eat that, but it was somehow there, and the almost only times that I use cream cheese is for making cheesecakes. I had previously succeeded in making a couple of different flavours of the dense New York style cheesecake including coffee and chocolate, but we were just not in the mood anymore to have something so rich and heavy. Especially during the winter season where almost all kinds of food we get in the canteens are smothered in rich cream and buttery sauces.

My mom used to buy Japanese style cheesecakes back home, and I suddenly had a craving for that. Considering the fact that I had all the ingredients already, and that it uses only 1/3 amount of cream cheese compared to the New York cheesecake, it wasnt such a difficult decision for me to settle for that.

I flipped through a few recipes, and adjusted the amounts to fit the size of the cake pan (7") I had. The most important requirement of this style of cheesecake is that it needs cornflour to somehow give the smooth fluffiness, and it needs to be baked in a waterbath.

I couldn't take pictures of the whole cake, because I stupidly destroyed the top of the cake by trying to flip it up-side down on a plate when removing it from the cake tin. Yes it STUCK to the plate, and I ripped a crater out of the middle of the cake. Otherwise, the taste wasn't disappointing at all. PL thought it was an average. He probably thinks I can do better. It was airy enough but could have been a little creamier.

So there. Good way to get rid of cream cheese and consuming only moderate quantities. Sounds a little bit more comforting to the waistline. :p

Recipe
(Serves 6)

70g castor sugar
3 eggs, separated
1/4 tsp cream of tartar
25g butter
125g cream cheese
50ml fresh milk
1/2 tbsp lemon juice
30g cake flour
15g corn starch
Pinch of salt

To make:

1. Melt cream cheese, butter and milk in a heat-proof bowl over a simmering pot of water.
2. Let cool and stir in the egg yolks with a whisk, but do not beat the mixture.
3. Fold in the corn flour, flour, salt and lemon juice. Mix well and set aside.
4. Whisk egg whites with cream of tartar until foamy, and add the sugar slowly in 3 portions and whisk until peaks form.
5. Fold the cheese mixture to the egg white mixture and combine well. Do not overmix batter as it will force out all the air cause the cake to become dense.
6. Pour the batter into a 7-inch round cake pan lined with parchment paper. If you are using a springform, be sure to wrap the cake tin in aluminium foil to prevent seepage of water into the gaps.
7. Place it in a water bath (I just half-filled a large rectangular 2-inch deep aluminium tray with water) and bake at 150 degrees Celsius for 1 hour. Turn off the heat after 1 hour, and let cake cook slowly in the oven. After 20 minutes, remove the cake from oven and cake tin, and let cool on a plate.
8. When completely cooled, place it in the fridge to chill for a couple of hours until it is ready to be served.