Sunday 16 August 2009

Japanese Cotton Cheesecake

Japanese-style cheesecake relies upon the emulsification of cornstarch and eggs to make a smooth appearance. The texture is light, fragrant and not as greasy as the usual western baked cheesecake.

Although this recipe require a little bit more steps on the preparation but it is really worth the effort when you taste the end result. I really cannot re-called where I have taken this original recipe from, but after sharing it with one of my friend, she gave me another modify version of hers which use exactly 205g cream cheese. So upon seeing what her wonderful cheesecake, it makes me even wants to give this recipe a try.

The process of making these Japanese Cotton Cheesecake is not really that difficult. All you need to do is to follow the steps closely and you will sure to get the right texture and colour. (click on the picture for larger view)

Ingredients: (8" Round tin)
250g Philadelphia Cream Cheese
140ml Fresh Milk
55g Unsalted Butter
30g Cake Flour
20g Cornflour
4 Egg Whites
4 Egg Yolks
1/2 Teaspoon Lemon Juice
Grated Rinds of 1 Lemon
95g Sugar
1/4 Teaspoon Cream of Tartar

Method:
1. Dice cream cheese into cubes and soak with milk (place mixture in a glass mixing bowl or double boiler) for about 30 minutes.
2. While waiting, melt the butter and set aside.
3. Put the cream cheese mixture in a double boiler(refer to the picture above), stir until smooth and creamy then stir in the melted butter and set aside to cool.
4. After the mixture cools down, stir in the flour mixture(sieved the cornflour and cake flour together) then follow by one egg yolk at a time, whisk the mixture till well combined.
5. Next stir in the lemon juice and rind and whisk the mixture till smooth then set aside.
6. In another clean bowl, add cream of tartar into egg white and whisk until foamy.
7. Divide the sugar into 3 portion and whisk into the egg white mixture until it becomes stiff peak form.(refer to the picture above for the egg white texture, this takes about less then 5 minutes or so)
8. Slowly blend the egg whites into the cream cheese batter and mix well until colour combines.
9. Place the mixture in a greased prepared tin and give it a big bang to released the bubbles.
10. Bake the cake in hot water bath at 170 degree for 15 minutes then reduce the temperature to 150 degree and bake for another 40 - 45 minutes.
11. Cool the cake in the pan completely, then set aside in the fridge for about 1 hour or more before serving it for a better texture and taste.

Notes:
~ Water bath is a pan of hot water placed into an oven. The hot water provides a constant, steady heat source and ensures even, slow cooking for recipes.

~ The best type of pan to use for a water bath is a roasting pan or other pan with sides at least 1-1/2 to 2 inches high. That will allow you to put enough water into the pan so it won't all evaporate before your pudding or cheesecake has baked.


I used to love Fiesta Cheesecake (which is now come under Ichiban Sushi Restaurant) that comes in 3 different flavour like original, coffee and can't remember the last one....... So with that soft and irresistible texture of Fiesta Cheesecake, I decided to give this recipe a try and after all those effort and steps. My final products do pay off with a good, soft and cotton like texture cheesecake.Posted by Picasa


20 comments:

  1. hi, may i know what kind of leaf did you use to decorate the cake? it doesn't look like mint leaf because it's hairy. thanks!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Hi redmenace,

    Thanks for dropping by. Yup.. the leaf that is on the cake is actually MINT leaf but this type the leaf is kind of huge when full grown it's different from the normal western small mint.

    ReplyDelete
  3. The texture is perfectly baked!! Really worth the effort. I am drooling looking at it. ;)

    ReplyDelete
  4. Hi FFT,

    If you love this type of fluffy cake texture... you might want to give it a try :p

    ReplyDelete
  5. and where can i buy this kind of mint leaf from?

    ReplyDelete
  6. Hi redmenace,

    So sorry i am not sure what kind of mint leaf is it... But then it can be found in Asian country area like SIngapore which we lived in. Mb u can do a google check on "Mint". So sorry about that. :)

    ReplyDelete
  7. I've never heard about this japanese cheesecake! Looks like a soft cake! I'll give a try! Looks yummy!

    ReplyDelete
  8. Hi Talita,

    This is actually a very light version of cheesecake... do give it a try and share with us your thoughts on it :p

    ReplyDelete
  9. Hi Ellena,
    The Jap cheese cake looks simple to bake. I will definitely try it over Hari Raya Holiday. Thanks for rekindling my baking passion again with easy, soimple to follow instructions & photo. I'm also looking at both sweet and savory recipes for filo pastry. Please share with me if you have any of the recipe for Filo pastry. Thanks !

    ReplyDelete
  10. Hi KK,
    Thanks for popping by :) Hope that your Jap cheesecake do turn out well. Em.. i do have a few filo pastry recipes will try to share it on the blog when i have some free time. Just pop into your blogs too... wow.. i must spent some time going thru.. interesting blogs u have :)

    Take care and God bless.

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  11. Hi Ellena,
    I tried your recipe..
    its great..
    but why did my cake rise very nicely when it was just taken out of the oven but sank terribly when it cooled?
    what did I do wrong?

    ReplyDelete
  12. Hi min,

    i think mb is the changes in temperature that makes the cake sink.... Did you bake in water-bath?

    After you removed from the oven it's based that u let it cool completely before remove it from the tin... :) HTH

    ReplyDelete
  13. Hi, I recently too baked a cotton cheesecake. The problem with my cake is the bottom layer seems to be densed and it tasted like sweetened egg white. How does this happen and what's your advise to avoid such result from recurring? Also, would you advice on mixing the flour into the egg yolk+cheese,butter mixture with electrical beater as the flour tend to form small lumps when I hand stir them.

    Thanks in advance for your kind advice!

    ReplyDelete
  14. Hi Akira, So sorry for my late reply as i am pretty held up lately. Em... the densed and egg white taste in yr taste might due to the whisking and mixing steps from the recipes. as the white did not actually combine well with the cheese mixture. Em... the purpose of hand mix is not to over whisk the mixture or else the egg whites will collapse so it's not really good to use electrical beater. HTH.

    P/s: the small lumps might be the cheese which is full melt/soften or did you sives yr flour?

    ReplyDelete
  15. hi! my husband will be visiting singapore this week. may i know the name and location of the store where he can buy japanese cheesecake? i remember there was a fiesta cheesecake store in tangs ( orchard road). is it still there? thanks.
    lei

    ReplyDelete
  16. Hi Lei,

    Thanks for dropping me a note :) The Fiesta Cheesecake is now available at "Ichiban Sushi" restaurant which has a branch at Plaza Singapore, #06-05 or u can check out at their website at http://www.res.com.sg/locate_us.php?s=2 for more details at the outlets :)

    ReplyDelete
  17. Hi Ellena, can this cake be made with Happy Call pan? Thx! Carmen.

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  18. Hi, Ellena.. I don't have cake flour, can I change to plain flour? And add some baking powder? Thanks
    Yesi Ho

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  19. Hi Ellena. Thank you for this great recipes. I've made it few times. But I always have cracked top. May I know what may cause the crack? Would really appreciate for any advice. Thanks!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Bella,

      Thanks for your kind words and feedback. I think the cracked on top might due to the temperature of the oven or you try to cover the cake on the last 15 minutes of baking time?

      Delete

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Regards
Ellena (Cuisine Paradise)

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