Japanese Cheese(cake) Chiffon

Ok, this is gonna be my virgin entry and what better way to kick-start my baking blog than to post a recipe of my favourite cheesecake! As this is my first time, please bear with me as I figure out which blogging style is the best! =)

                                       

Japanese cheesecake! =)

The recipe was easy to follow but I was still pretty worried when I was melting the cream cheese, butter and milk as the batter was rather gritty but the whisk was all I needed to smooth everything in a jiffy! ^_^

I have posted (almost) all the steps to baking the cake below; making some changes to the way I prepared and baked the cake. I had simply mixed all the ingredients together and folding in the meringue as the last step. I was also too lazy to use a water bath so I used small tube pans instead..heheheh..^_^

1. Melt the cream cheese, butter and milk over a

      double boiler

2. Mix all the dry ingredients together

3. Whisk in the egg yolks and the vanilla extract 

4. Add flour to the batter and whisk till well-mixed, set aside

Next step will be the meringue which I find is the crucial step that will determine the outcome of your cake. I had whisked the egg whites till you can see bubbles as shown below in Step 5. Add the cream of tartar. The 'bubbles' will now be able to hold the cream of tartar better as opposed to adding it to the liquid egg whites, making the meringue more stable.

5. Add cream of tartar to the 'bubbly' egg whites.

6. Whisk till foamy and add in the sugar and whisk till soft peaks are formed

7. At soft peaks, you can overturn your mixer and the meringue doesn't drop. The tip of the meringue will also bend over like a hook. DO NOT over-whisk the eggs white or it will be dry and clumpy and it will almost impossible to incorporate it into the yolks batter!

8. Folding in the meringue into the yolks batter

The meringue should be added to the yolks batter in parts. First you take 1/3 of the meringue and FOLD IN GENTLY into the yolks batter. When everything is mixed, FOLD IN the rest of the meringue into the batter and be very careful not to deflate the meringue as it will prevent your cake from rising, giving you a dense cake. Finally, pour the batter into tube pans (I used 3 small pans) and bake it at 160 Degree Celcius. When baking is done, invert your tube pans immediately like how you would do with other chiffon cakes. This will prevent your cake from collapsing as hot air escapes. However, do take note that this cake shrinks slightly and is perfectly ok! =) 

         

     Tadaaaaa! Japanese Cheese Chiffon cake! 

                                         

     Fluffy cheesecake! But do you see the big air bubble on the left side? That is caused by improper mixing of the meringue into the yolks batter! So do ensure you fold in the meringue evenly! heh.. >.<

And here's the recipe that I adapted from DianasDesserts:

140g/ 5oz.  fine granulated sugar 6 egg whites 6 egg yolks 1/4 tsp. cream of tartar 50g/2 oz. butter 250g/9 oz. cream cheese 100 ml/3 fluid oz. fresh milk 1 tbsp. lemon juice (I omitted this) 60g/2 oz. cake flour /superfine flour 20g/1 oz. cornflour (cornstarch) 1/4 tsp. salt

Instructions: 1. Melt cream cheese, butter and milk over a double boiler. Cool the mixture.Add in the flour, the cornflour, egg yolk and mix well. 2. Whisk egg whites until 'bubbly'. Add cream of tartar and whisk until foamy. Add in the sugar and whisk until soft peaks form. 3. Pour into small tube pans (I used 3 pans) 4. Bake until set and golden brown at 160 degrees C (325 degrees F). Weeeeeee! First blog entry done! Let me know how your cakes turn out and stay tuned for more recipes! ;p