Monday, May 9, 2011

Japanese Cheesecake


Hi everyone! Sorry I've been missing in action for a little while.  I've been cooking, but lately I haven't really made anything quite blog worthy.  Not until this cheesecake at least.  For the sake of 'keeping it real' I am not going to lie.  This thing was such a mission to make.  It wasn't hard at all, but there are a lot of steps and you'll have lots of dirty bowls by the time you're done. But please don't let that deter you. Once you take the first bite,  you'll realize it was totally worth the trouble.  This cheesecake is much lighter than it's American cousin,  creamy and subtly sweet. The texture is almost like a souffle. When you pair it with fresh mango, it's a masterpiece. I made this for mother's day, and although I had a traumatic experience that day,(sliced my finger with a really sharp knife as I was cutting a bell pepper, bled like crazy, and fainted twice- I know what a sissy!) it had the same effect as when you get a lollipop at the Dr.'s office after a shot.  The good news is you won't slice your finger since you don't need any knives to make this!

Ingredients:
1 (8 oz.) package cream cheese
4 tbsp. butter (2 oz.)
3 eggs (separated)
1 tbsp. sugar
1 ½ tbsp. cornstarch
½ cup milk
¼ cup sugar

 Start by preheating your oven to 350°F. Next begin separating the egg yolks from the whites and putting them into separate bowls. Put the bowl of egg whites into the freezer until the edges being to freeze. In a large mixing bowl, blend the cream cheese on high speed, until you have a nice creamy, soft texture, scraping the sides of the bowl to break up any lumps. Add the butter to a small saucepan to soften and slightly melt and add the butter to the cream cheese. Blend again for about 3 minutes on high speed. You want to have a fluffy airy mixture. Set this bowl aside.

Next add ¼ cup of sugar to the egg whites and beat until you have a soft meringue. Set aside.

Add the cornstarch, milk, and 1 tbsp. of sugar to the bowl with the egg yolks. Whisk everything well and place the bowl over a double boiler, stirring consistently until the mixture becomes very thick. Add this mixture to the cream cheese and combine well. You’ll want to scrape the sides of the bowl and the bottom to make sure you’ve incorporated everything well.

Now we’ll begin gently folding in the egg whites, about 1/3 of the mixture at a time.

Line your pan with parchment paper. You’ll want to make sure the parchment comes up about 1” above the pan. Pour the batter into your pan and place in a water bath. Bake at 350°F for 15 minutes, lower the temperature to 320°F and bake for another 25 minutes. Turn off the heat, but leave the cheesecake in the oven for another 40 minutes before removing. Cool the cheesecake and cover the pan with foil. Refrigerate overnight or at least for 4 hours. Slice and serve with some fresh mango.

3 comments:

Jenna said...

This looks utterly delightful! But since you forewarned us about the dishes, as I read through the recipe instructions I could see them piling up in my head. =)

pae said...

could not wait for this post so I could comment. This was a very delicious cheesecake. It's not heavy like your traditional cheesecake but smooth and creamy and light. This paired nicely with mango and I have to say....I think I prefer this cheesecake over the plain american cheesecake. All the work you did on this cheesecake was worth EVERY BITE!! Thanks for making my mom's day so special!! ;)

Japanese Cheesecake « Kitchen Mess said...

[...] it (how is it that recipes with fewer ingredients somehow manage to taste better?). Adapted from this recipe. I’m not exactly sure about what makes this “Japanese” except for its airy, light [...]


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