That day, I finally caved in to my temptations to buy a hand mixer so as to make a decent fluffy cheesecake, Japanese style. My husband who usually accedes to all my buying requests reacted the following way:
Husband: Huh? Mixer? Which one?
[I pointed to the one I want and he signaled to the salesman for help]
Husband: You sure you want his one? How about this? Or this?
[he randomly points to others, obviously not knowing what is exactly a mixer]
[I nodded my head, and shook head at the other 'mixers'; not a word still]
Husband: Okay ah. Anything else? [Me shakes head]
Salesman: This way to the cashier please.
That was it. Moments like this makes me feel like a daddy's little girl or princess wanting to buy Barbie dolls. No, that mixer wasn't expensive. In fact, it was the cheapest mixer. But, the way he buys me things simply makes me feel special and loved. Oh, he really do fill up the 'daddy gap' in my heart.
But then again, I remembered that day he was acting like a 3 year old boy whining at his mom for a new toy. Although he didn't have to, when he buys the more expensive things, he'll turn guilty and ask me for permission which is, of course, always granted.
Ah, I strayed... now back to the hand mixer.
It felt like a miracle. For the first time in my life, I've successfully beaten egg whites till stiff peaks form like I always see in the pictures on other food blogs and magazines. And now I've done it!? Furthermore, this is the most beautifully puffed up cheesecake I've ever made. Moist and fluffy too.
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| The beautifully puffed up '50ml' cheesecake |
In the original recipe, only 50ml of milk is used (I halved the whole recipe). This is the 'real' fluffy cheesecake which you'll find in bakery stores. But I was looking for something more mousse-like. So, I decided to use more milk (80ml). The resulting cake didn't puff up as much (see picture below). Although it stayed moist even on the second day of chilling, it turned rather dense and it's fluffiness was gone.
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| The '80ml' cheesecake |
Finally, I used 100ml of milk, tweaked the contents of the flour and used less eggs. As you can see, lot of shrinking is visible. But this recipe is definitely one to keep - simply because of its wonderful texture which stays acceptably fluffy and mousse-like even after chilling. Everytime I bake this, my husband and baby will finish 3/4 of it in one sitting! Sometimes I even have to rescue some of them in order to know how they'll turn out after chilling overnight. That's the satisfaction I get from cooking: People heartily digging into the food I had prepared. ;)
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| '100ml' cheesecake |
The cake that fluffs in your mouth :) ...ULTIMATE BLISS!
In conclusion, this is the final, final recipe with my own changes: Half the proportions, replaced cream of tar tar with lemon juice, less sugar, less egg, more milk, more lemon juice (to satisfy my sour tooth!), no salt (used salted butter instead) and I'm using rice cooker to bake so there is no water bath involved. I hope using more milk might have replaced the water bath somehow. Anyway, I love my version of Japanese cheesecake! :)
Recipe
With my own changes. Original recipe adapted from here
200kcal per 1/8 slice
25g Salted Butter
125g Cream Cheese
100ml Milk + 1 Tbsp Lemon Juice (Or use 1/2 Tbsp White Rice Vinegar)
1/2 tsp Lemon Juice (Or use 1/4 tsp White Rice Vinegar)
2 Eggs (53g each, w/o shell - separated)
40g Fine Sugar
30g Cornflour
10g Self-Raising Flour [SRF]
1. Add 100ml milk to 1 Tbsp lemon juice and let it sit for a few minutes to form curd. Then, separate cold eggs and put them aside. Next, place warm butter, cream cheese and the milk-lemon curd in a big mixing bowl and mix well. Put aside to cool. I microwaved cold butter and cold cream cheese [both cut into a few sections to let them melt more easily] for 30 seconds using a ceramic/glass bowl, mixed them well and THEN mix in the milk-lemon curd. Note: DON'T microwave metal/steel/copper bowl!
2. Add 1/2 tsp lemon juice to 2 egg whites and beat at high speed for 1 minute till frothy. Then, without stopping the whipping, gradually add in the sugar in batches at the sides of bowl (about a tablespoon each time) and beat for another 2-3 minutes at a higher speed till stiff peaks form. If peaks does not form, increase speed and beat for 2 more minutes. All these should take about 5 minutes.
3. Next, add 2 egg yolks to the cheese mixture from No. 1 (which should be cooled by now) and mix well. Then, add in cornflour and SRF and mix well again. I didn't sieve the flour, I simply stirred them with a clean whisk in my measuring jug to mix and loosen any lumps before adding.
4. Next, fold in the egg white mixture from No. 2 into the cheese mixture from No. 3 until batter is consistent throughout and no lumps are present. Then bake. I baked with my rice cooker for 50 mins. Try baking for 50min @150C in your oven. Once baking is completed, I let it stay in my cooker (oven in your case, if using) for another 50 mins in the keep warm mode - as rapid cooling will result in massive sinking of cake. [Say: Bake 50, Wait 50]
5. Finally, remove from pan and let it cool to room temperature. No more shrinking should occur by now. You can serve at room temperature and finish within a day or two. Or keep them in airtight containers and chill in fridge for at least 3 hours or, at best, for 1 day/overnight. Best to finish within 3 days thereafter. I-ta-da-ki-masu! ('let's eat' in Jap)
These are the rescued fluffs to be chilled overnight. Phew! (clearly cut by unskillful hands).
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| Safe and sound, away from |