Japanese Soufflé Cheesecake
Fluffy and moist Japanese cotton (soufflé) cheesecake, baked in a water bath and finished with rum-diluted apricot jam. Recipe from Cooking with Dog.
Ingredients
| 100 g | Cream cheese | |
| 30 g | Sour cream | |
| 20 g | Unsalted butter | |
| 2 | Egg yolks | |
| 20 g | Cake flour | |
| 100 ml | Milk | |
| 1/2 tsp | 2.5 ml | Vanilla extract |
| 2 | Egg whites | |
| 40 g | Granulated sugar | |
| — | Apricot jam diluted with rum | |
| — | Powdered sugar (optional) | |
| — | Lemon zest, grated (optional) |
Instructions
- Coat the sides of a 15 cm (5.9") cake pan generously with butter; a removable bottom helps unmolding.
- Line the bottom with parchment cut to fit, then wrap the outside with a large piece of aluminum foil.
- Bring the cream cheese, sour cream and butter to room temperature and combine in a bowl with a balloon whisk.
- Add one egg yolk and mix thoroughly; then add the second yolk and mix.
- Sieve the cake flour into the bowl and combine until no dry pockets remain.
- Add the milk a little at a time (at room temperature) and mix thoroughly. Mix in the vanilla extract. Finally, sieve the mixture into a bowl.
- Make the meringue: lightly beat the chilled egg whites with a hand mixer, adding the sugar in 3 steps, beating 1.5 to 2 minutes total. Avoid over-beating. Switch to a balloon whisk near the end and beat to firm, glossy peaks.
- Add one-third of the meringue to the yolk mixture and mix thoroughly. Add another third and gently mix without breaking the foam. Then pour all the yolk mixture into the remaining meringue and fold gently, lifting from the bottom, until no white lumps remain.
- Pour the batter into the pan (still foil-wrapped) and place it in a deep tray. Slash the batter with a spatula to remove air bubbles. Pour hot water about 2 cm deep into the tray.
- Bake in a preheated oven at 160°C (320°F) for 10 minutes, then lower to 150°C (300°F) and bake a further 40 to 50 minutes. Test with a bamboo skewer — it should come out clean.
- Cool on a rack, then chill in the fridge for over 2 hours.
- Remove from the pan, running an icing spatula along the bottom. Dampen a knife blade for clean cuts. Coat the top with apricot jam diluted with rum. Notes: Bring refrigerated items to room temperature before combining. Grated lemon zest can be added to the batter after straining; or dust with icing sugar.