Blueberry Cheesecake

Believe it or not ...

I made this for a kenduri aqiqah yesterday.
I think it turned out pretty good, considering it was gone in a flash. I actually had to convince a little girl to put off eating her piece so that I could take a picture of what it looked like inside. hee hee.

I got the recipe for the Japanese Soft Cotton Cheesecake from kak pea's blog. The first time I tried it, I brought it to Riyadh and my kids loved it. It was fluffy and only mildly cheesy and not too sweet. Since I was bringing it to a gathering this time, I decided to make it more presentable by slapping on some vanilla whipped cream (whip 1 cup whipping cream with 2 tablespoons of caster sugar and 1 teaspoon vanilla), spooning on some blueberry topping/filling (from a can) and practicing my piping skills (still not there, but I think was better than before.. tee hee)

I am refraining from labeling this as 'easy peasy', because it does involve a few steps that sounds tricky and like it requires high culinary skill, but I think you'll find that it's pretty easy once I've explain it out and you've tried it.

Japanese Soft Cotton Cheesecake (original recipe here)

Ingredients
100ml milk
300grams philly cream cheese
50 grams unsalted butter (half a stick)
6 egg whites
1/4 tsp cream of tartar
1/4 tsp salt (omit if using salted butter)
1/2 cup caster sugar
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1 heaping tablespoon corn flour
6 egg yolks
juice of half a lime

Method
Preheat oven to 160degC or 325degF. Line 11" circular cake pan or 8"by11" rectangular pan with ungreased waxed paper.
Whip egg whites, cream of tartar and salt in a standing mixer (makes it easier) till soft peaks form. Add sugar by spoonfuls and let it whip till stiff.
Melt cheese, butter and milk on a double boiler (Note 1), using a whisk to smooth. Cool to room temperature.
Sift flour and cornflour together and whisk into milk+cheese till smooth. Add in egg yolks and lime juice and whisk to mix well.
Fold in egg whites till thoroughly mixed.
Bake in a water bath (Note 2) for 1hr and 10minutes or until toothpick comes out clean.
Cool cake before decorating.

Notes:
(1) Double Boiler
Doesn't really require special equipments. Just find a pot that is big enough to support your mixing bowl on its rim. Boil some water in it and then place your mixing bowl on it to melt the ingredients. The purpose it to melt ingredients without burning it. (For the engineer-minded folks : The steam from boiling water provides a relatively even and constant heat source, that is not too hot that it reaches the melting point but not the burning point of ingredients)
(2) Water Bath
Again, no special equipment required. Find a pan with at least one inch high side that you could fit your cake pan in. Place your cake pan in the middle and fill the outer pan with water. Place the whole thing in the oven. Check the water level every half an hour or so, top up if necessary.
If you're using a springform pan for your cake, wrap the outside bottom with aluminum foil to avoid watter from seeping into your cake batter. The purpose is to keep the cake moist. (For the engineer-minded folks : the heat from the oven will make the water evaporate and fill the oven with water molecules. The heat keeps the water molecules from condensating and that keeps the water molecules in the cake from escaping).
Beware: Unless you want a steam facial, do not stick your face in when you open the oven door.

Happy Trying!!!