Round about the 90s, Japanese cheesecakes appeared at Plaza Singapura. Pillowy and heavenly, and they were relatively cheap, especially if compared to the westerner’s cheese cakes. We always thought it was a healthy treat given the amount of air trapped inside. Now that I know what it is made of… err…. maybe not.
My neighbour gave us a whole kg of brie cheese and I made them into cakes. Important to tent the cake and to cool it in the ajarred oven to minimize shrinkage.
Recipe:
250g Cheese (cream cheese, brie, slice, parmesan – all can, just different taste) I use brie for the cake photographed
250ml Milk
Flavourings (1 tsp – vanilla pod, pandan, orange, lemon – all can!)
6 egg yolks
40g Corn flour+35g self-raising flour (or 7º5g corn flour + 1 teaspoon of baking powder)
6 egg whites
120g sugar
Method:
- I have tried seven times to invent a shortcut for this cake to no avail, so I guess the old method works the best. This is a delicate cake so treat it with tender loving care.
- Preheat oven to 160ºC.
- Warm the milk and melt the cheese into it (I use a Thermomix at 60ºC).
- Sieve the milk+cheese mixture and leave to cool.
- While mixture (3) is cooling down, whip the egg whites and half the sugar to medium peak.
- When (3) is cooled, beat in the egg yolk, and fold in the flours.
- Fold the egg white into the cheese mixture.
- Tent the cake (or loosely cover the cake with aluminium foil, and place into the oven on a bain marie.
- Bake for 1 hour at 160°C and another 10 mins at 170°C until golden brown. Then open the oven and leave it ajar for 15 minutes (not longer) before removing the cake from the oven to cool completely. Refrigerate the cake for 3 hours before eating.
