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Tuesday, December 21, 2010

Marbled Japanese Cheesecake

Marbled Japanese Cheesecake

The unpacking at the new place is progressing really well.  After opening more than 80 cartons, I’m a professional in opening boxes and can even do it with my eyes closed!  **Do not attempt at home though**  :P  I say the organizing part is 90% done around the house.  I’m so thrilled there are no more boxes lying around the living room, and so do my kids.  I have just arranged their little play area in the living room over the weekend and they are so happy with their new play area!  When I took out their toys from the cartons, they were so excited and treated the toys as if they were new.  Isn't that wonderful?

 Marbled Japanese Cheesecake


Not sure if any of you have tried the famous Japanese Cheesecake before.  They are crust-less, light as feather, fluffy and creamy, not too sweet and melt in your mouth kind of cake.  They are more similar to French Cheesecake with the light and fluffy texture, if you must compare.  Unlike the New York Cheesecake, which is dense and rich.  So, you won’t feel as guilty after having a huge piece of this Japanese Cheesecake.  Trust me, you’re going to want a huge piece of this cake!  Better yet, I made it marbled (with chocolate) this time because my 3 year old son requested it.  *Smile*  Sure he has some sophisticated palates, just like his mother.  hahaha… More than half of this cake was gone in less than a day!   You know how delicious it was.

Marbled Japanese Cheesecake

So, I baked another one over the weekend to bring to my parents’ place for a gathering with my brothers, brother's in-laws and my niece.  This year, we celebrated Christmas early at their house.  Seems like everyone loves this marbled version as much as the plain one.  Below is an old picture with the plain one I made for my son’s 2nd birthday last year.  I’ll include both recipes and let you decided whichever one you want to try first.  I love both of them!

Japanese Cheesecake

Looking at these pictures really makes me hungry and want a piece of this cake now!  Too bad they’re all gone by now.  Oh well, maybe I’ll make another one tomorrow when I get up!  If you do try this recipe, please kindly leave a comment and let me know how they turn out.  Also, please tell me if you like this Japanese Cheesecake over the traditional version.  I would love to hear from you.


Marbled Japanese Cheesecake





Japanese Cheesecake (plain): (Printable Recipe)

Ingredients
8 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature
3 ounces whipping cream
3/4  cup ultra fine sugar (caster sugar for baking)
5 eggs, separated and at room temperature
2 tablespoons cornstarch
1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons cake flour
1 1/2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
5/8 teaspoon cream of tartar
a pinch of Kosher salt
1 ½ teaspoon Vanilla extract
boiling water (for water bath while baking)

Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Line a 8-inch spring-form cake pan with parchment paper on the bottom and sides. Wrap 2 layers of foil paper on the outside of the cake pan to prevent water from going into the cake pan while baking.

Beat egg whites with a pinch of Kosher and cream of tartar until egg white is soft peak. Gradually add half of the sugar, beating on high speed until egg white is medium peak. Set aside.

In a separate bowl, beat cream cheese with remaining half of the sugar until smooth and fluffy.  Whisk in whipping cream, egg yolks, vanilla extract, lemon juice, until well combined. Turn mixer on low, add flour, and cornstarch until just combined.

Gradually fold beaten egg whites into the cream cheese mixture in 3 batches (Do not over mix). Pour batter into cake pan and smooth the surface.

Place cake pan into a larger roasting pan and place roasting pan in lower third rack of the oven.  Pour enough hot water into the roasting pan to come half way up the side of the cake pan.

Bake 55-60 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the middle of the center comes out clean.
 
 
Marbled Japanese Cheesecake:

Ingredients
8 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature
3 ounces whipping cream
3/4  cup ultra fine sugar (caster sugar for baking)
5 eggs, separated and at room temperature
2 tablespoons cornstarch
1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons cake flour
11/2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
5/8 teaspoon cream of tartar
a pinch of Kosher salt
1 ½ teaspoon Vanilla extract
3 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
boiling water (for water bath while baking)

Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a 8-inch spring-form cake pan with parchment paper on the bottom and sides. Wrap 2 layers of foil paper on the outside of the cake pan to prevent water from going into the cake pan while baking.

Beat egg whites with a pinch of Kosher and cream of tartar until egg white is soft peak.  Gradually add half of the sugar, beating on high speed until egg white is medium peak. Set aside.

In a separate bowl, beat cream cheese with remaining half of the sugar until smooth and fluffy.  Whisk in whipping cream, egg yolks, vanilla extract, lemon juice, until well combined. Turn mixer on low, add flour, and cornstarch until just combined.

Gradually fold beaten egg whites into the cream cheese mixture in 3 batches (Do not over mix) Pour 3/4 of the cake batter into the cake pan.

Fold in cocoa powder into the remaining 1/4 of the batter. Pour the chocolate batter onto the cake pan. Use a knife to make marble patterns on the batter.  Place cake pan into a larger roasting pan and place roasting pan in lower third rack of the oven.

Pour enough hot water into the roasting pan to come half way up the side of the cake pan.  Bake 55-60 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the middle of the center comes out clean.




23 comments:

  1. WOW Amy,the marbled cake looks wonderful.Thanks for the info on Japanese cheesecake..I never knew it!I have been wanting to bake one for a long time.good that u reminded me with this post :) Hopefully, u can give me some tips on opening the cartons blinded ..LOL..Merry Christmas to you and your family!

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  2. Another winner Amy! I loved learning about Japanese cheesecake....and I hope to make this soon after the holidays. The "melt in your mouth" comment has me craving it!
    Have a blessed Christmas! Lorraine

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  3. @ Tanvi: You're very welcome and thank you for visiting my blog. I can give you tons of tips in baking Japanese Cheesecake, but opening the cartons blindfolded, not so much! LOL Merry Christmas to you and your love ones too! :)

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  4. @ Larraine: Thank you again. It's always lovely to hear from you. Yes, try make it soon. I'm sure you'll love it. Merry Christmas to you and your family! ^^

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  5. That Japanese Cheesecake looks amazing. Your lovely photographs really captured the lightness...the cake looks more like a chiffon cake than American-style cheesecake. I bet this is just amazing. Bookmarking it :)

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  6. @ Indie.Tea: Thank you for visiting my blog and leaving a comment. Hope you'll be back soon for more yummy recipes. :) Merry Christmas!

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  7. Amy,

    Love your cheese cake recipe.

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  8. I really want to try this Japanese, crustless version! Looks beautiful! Love your son's version too:)

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  9. ohhh, cheesecake is one of my favorites!!!! looks great!

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  10. Hi Amy,
    Just stopped by to tell you that I tried this cheescake the other day and it turned out terrific.Me and my hubby just loved it.Thanks for sharing :)

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  11. @ Tanvi: You're most welcome and thank YOU for stopping by to let me know you've tried the Japanese cheesecake and loved it! :) I'm really happy that you did. You've made my day!

    Amy

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  12. Hi Amy,

    may I knw where can I get the cream of tartar? Or any other subsituition?

    Yen

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  13. @ Yen: You can get the cream of tartar from any major supermarkets or baking supply stores. I got mine from supermarket and they usually place it with the spices instead of the baking area.

    Amy

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  14. @ Yen: By the way, the cream of tartar is used as a stabilizer for the egg whites. So the whites stay fluffy and whip up nicely. I'm not sure of any other substitution though. But you should be able to find the cream of tartar in the supermarkets.

    Amy

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  15. Hi, Amy

    Do u refer to Singapore supermarket? Oh it's with the spices? I didn't look into that section. Will do next time.

    What is the purpose of cornstarch? How do I get the measusment of 5/8 tsp? What is the difference btw kosher salt n table salt n sea salt?

    If I wld like to bake a smaller cake, can I reduce all the ingredients by half?
    How to prevent the batter fr 'over mixed'? How can we tell we hv over mixed the batter
    Sry to ask silly qns as I'm v new in baking.

    Yen



    Yen

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  16. @ Yen: There’s no need to apologize. :) You have some good questions here and I think some other readers might have the same questions in mind and wanted to know the answers as well.

    1)For the cream of tartar I mentioned from the previous message, I meant supermarkets in the United States, not in Singapore. I hope you can find it in Singapore markets as well. If not, don’t worry too much. Just make sure when you separate your egg yolks and egg whites from this recipe, don’t get any yolks into the whites. Make sure your hands and equipment are clean from any oil so your egg whites can be whipped up nice and fluffy to the stiff peak.

    2)The purpose of cornstarch is to stabilize the cake during baking. The cake will hold its shape better especially after it cools down.

    3)To get the measurement of a 5/8 tsp, use the 1/8 teaspoon for the job. (I hope you get that measuring spoon on hand). If not, use a 1/2 teaspoon plus a pinch will do.

    4)The difference between kosher salt, table salt and sea salt could be a long and lengthy answer. There’s a video you can watch for a quick reference (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KUaNbyYFhiM). In brief, I like kosher salt much better than table salt. It’s not as salty and it doesn’t have that metallic after taste. Therefore, I only have kosher salt and sea salt (mostly for cooking) in my kitchen. And those are what I use when testing recipes.

    5)You can definitely scale down or scale up the recipe as you like. But please remember to adjust the bake time accordingly (besides changing the ratio/scale of the ingredients). Since I haven’t bake this cake in other size, I won’t be able to tell you the exactly length of the bake time with the different size of pan you might use. Plus, there are 5 eggs in my original recipe, it might be tricky for you use “cut” that in half.

    6)To prevent the batter from 'over mixed', you just need to be careful when you fold in the egg whites into the rest of the ingredients. Be gentle and use the “folding motion” with the rubber specula. Stop folding as soon as the ingredients are incorporated.

    Hope these tips and answers can help you. I can’t wait to hear from you how your cake turns out!

    Amy

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  17. Hi Amy, your cake looked so good, too bad the real thing is so far away, anyways, I want to try making this and noticed you didn't put any butter, does it make a different in texture with/without butter? Thanks so much!

    Loren

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    Replies
    1. Thank you, Loren. Wish I can share a piece of this cake with you. It's amazing. You're correct, no butter is need for this cake. The cream cheese and cream are creamy enough for this recipe. I've always make this cake without butter and the cake texture is light, moist and fluffy. Just need to make sure when you beat the egg whites, they reach a medium peak (not just a soft peak). Hope it helps.

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  18. Gosh, just want to update, I'm baking it now and the top cracked so badly I want to cry :( Must be overbearing the egg whites .... Very sad but I will try baking it again !

    Ps: thanks for the reply Amy

    -Loren-

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    Replies
    1. hm...Thanks for the update, Loren. Sorry that the cake top cracked. I've never experience a cracked top with this cake (I make this quite often). Also, it's hard to over beat the egg whites (under beat usually is more of an issue). There was a few times my egg whites reached a stiff peak and the cake still came out great. Just make sure you don't deflate too much air when you fold the egg whites with the cream cheese mixture. And I know baking it with the hot water bath really keeps the cake moist and prevent cracking.

      Let me know how it turn out next time. I'm eager to find out. Meanwhile, let me know if you have any other questions. I'm more than happy to answer. :) I hope your next trial will turn out great and delicious! Have a wonderful weekend.

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  19. Then I'm very curious as to why my top cracked...anyways, the cake is half gone by now :) its moist and so soft! Just like you described. Enjoy it with a cup of tea it's a perfect tea-time snack? I'm loving this recipe. Thanks again for sharing this great recipe. Wish I can upload the picture and show you though.

    Ps: if you have any tips to prevent the top from cracking, please let me know. Thanks so much Amy!

    -Loren-

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    Replies
    1. Hi Loren, I'm glad you enjoyed the cake, despite the cracked top. I've been thinking about the cracked top ever since you've mentioned that in your last comment. Normally, cracked top of cakes are for 2 main reasons: 1) lack of moisture and 2) the cake is heated up to quickly during baking.

      I already know the hot water bath should prevent the cracked top because when I was testing this recipes, I tried both with and without the hot water bath and my cake did crack without one. The hot water bath should provide enough steam to keep the cake moist. So, the other possible reason for the cracked top is that the cake is heating up too quickly during baking.

      I'm not sure if you've checked/tested the temperature of your oven. Because apparently, each oven works differently. Here's my story. I moved into my new home a little more than a year ago...with this new oven. However, many of my old recipes were burnt when I first baked in this new oven (I know, I should have checked teh temperature before baking!) As a simply test, I placed a thermometer on one of the racks in the oven to check the internal temperature. I set the oven to preheat at 350 degree F. When it beeps me for readiness, the thermometer only read 250 degree F! 5 minutes later, it went all the way up to 400 degree F. And it finally went back down to 355 F. I later learnt that this is the "cycle" of how the oven works to regulate the temperature to the "average" of the degree you set it to be. Anyways, try to pre-heat the oven at least 15 minutes before putting your cake in. So that the temperature is not fluctuating as much because the 1st 15 mins of pre-heating, the oven is still trying to "regulate" to the temperature you set it to be. Also, test it with a simple thermometer. Apparently, my new oven is 5 degree F hotter than it should be. 5 degree might not seem as much...but one of my friend's oven is always 10-15 degree different than what it should be. So, I think it's always nice to know and adjust accordingly. I hope this information helps and didn't bored you to sleep! hahaha...

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