Yoghurt Cheesecake (Japanese)

The difference between Japanese cheesecake and the other cheesecakes (e.g. New York) is the addition of flour and the use of water bath during baking. Japanese cheesecake thus have a lighter and more airy texture.

01) 250g cream cheese, softened

02) 50g skimmed milk

03) 50g castor sugar

04) 100g unsalted butter, softened

05) 150g plain non-fat yoghurt (unsweetened)

06) 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

07) 40g all purpose flour, sifted

08) 80g corn flour, sifted

09) 4 egg yolks

10) 4 egg whites

11) 1/8 teaspoon cream of tartar

12) 100g castor sugar

Step 1:
Combine ingredients 1 - 5 (cream cheese, yoghurt, butter, sugar and milk) in a saucepan. Melt all the ingredients by double boiling and form a smooth mixture. Allow to mixture to cool before carrying out step 2.
Tip: place the saucepan in a basin of iced water to speed up the cooling process and waiting time.

* Double boiling = heating using boiling water and not over direct flame. Ingredients that burnt easily (e.g. chocolate, butter, cheese) need this method to heat up without burning them.

The frying pan to holds the water and the metal rack suspense the saucepan, preventing the base from touching the frying pan. 

Step 2:
Add in egg yolks to the cooled melted cheese-butter mixture prepared in Step 1 and mix well. Then, fold in the all-purpose and corn flour blend to form a batter. 

Tip: sieve the batter if it is lumpy to get a smooth mixture

Step 3:
Pre-heat oven to 150 deg C.

Step 4:
Whisk the egg white with cream of tartar till foamy (about 30 sec to 1 min). Add in 100g of sugar. Continue to whisk at medium speed till stiff peak is reached. 

Test for stiff peak by tilting the mixing bowl. The foam should not slide from the mixing bowl.

Step 5:
Gently fold in the egg white foam into the mixture prepared in step 2. Add the egg white foam in 3 batches so that the folding in can be more even.

Step 6:
Fill the baking tin (about 7" diameter) or cupcake cases (can fill about 24) with the cheesecake batter. The batter should fill about 80% of the tin/case as the batter will expand during baking.

Step 7:
Place the baking tin/ cupcake cases on a baking tray and fill the tray with at least 1cm of hot water. (This is the water bath and the use of hot water shortens cooking time since time taken to boil water in the oven during baking is saved.) 

Tip: to prevent water from spilling when moving the baking tray into the oven, place the baking tray in the oven first, then fill the tray with hot water.

Step 8:
Bake for about 40 - 50 minutes for cheesecake baked in baking tin and about 20 minutes for cupcakes.

Tip: use the lowest rack to bake to prevent cracking of the surface.

Step 9:
Check if the cake is ready by inserting a skewer/ toothpick. If the skewer/ toothpick comes out clean, the cheesecake is ready. 

Tip: if the surface browned sufficiently but the cake is not done yet, cover the surface with aluminium foil to prevent the surface from being burnt.