My niece informed me the other day that there were precisely 93 days until Christmas! As the designated dessert-maker in our family, I wondered what I might make this year for Christmas Day dessert!
I did some googling and came across “Japanese cheesecake”. As with anything, there are several variations but the general consensus is that Japanese cheesecake is lighter and less sweet than the cheesecake we traditionally make. It has no crumb crust and is described as being a cross between a sponge cake and western cheesecake.
The following recipe is my version of Japanese Cheesecake which I think is more like our traditional cheesecake than a sponge cake, but definitely lighter and definitely not as sweet.
For a shallower slice, I make the cheesecake in a 25cm square cake tin but it can be made in a smaller tin for a deeper slice (the baking time remains the same). The cheesecake doesn’t rise during baking and usually develops numerous air bubbles on top as it cooks!
The slice is lovely as a dessert, served with fruit and either ice-cream, whipped cream or yoghurt. It can equally be served as a morning or afternoon tea slice, dusted with icing sugar or cocoa powder. Either way, I would suggest providing spoons or forks as it is a little too soft to eat as finger food.
Ingredients:
- 350g cream cheese, softened
- ½ cup caster sugar
- 6 eggs
- 300mls thickened cream
- 1 teaspoon vanilla essence
- ⅜ cup cocoa powder
- ⅛ cup cornflour
Method:
Pre-heat the oven to 160°C.
Line a 25cm (or smaller if desired, for a deeper slice) square cake pan with baking paper.
Beat together the cream cheese and sugar until combined.
Add the eggs two at a time, beating well after each addition to ensure that all the egg is well combined into the mixture.
Add the cream and vanilla.
Fold in the cocoa powder and cornflour.
Pour the mixture into the prepared pan and ensure it is evenly spread.
Place the pan in a larger dish and pour in enough boiling water so that it comes about halfway up the outsides of the inner pan.
I find there is a point at which the inner pan begins to float! As long as the water is one to two inches deep, it should be fine.
Place in the oven and bake for one hour. Turn the oven down to 140°C and bake for a further half hour.
Then turn the oven off and leave the cheesecake in the oven with the door ajar for another half hour.
Remove from the oven and cool completely before placing in the fridge until firm.
To serve, I trim each edge of the cheesecake so that all of the slices have uniform edges.
Store the cheesecake in the fridge. It also freezes well meaning it can be made in advance if desired.
