Alright so this is my attempt at making a Japanese style jiggly cheesecake – it was a lot of fun and I certainly took some inspiration from when Mrs Barry tried it out with a few other hints and tips. It’s a sponge like cheesecake that is light, and semi-sweet, it’s got a mild egg like texture to it too a bit like a souffle and tastes really nice after being chilled overnight!
First up, your oven will need to be pre-heated medium low to 140c fan / 160C or equivalent. Get a saucepan and add in the butter, milk and cream cheese. Whisk this together over a gently heat until it has all melted and broken down and a smooth mixture is achieved, there’s no need to boil it. Once it’s all melted remove to cool.
Leave it about 5 minutes to cool at least. Grab a mixing bowl and whisk the egg yolks together, then slowly pour in the cream cheese mixture, do this gradually so the temperature doesn’t effect the egg yolks too much, keep whisking as you add in the mixture in steady batches until all used up.
You can now grab a sieve and add in the cornflour and the flour, whisk this until it is lump free, as some may form when added to the mixture.
Leave to one side whilst you whisk the egg whites until peaks form, this is best done using an electric whisk. Once you are at the soft peak stage, slowly add in the sugar and keep whisking until glossy and the peaks are more stiff and firm.
Gradually add the egg white mix to the other bowl, folding with a spatula as you go, again do this in small batches. You should make sure it is all only just combined and mixed together. It’ll be quite light and airy.
Grab a springform 23cm round cake tin, lightly butter the bottom and the sides. Now line the base and the sides of the tin too with baking parchment, to help getting it out easier.
Despite the tin being fairly secure, it gets sat in a water bath so to prevent water getting in to it. Cover the bottom and the sides of the tin in foil quite high to prevent water getting in.
Get a large roasting tray, place some kitchen towel on the bottom of it to help with heat distribution, add the tin, pour in the batter, then pour water into into the roasting tray around the smaller cake tin about half way up the height of the batter (approximately 1 inch).
Bake for an initial 25 minutes but do not open the oven at all during this time. Lower the heat at 25 minutes by 20c so 120fan / 140c and bake for a further hour. Once the additional hour is reached, turn the oven off and open the oven slightly for ten minutes to let the sponge adjust to the different temperature. Then remove and allow to cool.
Remove from the tin and take off the sides of parchment paper. When still warm but safe to hold, quickly turn the cake onto your hand, pull off the bottom of the tin and the baking parchment then sit back upright. If you turn it out onto a board it can flatten it and lose the jiggly effect!
Dusting it with icing sugar really does help the final taste, so give it a good sprinkle and add strawberries if you wish. Nice fresh but also good after a nice chill in the fridge with some custard too!