Light Japanese Souffle Cheesecake

I think my taste for desserts and cakes varies with my mood. Sometimes I prefer those rich and luscious chocolate cakes, fudgy brownies, but at the end of the day, I still prefer my desserts to be light. I love the texture of sponge cake, chiffon cake, and angel food cake! Maybe it's because they felt like pieces of cotton that just melts when you place them in your mouth. I think that these cakes are also harder to 'perfect', as you need more skills in folding the batter to prevent it from collapsing, hence making me appreciate them a lot more!

I was very happy with the result when I tried making the cake today because it did not collapse after I removed it from the oven. It also stayed moist and soft, unlike my experience of Japanese Cheesecake at Secret Garden, Bkk.

Japanese Souffle Cheesecake (Adapted from Maya's recipe)

125 g cream cheese
20 g butter
40 ml milk
3 egg yolks
40 g cake flour
1/4 tsp salt
1 tbs lemon juice
1/2 tsp grated lemon rind
3 egg whites
70 g caster sugar
1/4 tsp cream of tartar
1 tbs apricot jam

Preheat the Oven at 160 degrees. Melt the butter, cream cheese, and milk on a double boiler, leave to cool slightly. In a large bowl, beat together egg yolks, salt, lemon juice, lemon rind, and cake flour together until well mixed. In a separate clean bowl, beat the egg whites with cream of tartar until foamy. Slowly add in the sugar and continue beating until soft peaks form, and the mixture is glossy.

Slowly fold in the egg white batter into the egg yolk mixture, 1/3 at a time, until incorporated. Pour into an 8 inch springform tin and bake in a waterbath for 30-40 min or until cooked when inserted with a skewer. Remove from the mould immediately to prevent the cake from sinking. Mixed the apricot jam with a bit of water and warmed it in the microwave. Brush the apricot jam all over the top of the cheesecake to give it a glossy finish. Refrigerate after cooling.

I actually ate it before I put it in the refrigerator as it looks so irresistible! I love the cake as it wasn't too sweet and had a smooth and melt in the mouth texture. It was feathery light and I felt guilt-free eating it!

ps. sorry about the lighting in the photo. It's a bit blurry.