[Recipes] Easy Three-ingredient Japanese Soufflé Cheesecake

Yes you heard that right, this soufflé cheesecake (Japanese cotton cheesecake) is only made with 3 ingredients! The 3 ingredients being white chocolate, eggs and cream cheese.

I chanced upon the recipe online, and I’m amazed at how simple and almost foolproof it is. So far, I’ve made it twice and it has given me consistent results.

I’ve made soufflé cheesecakes previously but none was as simple as this. I was glad to find this recipe because it’s perfect for the time-pressed me! Life’s been busy of late, with job applications, school commitments, bake sales, and events. I barely have any time to breathe.

On a lighter note, I’m finally approaching the end of my penultimate semester in University! Looking forward to the year-end holidays and hopefully I can squeeze in a short trip in December (to Bangkok, maybe?) Also, time to start planning for my grad trip in 2015! I really hope to visit Japan again, amongst other travel destinations.

The year 2015 is going to be a significant milestone for me. I will finally graduate and embark on a new phase in life. Age is fast creeping up on me. With that said, I’m embracing uncertainty and looking forward to what the future holds.

Without further ado, here’s the recipe!

Ingredients (for a 7-inch round cake)

 125g cream cheese, room temperature
 120g white chocolate 
 3 cold eggs

Steps

• Line the sides and bottom of a 7-inch round pan with parchment paper greased with butter.
• Separate the eggs.
• Preheat oven to 170 degrees C.
• Break white chocolate into pieces, place in a heatproof bowl and melt the chocolate in a double boiler over hot water. When the chocolate is fully melted and smooth, add the cream cheese and whisk the mixture until smooth.
• Remove the bowl from the heat. Add egg yolks and whisk well (add some lemon zest and vanilla essence if you would like). Set aside.
• With an electric mixer, whisk egg whites until stiff peaks form.
• Add the meringue, one-third at a time into the cream cheese batter and mix well with a spatula. Add the remaining meringue and mix well. Be sure to mix well or else the heavier batter will sink to the bottom and result in a dense layer.
• Drop the cake pan lightly on the counter to release the air bubbles.
• Fill 4 ramekins (or any heatproof bowl) with water and place them in the 4 corners of the lowest oven rack.  Bake the cake for 15 minutes at 170 degrees C. After 15 minutes, lower the temperature to 160 degrees C and bake for another 15 minutes. Turn off the oven heat and leave the cake inside the oven for another 15 minutes.
• Leave the cake to cool completely.
• The cake is best served chilled.

You may find this YouTube video useful: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dVvPOE-C7AE

Tip: Take pictures of the cake when it is right out of the oven if you want to capture it at its best-looking state (without the wrinkly top!)

Happy baking!