Japanese Chiffon Cake - cream cheese

Method

• Preheat oven to 180 deg Celsius.
• Line the bottom of a springform pan with baking paper and grease the whole pan well with butter or cooking oil.
• Get a pot of water boiling on the stove. Then turn the heat to low.
• Place 1 block of cream cheese in a heatproof bowl and place the bowl over the boiling water.
• Gently melt the cream cheese, stirring constantly.
• Once the cream cheese is melted, add 3/4 cup of cream and 70g of butter. Mix well and then remove from the heat.
• Add 4.5 tablespoons plain flour and 3 tablespoons cornflour to the cheese mixture and whisk well, ensuring that there are no lumps.
• Let the mixture cool slightly and then add the egg yolks. Mix well.
• Whisk 5 eggs whites with 1/2 cup of sugar till the mixture is firm.
• Add the egg whites mixture a little at a time to the cheese mixture. Fold in the whites carefully so that the air is not lost.
• Pour the mixture into the springform pan.
• Wrap the pan with aluminum foil and sit the cheese cake pan in a larger roasting pan.
• Pour cold water into the large roasting pan till the water reaches halfway of the cheesecake pan.
• Place in the preheated oven for 10-15 mins or till the top of the cake is brown.
• Reduce the temperature of the oven to 125 deg Celsius and bake for a further 60-70 mins.
• When the cake is done, turn off the heat and let it cool in the oven for 5 mins. Then remove the cake from the oven and allow to cool on the counter top covered with a dry clean cloth.