japanese cheesecake with whipped cream and raspberries

I've been meaning to try making a Japanese cheesecake again, after making this one a few years ago. I remember it being very light and fluffy, yet super flavorful at the same time (think soft fluffy cheesecake instead of a dense rich cheesecake!). So when it was time to make something for my brother's birthday, I thought it would be the perfect cake for him!

What makes this cheesecake so light and fluffy are eggs whites, which are whipped to stiff peaks and then folded in with the rest of the cream cheese batter.

I used this recipe at Diana's Desserts once again, but this time instead of baking it in a 9-inch springform pan I baked it in an 8-inch round cake pan (lined with parchment paper), in a water bath.

Look how tall and fluffy it got!

After letting it cool to room temperature, I let it chill in the fridge overnight. Then the next morning I whipped up some fresh whipped cream, tinted with a bit of vanilla extract and sweetened with a bit of confectioner's sugar, and covered the top and sides of the cake with it.

Then I used a Wilton #104 petal tip to pipe rows of ruffles along the sides of the cake. (My new favorite way to frost a cake, see here and here!)

Then I decorated it with a ring of fresh raspberries (since my brother likes cakes with fresh fruit!)

I loved the color effect - the striking red of the raspberries against the white of the whipped cream. So cute! (Now that I think about it, this combination looks a bit like the Mother's Day cake I made last year ... hmmmm.)

Happy Birthday, Michael! Hope you enjoyed the cake! :)

japanese cheesecake (soufflé cheesecake, a.k.a. salvaged cream cheese frosting)

I was really rushed when making these fresh strawberry Hello Kitty birthday cupcakes for my friend's daughter's birthday.  As a result, I not only messed up on the cupcake batter (that's a whole other story), I also messed up on the frosting.

While making the cream cheese frosting, I had decided to add some pureed strawberries... bad decision.  I normally make my fresh strawberry buttercream using strawberry puree, and the frosting comes out great because my buttercream always needs a bit of liquid to buttercream anyway (usually milk or water).  But I had forgotten that cream cheese frosting is already a very loose frosting, and when I added the strawberry puree it became very goopy.  And un-pipeable.  I tried adding small pieces of cold butter, thinking it would make it thicker.  But it only made it really lumpy.  So I had to start over with a new batch of cream cheese frosting!

After I was finally done decorating the cupcakes, I still had a batch of goopy, runny, lumpy strawberry cream cheese frosting, unused and sitting in my fridge.  I didn't want to throw it out - what could I turn this into?  And then I remembered a recipe for Japanese-style cheesecake that I've been meaning to try out.  I quickly checked the recipe - it called for cream cheese.  Check.  It also called for sugar and butter.  Check, and check - all of those were already in the frosting.  All I needed to add was flour, cornstarch, salt, and eggs!

So I ended up turning my runny frosting into a fresh strawberry Japanese-style cheesecake.  I used this recipe - It requires one-fourth of the cream cheese required in NY-style cheesecake, and the batter is lightened with whipped egg whites.  After I baked it in a water bath and then let it cool, I couldn't wait - I had to try it.  The cake turned out light, fluffy, and lived up to its nickname of "cotton cake".  I usually see this cake decorated with fresh fruit and glaze, but I actually thought it tasted great just plain.  The next time I make it, hopefully I'll have the will power to refrain from cutting into it before it's decorated!