This cake takes me back to Hong Kong in one single bite. If you haven't tried it yet you really have to bake it! It reminds of a traditional cheesecake but it's so much lighter and fluffier. It has no crust and little sugar and flour: that means a whole lot less carbs and fats. And it only calls for 6 main ingredients - that most probably are already in your pantry. So what are you waiting for? Take your bowl and spoon and start mixing!
Ingredients
4 eggs (separated)*
160g cream cheese
80g caster sugar (divided into two)
40g butter
66g milk
1 Tsp vanilla essence
40g flour
13g Maizena (corn starch)
1/8 tsp salt
1/4 tsp cream of tartar (optional)
2 Tsp lemon juice (optional)
Method
Pre-heat oven to 200°C;
Grease 6.5″ x 2.5″ cake pan with butter and line the bottom with baking paper;
Separate the egg yolks from the egg whites;
Whisk your cream cheese over a warm water bath until smooth, then add in yolks one by one while whisking;
Add half the sugar (40 grams) and whisk again;
Heat up milk until warm, then add in butter and mix quickly until dissolved;
Pour this mix into your cream cheese mix, add salt, vanilla essence and lemon juice and whisk;
Remove your bowl from the water bath, then fold in flour and Maizena;
Whisk egg whites at low speed till foamy, then add in cream of tartar** and beat at high speed till the mix looks bubbly;
While beating, gradually add in the remaining 40 grams of sugar and beat till soft peaks form;
Gently fold whites into batter 1/3 at a time, make sure you don't deflate them;
Pour into the previously lined cake pan and tap the pan on the counter to release any air bubbles;
Place cake pan in a water bath on the lowest rack of your oven and bake at 200°C for 18 mins, then lower to 140°C for another 30 mins;
Finally turn off your oven and leave the cake in for an additional 30 mins;
Carefully remove your pan from the water bath and let the cake cool for a couple of minutes;
When the pan is cool enough for you to handle, remove the cake from its mold by turning it upside down on your hand (you can totally use a serving dish too but this will slightly deflate it);
Your cotton cheese-cake is ready! You may eat it the way it is or top it with a dust of confectioner sugar.
* Make sure they're at room temperature.
** Cream of tartar helps stabilizing your egg whites thus ensuring they don't deflate when you add in sugar. While being helpful, this ingredient is not mandatory and can totally be skipped. Some say a pinch of salt will work too, some say it's useless. I've frankly made merengue plenty of times without either salt or cream of tartar and it was always fine. So don't worry if you don't have it!
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