recipe: zebra-stripe japanese cotton cheesecake

This Zebra Stripe Japanese Cotton Cheesecake, which looks amazingly good, is courtesy of my mom’s recipe. It tastes just as good — so I thought I’d share it with y’all too!

It’s a fluffy, soft and melts-in-your-mouth texture. It’s not too sweet, and will leave you craving more. The stripes are created with cocoa, with a look that is sure to keep you entertained (and mouth-watering!) You can think of it as sponge-cake meets cheesecake.

Ingredients

1/4 cup unsalted butter
250 grams cream cheese
1/2 cup milk
1/2 cup cake flour
2 tbsp cornstarch
2/3 cup sugar
5 eggs, separated
1/4 tsp cream of tartar
2 tbs cocoa

Recipe

1. Prepare cake tin. Lightly grease and line the bottom and sides of a round 12 inch springform tin with greaseproof baking paper or parchment paper.
2. Wrap two layers of foil around the tin to prevent water seeping in. Find a large baking dish that will fit the springform tin.
3. Fill the empty baking dish 1/4 of the way full with water and place the baking dish with water (don’t put the lined springform tin in just yet) in the centre rack of an oven, and switch it on to 160C/325F.
4. Melt cream cheese, butter and milk and half of the sugar (1/3 cup) over a double boiler-use whisk to remove any lumps.
5. Cool the mixture over an ice bath.
6. Fold in the flour, the cornflour, 5 egg yolks, and mix well.
7. Whisk 5 egg whites with the cream of tartar until foamy.
8. Add in other half of the sugar (1/3 cup) and whisk until soft peaks form, and there is no liquid egg white at the bottom.
9. Add one third of the egg white mixture to the cream cheese mixture to loosen.
10. Then, add the rest of the egg whites slowly (add about 1/3 of the mixture in each time) and mix well. Ensure that the egg whites are thoroughly combined (gently!) by folding–there should be no streaks at all.
11. Divide the batter evenly in half. In one bowl, sift the cocoa into it and combine well, using a folding action.
12. Take your lined springform tin and place 3 tablespoons of the cream-coloured batter in a circle in the centre of the tin (see picture). Then take 3 tablespoons of the chocolate batter and place in the centre.
13. Keep adding circles and the batter will spread on its own accord.
14. Carefully transfer the cheesecake into the water bath in the oven, making sure not to tilt the cheesecake.
15. Bake cheesecake in the water bath for 16min at 350F , then 16 min at 320F.
16. Let it cool down in the oven for 15min before taking it out. 
17. Chill thoroughly, and enjoy!

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