Orange is the Happiest Color

It is not very often that i bake cheese cakes.  The problem is they keep calling out to me whenever they are in my fridge.   I love them so it's easier to refrain from baking than to refrain from eating! 

I had this block of cheese leftover after i made a cake for my son's class party, just the excuse for me to make myself one :)  I didn't have that much left, only 250g, so i thought a Japanese style cheese cake would suit it well.  And i was craving for something orangey. Orange is my favorite fruit and i like its bright sunshiny color. I must agree with Frank Sinatra to a certain extent, "Orange is the happiest color" so he said :)

I did a search and landed on Ann's recipe which she posted in 2010. I know Ann bakes gorgeous stuff but when i saw this cake of hers, i was like 'wow' she was baking gorgeous cakes even way back then :)  I absolutely love this cake.  It has a very fine texture that was light and airy and the orangey tang is just heavenly for orange lovers like me.

 Light, airy and tangy!

I substituted corn flour with potato starch and i am wondering if it had a hand in making the cake lighter, hmm...any thoughts my friends?

Recipe

Reference: Anncoo Journal

(A)

• 250gm Cream Cheese, soften
• 250ml Milk
• 120gm Butter

(B)

• 50ml Fresh Orange Juice
• 2 nos Orange Rind, grated (Zest from 1 big orange)

(C)

• 6 nos Egg yolks (Medium size eggs)
• 60gm Sugar

(D)

• 70gm Cake / Plain Flour
• 20gm Corn Flour (Potato Starch)

(E)

• 6 nos Egg Whites
• 1/2 tsp Cream of Tartar (omitted)
• 60 gm Sugar

Method

1. Melt cream cheese and milk over a double-boiler, strain using a wire mesh sieve to get a smooth mixture.
2. Remove from heat and add in butter, stir until butter melted.
3. When mixture is cool, add in ingredients (B) and (C). mix well.
4. Mix ingredients D and sieve into mixture in 3 batches.
5. Mix well until mixture becomes thick.
6. Whisk egg white and cream of tartar till frothy.
7. Add in sugar (2 batches) and continue whisk until peak foam.
8. Mix egg whites to cheese mixture with a spatula (in 3 batches).
9. Pour batter into a 10" lined square cake tin (8 inch round removable base pan plus a 3 inch paper liner).
10. Bake at preheat oven 150'C with water bath for 1 hour 10 mins.
11. Leave the cake to cool in the oven with door ajar for 30 minutes- 1 hour.  This is to prevent the cake from shrinkage with sudden change of temperature.

Notes

1. My variations in blue.
2. For water bath effect, place 4 tart moulds filled with hot water in 4 corners of oven.  You do not need to wrap the pan with aluminium foil with this method.
3. Tent the cheesecake by covering it with aluminium foil loosely when half way baked (about 20-30 mins) to prevent cheesecake from over browning.

This post is linked to the event Little Thumbs Up (June 2014 Event: Butter) organised by Zoe (Bake for Happy Kids) and Mui Mui (My Little Favourite DIY) and hosted by Jozelyn Ng (Spice Up My Kitchen)

Posted in: Cakes,Cheese