Japanese soft cotton cheesecake (Microwave oven vs. Oven)

Hello guys,

I started this blog for my own reference and to keep track of my modified recipes so that I will remember not to make the same mistakes in future. 90% of the time, I eat healthy which includes fruits, vegetables, eggs, chicken, fish, nuts and so on. But be warned, I do occasionally bake or consume unhealthy goodies. 

I shall dedicate my first post to Japanese soft cotton cheesecake which I had tried 3 times and finally succeeded on my 3rd try. The first 2 tries were in a microwave oven and the 3rd (most recent) in my new oven. My previous tries of japanese soft cotton cheesecake in microwave ovens turned out spongy, bouncy and has a very strong egg smell. They were edible but tasted like egg tarts or egg "kueh". I have tried to google and research quite a bit on microwave ovens before and it was really difficult to find accurate feedbacks and to those who need and have a microwave oven, do let me know if you can make this recipe a success! I could not and I believe the microwave oven makes food much drier and it changes the composition of food. The period of time I used to bake in microwave oven was much shorter and the top browned very easily and severely yet the middle portions were not cooked. Hence, sometimes I was resorted to cutting off the top and baking the middle portion again. It was always a mess...

I was truly glad for this 3rd time although I was met with much difficulties including a destroyed piece at 60 mins as it was uncooked but the other turned out perfect (except for sticking to my pan). It was crumbly and broke apart too easily though. Must have done something wrong somewhere. I will definitely try again! <3

Successful japanese cotton soft cheesecake (Baked in oven and followed recipe closely) 

Recipe adapted from Christine's. Do refer to her instructions which are very clear and useful!

Ingredients: (With notes for future reference)

• 250 ml milk (I used HL low fat milk.)
• 250 gm cream cheese, cubed and softened at room temperature (I used Philadelphia's block cream cheese.)
• 60 gm butter, softened at room temperature (I used star brand's unsalted butter.)
• 6 egg yolks
• 55 gm cake flour (I used plain flour)
• 20 gm corn flour
• 1 lemon zest (I did not add this and it turned out fine.)
• 6 egg whites
• 1/4 tsp cream of tartar (I accidentally added another 1/4 tsp. Oops but seems like it was no big issue.)
• 130 gm caster sugar (I would reduce the sugar level by 20 to 30 grams the next time as it was too sweet for my liking!)

Prep time: 20 mins 

Notes for future reference: For me, it took an hr as I was inexperienced and my cream cheese would not melt!

Cook time: 60 mins at 150 degrees. 

Notes for future reference: Mine was not cooked after 60 mins. The middle was uncooked and the top was yellow. I further baked it at 170 degrees for 15 mins and 160 degrees for 10 mins. It depends on the oven I believe (Will make a post on my oven soon) and do not believe if the skewer came out clean as the sides might not be done like mine! After the 15 mins at 170 degrees, the top finally browned and my mixture did not sway from one side to another easily like before. Finally after the last 10 mins at 160 degrees, the texture and doneness was perfect. I believe that it really depends on the pan size and the oven so do adjust accordingly to your oven!

Yield: 2 baking pans, lined with baking paper, each size 11.5cmx22cmx6cm 

Notes for future reference: I did not use baking paper but greased with butter. Wrong move! One of my cheesecake as pictured loved my pan so much that it stuck firmly to my pan while the other in a better pan removed itself perfectly (but it was the spoilt cheesecake)

The following photos are only for reference and are so not appealing.

2rd unsuccessful japanese soft cotton cheesecake (Baked in microwave oven)

1st unsuccessful japanese soft cotton cheesecake (Baked in microwave oven)

Love,
Cheryl Miyo