Zebra Cheesecake

Zebra Cheesecake
recipe from Not Quite Nigella
- makes one 12 inch cake (I did a 9 inch and increased the baking time)

50g/2 ozs butter
250g/9 ozs cream cheese
100 ml/3 fl ozs milk
60g/2 ozs plain flour
20g/1 oz cornflour
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon lemon juice
150g/5 ozs fine granulated sugar
6 eggs separated
1/4 tsp. cream of tartar
2 tablespoons Dutch process Cocoa

1. Prepare cake tin. Lightly grease and line the bottom and sides of a round 9 inch springform tin with greaseproof baking paper or parchment paper). Wrap two layers of foil around the tin to prevent water seeping in. Find a large baking dish that will fit the springform tin. 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 center rack of an oven and switch it on to 160C/325F.

2. Melt cream cheese, butter and milk over a double boiler-use whisk to get out any lumps. Cool the mixture over an ice bath. Fold in the flour, the cornflour, 6 egg yolks, lemon juice and mix well. Whisk 6 egg whites with cream of tartar until foamy. Add in the sugar and whisk until soft peaks form and there is no liquid egg white at the bottom.

3. Add one third of the egg white mixture to the cheese mixture to loosen. Then add the rest in third batches and mix well and ensure that the egg whites are thoroughly combined gently by folding-there should be no streaks at all. Divide the batter evenly in two and in one bowl, sift the cocoa in it and combine well using a folding action.The most important thing is that the two batters must be of the same consistency for this cake to work.

4. Take your lined springform tin and place tablespoons of cream colored batter in a circle in the center of the tin. Then take 3 tablespoons of the chocolate batter and place in the center. Keep adding circles and the batter will spread of its own accord. (Definitely check out the pictures @Not Quite Nigella if you have any problems!!)

5. Carefully transfer the cheesecake into the water bath in the oven making sure not to tilt the cheesecake. Bake cheesecake in the water bath for 1 hours or until a skewer inserted in the center comes out clean and the top is golden brown at 160 degrees C (325 degrees F). Chill thoroughly.

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This zebra cheesecake is theoretically a Japanese (lighter version of American) cheesecake with pretty patterns! This was way easier than it looks and can you believeee it?!?! This is the first time that my cheesecake did not collapse or crack! It was more or less perfect ignoring the slight leaks on the side of the springform pan. Definitely avoidable if I greased the parchment paper and pan together tighter.



The cake did slightly shrink a little while it was cooling.. but it did so uniformly across. The key to a "not collapsed" cake is to make absolute sure that the cake is thoroughly cooked before taking it out of the oven. Since I made a thicker 9 inch cake instead of 12 inch, I already added 10 more minutes to my baking time. And furthermore, after that 10 minutes was over, I turned off the oven and kept the cake in there to cool SLOWLY!! (be sure to keep checking to avoid over-browning/ burning!) After around 30 minutes, I opened the oven door slightly and let it cool further for 5 more minutes in the oven. I finally took it out after the 5 minutes and let it cool in room temperature for 30 minutes more and chilled in the fridge after that. Yes, the cooling is rather time-consuming but these steps are crucial! No matter how good a collapsed cake taste, it's just not as satisfying.. agree? Hehe.



Taste-wise, it was pleasant. It doesn't have a prominent cheese taste (if you love that, this recipe would be great). I personally would like it just a tiny bit more cheesy. Texture-wise, it was moist and not a bit soggy! I wonder how it would be like if I added a graham crust to it. I just thought it needed a bit crunch to it.

Give this a try if you have not made a zebra cake before. It's oh-so-much fun(:

UPDATE------------♥♥♥
THIS CAKE IS FABULOUS AFTER 24 HOURS CHILLED IN THE FRIDGE. I LOVE IT SO MUCH MORE NOW. I AM ADDING THIS TO MY LIST OF GOODIES IN MY FUTURE BAKERY. IT'S LIGHT YET FILLED WITH FLAVOR! I BET YOU WON'T STOP EATING AFTER ONE SLICE(: I DIDN'T! HAHA