Hojicha Souffle Cheesecake

My first bake (and taste) with Hojicha!

The roasted flavor of Hojicha reminds me of coffee a bit. It lends a unique savory note that cuts down on sweetness and pairs well with dessert.

This cheesecake takes on different textures when it's fresh and still warm vs after it has been refrigerated and is cold. When warm, the texture is custard-y and melts in your mouth. When cold, the crumb is dense and creamy. The extra richness is probably due to my sub of heavy cream with milk which is not at all necessary. (I had heavy cream waiting to be used up.)

Hojicha Souffle Cheesecake
recipe adapted from Magic Ingredients
makes one 6" round pan


3 eggs
60g (1/4 cup) milk
160g cream cheese
35g unsalted butter
25g cake flour
10g hojicha powder
3g (1/2 tsp) white vinegar
40g (3 Tbsp) sugar

*subbed milk with heavy cream and used 138g cream cheese

1. With double boiler, whisk together milk, cream cheese, and butter until smooth and lump free.
2. Turn off heat but keep bowl over hot water, whisk in yolks for about 1 min.
3. Sift flour and quickly whisk till combined. Remove from heat and set aside.
4. In a separate bowl, add together vinegar and white, beat till foamy and gradually add sugar. Beat until soft peaks form.
5. Fold white to yolk in third.
6. Pour into lined pan. Smooth top.
7. Bake in hot waterbath at 250F for 60 minutes (Broiler for last 3 mins).
8. Cool slightly, unmold and refrigerate.

 

Pictures below are taken when the cake was still warm and delicate. It crumbled when I inverted it onto the plate. Note to self, let cake cool completely!

Taste: 4.5 stars out of 5

Prominent roasted tea flavor

Texture: 3.5 stars out of 5

When fresh, custard- like. When cold, creamy and a little too rich and dense

Matcha Souffle Cheesecake

Matcha Souffle Cheesecake
recipe adapted from The Wandering Eater

makes one 6" cake

1 oz (25 g) butter
4 oz (125 g) cream cheese
1.5 oz (50 mL) milk 

1 oz (30 g) cake flour
0.5 oz (10 g) cornstarch
2 tsp + 1/4 tsp matcha
1/8 teaspoon salt 

2.8 oz (50 g) granulated sugar *increase if you prefer it to be sweeter
3 large eggs, separated
1/8 tsp cream of tartar

Combine butter, cream cheese and milk over double boiler.

Add yolks, whisk, and sift in dry ingredients.

Whisk.

Beat whites to soft peak.

Gently fold whites into cheese mixture.

1. Preheat oven to 325°F. Prepare springform pan by lining the inside of pan with parchment paper on the bottom and up the sides and wrapping the outside with aluminum foil.
2. Place butter, cream cheese and milk in a bowl over double boiler. Stirring occasionally with a whisk so it melts and blends uniformly. When it's lump free, remove from heat, and set aside to cool.
3. Add egg yolks and whisk until blended.
4. Sift in cake flour, cornstarch, matcha powder, and salt. Fold until combined.
5. In a separate clean bowl, beat together egg whites and cream of tartar until frothy. Continue beating while slowly adding in sugar and increasing speed. Beat until soft peaks foam.
6. Fold one-third of the egg white mixture to the cream cheese mixture until combined. Add the remaining egg whites to the cream cheese mixture and gently fold until there are no streaks left.
7. Pour batter into prepared springform pan. Place pan into a deeper pan with hot water going up about 1 inch of springform. Bake in water bath for about 1 hour until set and golden brown and a cake tester comes out clean (a few crumbs is fine, as long as the tester is dry). 

8. Cool the cake for 15 minutes on a wire rack, then remove the sides of the pan. Carefully remove strips of parchment paper. Let cake cool to room temperature, then refrigerate at least 3 hours before serving, preferably overnight.

Cake so fluffy I die couldn't stop poking it. The original recipe is by weight which made it convenient to halve. I like how the smaller 6" came out tall and fluffy, and smaller cakes are just instantly cuter. Exercise has also been lacking in my life, so portion control is in need.

The sides of the pan were lined initially, but as you see in the photo above only parts of it remained. The batter sneakily seeped outside the paper, so I decided to remove it to not end up with paper baked into my cake. 

Cake turned out well and did not shrink at all. There's a small crack on top, but nothing a small dusting of matcha or powder sugar can't cover. It adds charm, so I left it as is. 

Taste: 4 stars out of 5

Lightly sweetened, mild cheese taste and subtle matcha flavor. Matcha can be stronger next time; a dusting on top could be nice.

Texture: 3.5 stars out of 5

More velvety and creamy than expected. Personally prefer a bit more spongy texture.