Blueberry Cheesecake

I like to eat New York Cheesecake, but sometimes it may be too heavy for me to finish one whole slice, so there are times when I crave for this kind of light Japanese cheesecake but still maintain the nice biscuit like OREO at the bottom and top with refreshing blueberry jam. And decorate it with some almond slices and it will bring the cheesecake to a new level with different flavour and textures in one bite.

Ingredients

2 (137 package) Oreo Cookie (remove the cream), process till they become fine crumbs.
90g melted butter
2 blocks of cream cheese (total 500g), left out of the fridge for a few hours to soften.
2 extra-large or jumbo eggs (66g – 70g each) (separate egg yolks and egg whites)
130g caster sugar (divide into 2 portion)
3 tablespoons sour cream
1/3 cup of fresh liquid cream (36% fat)
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 tsp lemon juice
a pinch of salt
3 tablespoons of blueberry jam
1/2 cup fresh blueberries

Method

1.    Preheat oven to 160 deg Celsius.

2.    Melt butter in a pan and then add the fine Oreo crumbs and still until well combined.

3.    Line the base and sides of a 7 or 8 inch springform pan with baking paper and butter the entire pan and the baking paper.

4.    Place the biscuits-butter mixture in the pan. Using a potato masher or a large glass with a flat surface, pack the mixture tightly into the pan. Set aside and keep in the fridge.

5.    Add the softened cream cheese and half portion of sugar to a cake mixer and mix slowly. Add in the whipping cream, vanilla, lemon juice, a pinch of salt and sour cream and beat the mixture till light, fluffy and smooth at medium speed. Scrap down the sides of the bowl as needed. Add the egg yolks one at a time and beat until incorporated. Do not over beat as it would generate a lot of air pockets in the cake and cause the cake to crack after baking.

6.    Whisk egg whites till bubble form at low speed (Tip: you can add a few drop of lemon juice to stabilize the meringue). And then add the next 1/2 of remaining sugar and whisk until soft perk is formed. Add the last 1/3 of sugar and whisk the egg white until firm perk in formed. The egg whites should stand firm and not drip back into the bowl.

7.    Add the egg whites mixture 1/3 at a time to the cheese mixture Fold in the whites carefully so that the air is not lost.

8.    Pour the mixture into the prepared springform pan. Lift the pan and gently knock its base against the table counter top to release as much air as possible. If the air bubbles float up and are trapped at the surface, use a spatula to smooth the surface and break the air bubbles.

9.    Double/triple wrap the pan with aluminium foil and sit the cheese cake pan in a larger roasting pan. Pour boiling water into the large roasting pan till the water reaches halfway of the cheesecake pan. Place the pan into the oven for 50 mins. Do NOT open the oven door at any time. Else the cake can end up cracking. Once cheesecake is done, turn off the oven and leave the cake inside to cool for 1 hour. Do NOT open the oven door. Remove from oven and let it cool down at room temperature.

10.  Place 3 tablespoons of blueberry jam in a bowl and whisk it till it’s soft, light and slightly thick. Spread the jam in an even layer on the cake. Lay the fresh blueberries on top and decorate with some mint leaves.

11.  Chill for at least 4 hours or overnight before serving. 
Tip: Warm your knife in hot water for every cut you make and the cheesecake will be cut out perfectly. 

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