Burnt Cheesecake

You might have thought, oh no! PH had another cheesecake disaster! Actually this cake is meant to be burnt. Cool, right?

You gotta love this Burnt Cheesecake because for the first time in your life, you can let go, relax and not be all anxious about leaving your cake in the oven for too long. 

I learnt about this cheesecake from Mun and Kris and of course I was curious. But since I don't have a chance to visit those places anytime soon, I reckon I just had to bake one myself.

The ingredients are easy - cream cheese, double cream, eggs, sugar and flour. You don't even have to prepare a biscuit base. To line the pan, you just simply scrunch up some baking paper and shove it into the pan.

One more good news, no waterbath. Yay!

I found a few recipes and followed the one here. Most recipes call for 1kg of cream cheese. That is too much for me so I simply halved the recipe.

This is how it looked like just out of the oven. All cracked and wobbly.

But never fear. Once it cools, it will shrink and the cracks  magically disappear (though it will still look ugly).

I baked the cake at 180C (my other cheesecakes are baked at 140C) for 1 hour and added an extra 5 minutes for it to get that deeper brown caramelization.

I let it cool completely in the pan while I went to the mall for another round of poke bowl hee..hee..

My way of cooling cheesecake.

With the benefit of hindsight, I think it is best to cool it for an hour and then remove the cake to sit on a cooling rack (with the baking paper intact) because I found quite a bit of condensation at the bottom of the cake.

I was apprehensive about the taste because I was afraid it would be too cheesy for me (because there is no vanilla in this cake). My fears were unfounded because I found the cake delicious (to my surprise!).

It's just like having a slice of cheese tart filling and it is the burnt surface that contributes to its unique flavor. Think our local kueh bakar and you will have an idea.

I did not quite nail the texture of the cake. From photos I have seen, the texture is barely set and creamy. Mine is firm but still soft and melt-in-the-mouth. Perhaps I could tweak the temperature (say 200C and monitor the browning) and timing. 

But whatever it is, I am still quite happy with this first attempt.

Burnt Cheesecake

Recipe source : Adapted from This New View

Note : I halved the original recipe and baked the cake in an 8" springform pan at 180C (original recipe 220C, which I will attempt at 200C in future) for 1 hour and 5 minutes.

Ingredients :

- 500g Philadelphia cream cheese, at room temperature

- 170g caster sugar

- 200 ml double cream

- 4 eggs

- 18g flour

Method :

1. Line the cake pan with baking paper and ensure that the paper extends about 2 inches above the rim of the pan (the cake will rise above the rim in the oven)

2. Using an electric mixer, beat the cream cheese and sugar until creamy.

3. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition.

4. Add double cream and beat until well incorporated.

5. Sift flour into the batter in 3 additions and use a spatula to fold until well mixed.

6. Pour batter into the prepared pan, tap it a few times to release trapped air bubbles.

7. Bake at 180 (please adjust according to your oven) for an hour or slightly more until the top of the cake is a deep brown. Do not overbake or else the top will be too dark and will taste bitter.