Japanese Cheesecake with Grand Marnier Mousseline

Previously, I had made this Japanese Cheesecake which was extremely light and delicated in flavour. I decided to make it again, but this time I wanted it to carry a bit more flavour. So I decided to team it up with the Grand Marnier Mousseline.

So I went about making both components of this cheesecake. I then assembled them but spreading a thin layer of the Grand Marnier Mousseline over the cheesecake and decorating with strawberries and rock melon.

I liked the pairing of the flavours, as the mousseline did not overpower the flavour of the cheesecake and helped enhanced it. It's not the perfect pairing as I would describe the Choux puffs with the mousseline, but it's still a nice flavour combo. I have to experiment with further frostings for the cheesecake. I'm sure there is a better flavour out there that can make that simple cheesecake even more spectacular.



Japanese Cheesecake

INGREDIENTS

250g cream cheese
50g unsalted butter
100ml cream (35% milk fat)
60g cake flour
20g cornflour
6 egg yolks
1 tbsp lemon juice
1/4 tsp salt
1tbp black sesame powder (omit if you want to spread with a frosting)
6 egg whites
1/4 tsp cream of tartar
140g castor sugar
2-3 tbsp of fresh milk

METHOD

1. Melt cream cheese and butter over a double boiler. Whisk to combine. Set aside to cool. Add the cream and whisk to combine.

2. Meanwhile, line and grease the base and side of a 8-inch spring form cake pan. Preheat oven to 160C (fan-forced)

3. Sift the cake flour and corn flour to the cheese mixture. Add in egg yolk, lemon juice, sesame powder and salt. Gently whisk to thoroughly combine all the ingredients. At this stage, if your mixture is a bit too stiff, add in 1-2 tbsp of milk. The mixture should be similar to your normal cake mixture.

4. Whisk egg white with cream of tartar until foamy. Add sugar, tablespoon by tablespoon. Whisk until soft peak forms (don’t whip the egg white too stiff, the cake will be likely to crack).

5. Add 1/3 of the eggwhite to the cheese mixture to lighten it. Then, gently but thoroughly fold the eggwhite to the cheese mixture. Be careful not to destroy all the air bubbles in the eggwhite.

6. Gently pour into the prepared pan. Using foil, wrap the outside of the pan. Put the cake pan into a roasting pan. Add boiling water to half-way of the cake pan.

7. Bake in the oven for 1 hour 10 min or until the cake is set.

8. Take out, leave in the pan to cool. Serve at room temperature.


Grand Marnier Mousseline

INGREDIENTS
300ml milk
zest of one orange
3 egg yolks
120g sugar
25 g cornstarch
115 g butter, cut into small chunks
30ml Grand Marnier
1 tsp gelatin and 1 tbsp water
120ml heavy cream
1-2 cups of fresh strawberries, sliced

METHOD
1. Sprinkle the gelatin over the water. Let stand until ready to incorporate into the pastry cream.

2. Bring the milk to a boil with the orange zest.

3. In a separate bowl, whisk the egg yolks, sugar, and cornstarch until pale. Slowly pour the milk over it. Add a small amount of milk to temper the eggs and make sure all your ingredients incorporate smoothly and them continue to add the rest of the milk.

4. Return the whole thing over medium heat and cook until thick for about 5-10 minutes. Remove from the heat and add the butter and the Grand Marnier.

5. In a microwave, dissolve the gelatin for 15 seconds. Quickly mix into the pastry cream. Transfer to a bowl and cover with plastic wrap (make it touch the cream so it does not let a skin form on top) and refrigerate until cold.

6. Whip the cream to stiff peaks and gently fold it in the pastry cream. Pour into a piping bag and divide among the choux. Arrange some strawberry slices over the cream and put the hats back on.