Philly Cheesecake

After some Hot Cross Buns, Easter wouldn't be complete without a cake too .... okay, I'm just using Easter as an excuse to bake. Haha! Well it was a long weekend, it would have been wasted not to bake!

This recipe was copied & scribbled down on paper from the net and filed away in my recipe folder some years ago. I don't even remember how long it has been sitting there. Thanks to Google I found the source of this recipe from Allrecipes (here). Instead of a cookie crumb crust I've used a thin sponge cake for the bottom layer.

This Philly Cheesecake is lighter in texture but still remain as creamy as its richer and denser sisters. It is not too cheesy which I think is perfect for the Asian palate. Also, this cheesecake is tender enough to be eaten straight out of the fridge unlike other some other cheesecakes which you have to sit out a while to soften. It is fairly simple to make and since it's just a basic cheesecake, I think it'll adapt well to whatever flavoring you fancy.

Here it is.

Philly Cheesecake Recipe
(makes an 8 or 9 inch round cake)

Ingredients:

340 g cream cheese
150 g white sugar

4 eggs

2 tbs or 15g all-purpose flour
1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 tsp salt
475 ml heavy whipping cream
thin sponge cake about 1 or 2cm thick (8 or 9 inch round)


Method:

Grease an 8 inch springform pan with butter. Place the sponge cake in the pan. 
1. Preheat oven to 150 °C. 
2. With electric beater, beat cream cheese with sugar till smooth. Add egg yolks. Beat thoroughly. Then sieve in the flour and salt. Mix in the vanilla. Turn mixer to slowest speed and slowly pour in the cream. Sieve the mixture if batter is not completely lump free.
3. Beat the egg whites until stiff but not dry. Add to the above mixture and fold the whites in by hand, lightly but thoroughly. Pour mixture into the sponge cake lined pan.
4. Set pan into a large pan containing 1 inch hot water and bake at 150°C for 1 1/2 hours. Refrigerate for at least 6 hours before serving. To ensure water don't seep in and make the cheesecake soggy at the bottom, wrap the outside of the pan with aluminium foil or set the pan in a slightly larger normal baking pan before putting in the waterbath.
5. Serve as is or topped with whipped cream or fruit topping of your choice.

I will submitting this post to Aspiring Bakers #6: Say Cheese! (April2011) hosted by Jean of 'Noms I Must'. Do join in the fun too!