success or failure?

I've been wanting to try out this japanese soft cotton cheesecake for the longest time as far as i can remember. I finally got to try it today and well..i'm not sure if i should classify it as a success or a failure *shrugs*

taste-wise: it was fantastice with a subtle yet distinct lemoney taste complimenting the cream cheese without being overly cheesy

appearance-wise: a total eye-sore with the almost black top =(( plus, wrinkly sides which were a result of the cake shrinking. disappointed

The recipe called for beating the egg whites till soft peaks. i read somewhere that it is important not to beat it till stiff peaks as it will cause the cake to shrink rapidly upon removal from the oven as it (egg whites) can't hold up the weight of the cream cheese mixture. That's probably exactly where i went wrong..the peaks were somewhere between a soft and stiff..so..probably the reason why it shrank.

the over-zealous me removed the cake from the pan almost immediately and the moment i removed the parchment, it shranked and "aged" (formed wrinkles). I guess i should have left it in the oven for a while, cooled it in the pan for a while before removing it from the pan =(

grumbles aside, my sister loved the cake and as i type now, 3/4 of it are gone! success or failure? you decide =p

Japanese cheescake

Ingredients:

140g sugar

6 egg whites

6 egg yolks

1/4 tsp cream of tartar

50g butter

250g cream cheese

100ml fresh milk

1tbsp lemon juice

60g cake flour

20g corn flour

1/4 tsp salt

Method:

1. melt cream cheese, milk and butter over double boiler. Cool mixture. I would recommend cutting the butter and cream cheese into small blocks so that it melts more evenly and faster. make sure the cream cheese is melted with no lumps. stir it smooth before removing to cool.

2. fold in flour, corn flour, egg yolks, salt and lemon juice. Mix well. you don't have to be too gentle here, just stir to imcorporate the items to form a smooth batter.

3. whisk egg whites with cream of tartar till foamy. Add in sugar and whisk till soft peaks form.

4.Add the cheese mixture to the egg white mixture and mix well. Pour into a 8-inch round cake pan (Lightly grease and line the bottom and sides of the pan with greaseproof baking paper or parchment paper).

5.Bake cheesecake in a water bath for 1 hour 10 minutes or until set and golden brown at 160 degrees C.

6. when done, leave in oven for 10 min. Remove from oven and cool in cake tin for 10 min before unmoulding cake.

adapted from amanda