Simple and Easy Soufflé Cheese Cake with Everyday Ingredients

The ingredients are apportioned for a 1 egg recipe. Calculate the ingredients accordingly to adjust to desired size. The photos show an 18 cm diameter cheese cake using 4 eggs.

The recipe will require 3 eggs for a 15 cm diameter cake, 4 eggs for an 18 cm diameter cake, and 5 eggs for a 21 cm diameter cake. All cakes will be 6 to 7 cm in height.

If you prefer, spread some marmalade on top. The cake can be with only 5 ingredients. The photos show a soufflé cheese cake that has been completely cooled; as you can see, the cake retains its volume.

Line the cake tin with parchment paper.

If you are not using a removable base cake tin, grease the tin with butter or oil, then cut 2 cm wide strips of parchment paper, and lay them in a cross shape inside the pan. They will be used to pull out the cake after baking by pulling on the strips.

A freshly baked cake will rise over 2 cm higher than the tin height, so make sure to provide adequate height for the liner around the edge of the tin.

If you are using a tin with a removable base, wrap the outside of the tin with foil to prevent water from seeping inside while steam-baking.

Sift the flour.

Pour hot water into the baking tray and pre-heat the oven to 180°C.

Put the cream cheese, milk, and half the amount of the sugar into a pan big enough to be able to whisk. Set on low heat and whisk until the ingredients are well combined.

Set aside until cool to the touch.

Separate the egg yolks and egg whites while waiting for the mixture to cool down.

Put the egg yolks into the cooled cheese batter and mix together with a whisk.

Add the sifted flour and mix together with a whisk.

Put the egg whites into a bowl and whisk. Gradually add the remainder of the sugar in 3 batches and whip until the meringue is thick and forms stiff peaks. This step is very crucial.

Add 1/3 of the meringue into the cheese batter and mix thoroughly with a spatula. (Mix very thoroughly.)

Once the batter is evenly mixed, add another 1/3 of the meringue into the batter and gently fold with the spatula.

Add the batter into the remaining meringue and mix gently with the spatula.

Pour the batter into the cake tin.

Put the tin into the oven and reduce the temperature to 160°C and bake for 20 minutes. Then, reduce the temperature to 140°C and bake for another 40 minutes. Bake for a total of 1 hour. (This baking time is for an 18-cm diameter cake.)

Depending on your oven, the top of the cake may start to burn during baking due to the height of the cake. Check mid-way through baking and cover the top of the cake with foil, if necessary.

Do not remove the cake from the tin immediately after baking, but leave the oven door slightly open to let it cool gradually. Remove from the oven once the cake has cooled down.

Put a small amount of water in a sauce pan with the marmalade and simmer. Brush it on top of the cake.

You could use other jams, such as apricot, but for soufflés I prefer an orange flavor.

This soft and fluffy soufflé will should be about 7 cm in height once it cools down.

If the meringue and cheese batter is over mixed, you will lose that soft, fluffy texture. This will not affect the taste, but since it is a soufflé, it is best to try and achieve the soft fluffiness.

Tips for a fool-proof soufflé cheese cake: 1) Pre-heat the oven, 2) Sift the flour, and 3) Thoroughly mix the milk and cream cheese.

4) Make a perfect meringue. If the meringue has not been whipped sufficiently, although it will be easier to mix into the batter, the cake will not rise properly.

If the meringue is over whipped it will be difficult to incorporate into the batter causing you to over mix the third batch. This will result in a cake that does not rise sufficiently.

5) The first time you add the meringue to the batter, mix thoroughly. 6) For the second batch, mix gently.

7) The third batch of the meringue and the cheese batter will determine the outcome of the cake. As long as the meringue and the batter are combined, it is fine. Do not over mix the batter.

To put it simply, make a meringue that mixes well during the third batch. I think this is the most difficult to figure out.

8) Pre-heat the oven to 180°C. To steam bake, set the oven to 160°C and bake for 20 minutes, then 140°C for 40 minutes (for a 18-cm diameter cake). The baking time should be adjusted to suit your oven.

If the cake is not baked fully, the center will sink after cooling down. Be careful not to under-bake or over bake the cake.

If the surface of the cake cracks after baking, it means that the oven temperature is set too high initially. Preheat the oven to 160°C instead of 180°C.

This is the parchment paper I use to line my cake tins. The processing of this paper somehow helps the soufflé resists cracking.

To prevent the surface from cracking, pay attention to the following: 1) The correct initial oven temperature and 2) The friction between the tin and the cake as it rises. Make sure that the cake can slide against the parchment paper as it rises.

If the cake cracks, brush melted butter or oil on the extra liner above the cake.

I prefer to use parchment paper.