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Japanese Cheesecake

post #1 of 11
5/24/09 at 10:08pm
Thread Starter 
Need some advice...I have been dying to make a green tea - anything! For dessert to an asian dinner, I decided to go with Japanese Cheesecake but adjusted the recipe I found for green tea. Texture wise, I think it was fine (very light and not at all like cheesecake - it was more like a souffle), BUT the au bain marie caused water to seep into the tin, even though I covered the bottom with 3 layers of aluminum foil. This made the bottom half of the cake very dense vs a very light and airy top half (which the whole cake was supposed to be like).

Any ideas what to do to avoid this from happening again or do i need to cover in 6 layers of foil?
Thx much!
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post #2 of 11
5/25/09 at 9:36am
I hear you on that. One thing I know our pastry chef does is she lines her molds with plastic wrap, then aluminum foil.

Have you ever considered using matcha tea for a cheesecake? I think it would be divine... Hmm...
Jason Sandeman

Real Food Through Solid Technique
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post #3 of 11
5/25/09 at 9:51am
Thread Starter 
Thanks much Jason! I actually did think about it, but I was afraid it would maybe melt? my cake was in the oven at 325 for 30 min and then 320 for another 30 min. Will give it a try next time. Also...Matcha is what I really should have used, but what i bought was not quite that, so it was a little too light on the flavor for me - I am going to invest in Matcha for the next time - i am thinking bavaroise, souffle, genoise...hmmm.....
regards,
radhaks
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post #4 of 11
5/25/09 at 9:56am
No worries about the plastic. If your plastic is covered by the foil, it will not melt. Works every time for our pastry chef.

Glad to have helped.
Jason Sandeman

Real Food Through Solid Technique
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post #5 of 11
5/26/09 at 9:13am
We use three pans, one for the water bath, one to sit in the water bath and the cheesecake pan in that one.
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post #6 of 11
5/26/09 at 1:04pm
Thread Starter 
That sounds like a great idea too! Thanks much...I will give it a try.
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post #7 of 11
5/26/09 at 4:34pm
Definitely use matcha. Buy the inexpensive stuff -- fine details of flavor will not manifest when covered by that much sugar and cream. I would recommend infusing the powder into your liquid ingredients rather than adding more liquid.

You might surf the web -- preferably with a friend who reads some Japanese -- for Kyoto matcha confectionery and pastries. Sometimes it can be difficult to avoid matcha here: they put it in everything. And yes, it is always matcha (and almost always very cheap stuff).

Matcha soy latte, anyone? Starbucks and everyone else has 'em...
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post #8 of 11
5/26/09 at 6:31pm
Thread Starter 
agreed. I used tea Tsuboishi...not sure what that is even...but translated on the japanese pack as green tea powder. matcha is hard to find here in Miami - but i will go to whole foods...maybe they have it there. otherwise, i will find it online.
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post #9 of 11
5/27/09 at 3:36am
What are the instructions for using it as tea? Tsuboishi doesn't ring any bells -- possibly a brand name? -- but the instructions should give some indication. The fact that it's powdered suggests that it's something akin to matcha.
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post #10 of 11
5/27/09 at 7:47am
Thread Starter 
That's what I thought too, but it is all in Japanese...and the translation just says "green tea powder" and after opening, it actually looked more like sencha...not even very powdered. I read up a little more on matcha yesterday and it is definitely not it, as matcha would have given a much stronger tea flavor than what i got from this tea and matcha is also really a powder. Just yesterday I met a Japanese lady here who shares my passion for baking, so i may show it to her to tell me what she thinks...but either way, will purchase matcha for future use (found a web site that sells the cheaper type for baking and other recipes - Matcha Green Tea Powder from Japan - Rich in Antioxidants and EGCg). I used the tea I have by infusing the milk i was to use in the cake but it was so light that I added 2* more of that amount of tea and it was still only a very faint flavor of green tea, so i will not use this again for this purpose.
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post #11 of 11
5/27/09 at 7:02pm
How odd. If you get a chance to ask that lady, I'd be curious to know what the heck this stuff is. I just can't really understand how it sells to anyone, unless the Japanese label says something almost completely different from the English.

Definitely get real (cheap) matcha. Bear in mind that matcha comes in three fundamental grades, if memory serves. The lowest cannot be sold as matcha in Japan, but it is used in confectionery and cakes and stuff very commonly. The medium has a markedly better flavor, and is probably worth trying sometime if you find yourself liking your baking results with the cheap stuff. The high grade would not, I think, taste any different in confectionery or baking. The upper two grades also are sub-graded at a later stage in the process, but it's easy enough to figure out: if it's real matcha, labeled as such for Japanese consumption, the price will vary from more than you'd think to you have to be kidding.

If it's real matcha (including the low-grade not-technically-matcha), try scalding the milk and reducing the heat a bit. Add the powder and whisk steadily. The infusion should turn an intense green color. You should probably strain the results, but it's not really necessary. The trick with matcha, remember, is that you drink the tea leaves themselves, not just an infusion, which is why the stuff is so intense and bitter.
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