Orange Cotton Cheesecake

250g cream cheese (1 block)

5 egg yolks (use 65 to 70g eggs)

70g castor sugar

60g butter (can reduce to 50g)

100g full Orange Juice

1 tablespoon or zest from 1 large orange

1 Tbsp lemon juice

60g cake flour

20g cornflour

¼ tsp salt

2 tsp Vanilla extract

5 egg whites

¼ tsp cream of tartar

70g castor sugar

1. Pre-heat oven to 155°C (Top and bottom heat, no fan force)

2. Line bottom of a 8in x 3in round cake pan and grease the sides.

3. Using a handwhisk, whisk the cream cheese, sugar (70g) and butter till smooth on a double boiler until smooth and sugar has dissolved. Remove from heat. (I usually leave them in the double boiler to melt while I prepare the rest of the ingredients. By the time I am done, the cheese and butter would have been soft and easier to whisk.)

4. Add orange juice and whisk until combined. The orange juice helps to cool down the mixture enough to enable you to add in the yolks without cooking them!

5. Add egg yolks one at a time and whisk until smooth.

6. Add vanilla, salt, lemon juice, zest and whisk again.

7. Sift flour and fold into mixture until fully combined. Set aside. (Most times I just used the same whisk to blend it in.)

8. Whisk whites in a clean, dry bowl at low speed till foamy.

9. Add cream of tartar and beat at high speed till bubbles become very small but still visible.

10. Gradually add sugar (70g) and beat till soft peaks.

11. Fold whites into batter ⅓ at a time. Fold with a hand whisk (yes, the same handwhisk) until combined before adding another ⅓ portion. Finally add the last ⅓ and switch your handwhisk for a spatula to gently fold until smooth and no streaks of meringue is visible.

12. Pour batter into prepared pan and tap the pan on the counter to release air bubbles.

14. Bake in a waterbath at 155C (no fan) for 1hr 10 minutes. Test by pressing lightly on the surface, if still soft and did not spring back, bake another 5 to 10 minutes.

15. Unmould once cake as pulled away from the sides of pan by inverting on to a smooth non-stick pan, peel off the lining paper and invert it back on to a rack to cool.

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