Zebra Cheesecake

My name is Petra and I am… ahem… a cheesecake maniac.

Yes, I dream about cheesecakes.

Yes, I collect cheesecake recipes.

Yes, I’ve prepared many.

Yes, I am sure I have yet many of them to prepare.

No, I don’t think there is a power in this world that would stop me from doing so.

Yes, I’ll be showing you all of them.

And YES, I’ll be more than happy if you had a look at how I made this awesome one…

Here we have our lovely ingredients, ladies and gentlemen.

Of course, there’s a lot of cream cheese in there. But definitely not too much.

That fact suggests that this cheesecake is a milder one.

Which I definitely can confirm (after eating many, many a slices).

Though it is not as rich as New York Cheesecake, I’d define it as being ‘heavenly’ mild.

A heavenly mild cheesecake.

That’s what it is.

1. To make it, preheat the oven to 284 F (140 C).
2. Second, using a vegetable oil, spray a 9-inch (23 cm) springform pan.
3. Wrap two layers of foil around the pan. This cake is going to be baked in a water bath and the foil will prevent  the water from seeping in.

4. Place the cream cheese, butter and milk into a metal (or heatproof) bowl.

5. Now place the bowl over a pot of simmering water and – stirring constantly – let the ingredients melt.

If you’ve ever wondered why bowls are sometimes placed over simmering water then I have the answer for you. It’s because the ingredients in the bowl need very mild and gentle heat to melt, nothing too strong. In cases such as these, the steam from the simmering water works best. Otherwise some ingredients might not only melt but also cook and curdle. And who wants that?

6. After the melted cream cheese mixture has cooled to room temperature, add the egg yolks, the cake flour, the cornstarch (corn flour) and the lemon juice.
7. Whisk the mixture until smooth.

8. In a separate bowl, whip the egg whites until foamy.
9. Then add the sugar and whip for another couple of minutes until soft peaks form.

10. In two batches, pour the cream cheese mixture into the egg whites.

11. Fold the two batters together gently after each addition…

12. …until they are well combined.

Try to be as gentle as possible in this process, since we’ve worked hard to make the whites light and airy and we definitely don’t want to lose that.

I am speaking in the name of all whipped egg whites in the world here!

13. Divide the batter evenly into two bowls and add the cocoa powder into one of them.
14. Mix in the cocoa gently.
And let the fun begin…

15. So this is how the zebra strips are achieved – nothing difficult at all.

Take your sprayed springform pan and place 3 tablespoons of cream colored batter in a circle in the center of the pan. Then take 3 tablespoons of the chocolate batter and place in the center. Keep adding circles and the batter will spread of its own accord.

16. Find a large baking dish that will fit the springform pan.

Fill the empty baking dish 1/4 of the way full with hot water and place the springform pan inside.
17. Bake in the lower third of the oven at 284 F (140 C) for about 55 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean.
18. Turn off the oven and leave the cake inside (with the door still closed) for another 10 minutes.
19. Remove the cake from the oven and let cool completely.

This cake tastes best after it’s been refrigerated for a couple of hours. It becomes slightly more dense and moist.

Enjoy, dear friends.

(This recipe was adapted from Treats.)