Zebra Cheesecake

It is one thing to bake a beautiful cake but another to bake one that is beautiful from the inside out. The pleasures of baking are immeasurable, especially when the effort is received with awe and appreciation.

And that is the reason why I  baked  this cake for the second time in days: Firstly, it is pretty enough to impress my guests and secondly,  the velvet soft texture makes it an irresistible snack.

This cake has the texture of clouds and mist, if I should allow myself to be poetic today.  Though made with 6 eggs, it felt anything but it, because of the meringue magic. For those who find the traditional cheese cake a little too heavy, this cottony concoction is the right fit for a sensitive palate.

Enough said. Here’s what I did.

( credits : notquitenigella  with slight adaptation )

Ingredients :

For mixing bowl 1 :

50g butter

250g cream cheese

100ml low fat milk

6 egg yolks

½ Tsp apple cider vinegar  

60g plain flour

20g corn flour

1/8 tsp fine salt

For mixing bowl 2 :

6 egg whites

¼ tsp cream of tartar

120g fine sugar

Stripes : 2 T cocoa powder

Method :

preheat oven to 160C

Grease a 9 inch spring form pan. Wrap the pan with 2 or more layers of AL foil. Grease the base and the walls of the pan.

Prepare a water bath with the dimension of the bath such that it can accommodate the foiled pan with boiling water, ½ inch high

in bowl 1 :

cream butter and cheese until it is broken up and smooth.

Gradually whisk in  milk, leaving no lumps.

Whisk in egg yolks and cider.

Sift in flours, salt.

Whisk to combine.

In bowl 2 :

Sift in cream of tartar over whites.

Beat whites to form foam.

Continue to whisk as you add in the sugar.

Whisk until soft peaks.

Combining meringue to batter :

Spoon meringue to the thick batter, in 5 parts.

Use a hand whisk and gently incorporate meringue into batter.

Do this in many batches, taking care to be gentle when using the hand whisk.

Equally divide batter to 2 portions.

In one portion, fold in cocoa powder.

You now have a yellow and a brown batter.

In the  greased spring pan, pour small amounts of the yellow batter in the center, about 3 tablespoons.

Next, pour equal amounts of the cocoa batter on the yellow batter.

Repeat this to get the rings of brown and yellow until all the batter is used up.

Transfer the foiled pan to the water bath.

Bake in a preheated oven at 160 C for 1 hour.

The cake is ready when the skewer comes out clean and the surface is browned.

Cool and chill.

To cut the cake , use a string instead of a knife.  Serve chilled.