It’s not yet officially summer but it sure feels like it already – and I’m utterly living for it.
Cheesecake never really occurred to me as a summer appropriate dessert until I encountered pictures of ‘cheesecake terrines’ on Instagram. Essentially cheesecake baked in loaf pans without the crust and the fuss, I noticed that this dessert has been trending amongst Japanese Instagrammers/bakers (what is the right way to express this?) as of late. You bake it, chill it, and slice up inch-wide slabs of it to be enjoyed typically unadorned. It’s not as easy-going as a no-bake cheesecake, granted, but the end product is an equally cool creamy treat that can be stored in the fridge for a couple of days and retrieved as and when.
The basic version of a cheesecake terrine predictably doesn’t contain white chocolate. I’m not the biggest fan of tangy cheesecake though so I intentionally scoured the internet for a white chocolate version, which was such a good decision. The only issue was the fact that I couldn’t bake the cheesecake in a water bath like the recipe directed because the only pan big enough to fit the loaf pan has a removable bottom. I tried to compensate for that by baking the terrine at a lower temperature and for longer but I don’t think I lowered the temperature enough. The texture of the terrine wasn’t as smooth as it’s supposed to be and the cake shouldn’t sink as much as mine did.
Oh side note: I made flower ice cubes using the remaining dying petals I had.
I also made a really quick mixed berries sauce for added an flavour and visual element. I simply threw frozen berries and a bit of sugar into a saucepan and boiled them together until the mixture achieved a syrupy consistency. There’s probably a more proper way to go about making a berries sauce but I was trying to keep in line with the minimalistic theme – low on effort, big on satisfaction.
White Chocolate Cheese Terrine
makes a 8 x 5 inch loaf
For the cake:
135 grams white chocolate
200 ml cream
200 grams cream cheese, softened
20 grams sugar
2 eggs
1/2 vanilla bean (optional)
Make the cake: Preheat oven to 170C. Line a 8 x 5 inch loaf pan with parchment paper.
Heat the white chocolate and cream together in the microwave until the chocolate has melted. Stir until the mixture is smooth. Set aside.
Beat the cream cheese till smooth. Mix in the sugar, then the eggs, one at a time. Try not to incorporate too much air. Mix in the white chocolate mixture in three portions, stirring well after each addition. If using, split open half a vanilla bean and scrape the seeds into the batter, mix to combine.
Scrape the batter into the prepared pan. Bake in a water bath at 170C for 20 minutes, then for 30 more minutes at 160C. Remove cake from oven and let cool to room temperature before refrigerating overnight.
*Cake recipe adapted from cookpad (original recipe in Japanese).
wild reverie 