Matcha Cheesecake

Also known as “Yushan’s Birthday Cake”, this recipe was adapted from this website.

Ingredients

Graham Cracker Crust

NOTE: “Graham cracker” is what Americans call “digestive buscuits”.

• 225g graham cracker crumbs 15 whole crackers
• 100g unsalted butter melted, plus extra for greasing.
• 30g light brown sugar packed (you can halve this)
• 15g granulated sugar
• 0.5tsp sea salt

Cheesecake

• 900g cream cheese, preferably marscapone. Any cheese will do.
• 100g sugar.
• 125g sour cream.
• 1tbsp lemon juice.
• 2tsp vanilla extract.
• 0.5tsp salt.
• 3tbsp sifted matcha powder.
• 4 large eggs.

Method

Graham Cracker Crust

• Grease the cake tin with butter.
• Pulverise the graham crackers, using a blender or rolling pin (any means).
• Combine the sugars and graham cracker crumbs.
• Add in the melted butter an mix thoroughly until combined.
• Scoop the mix into a greased cake pan. Press firmly for a flat, even layer. Use a flat bottomed glass or measuring cup to make an even flat layer.

Cheesecake

• Preheat the oven to 160 degrees celcius (325°F).
• Whisk the cream cheese until smooth and creamy. Room temperature or slightly warm cheese works best.
• Gradually add the sugar until combined.
• Add sour cream, vanilla, lemon juice and salt, mix until comibined.
• Sift in the matcha powder, mix until comibined.
• Lightly whisk the eggs in a separate bowl. THen, incorporate the eggs into the main bowl and mix until combined. Room temperature eggs work best.
• Assemble the cheesecake. Pour the matcha cheesecake batter into the prepared springform pan and smooth out the top with a spatula. Tap the pan on your work surface a few times to release any air bubbles.
• Place your cake pan into a large roasting pan or large sheet cake pan. Pour boiling water into the roasting pan to come up about 1-inch along the side of the cake pan. Place the cake and water bath in the center rack of your oven. Bake at 325°F for about 1 hour or until the cake has a slight wobble in the center 2-3 inches of the cake. The edges will have likely puffed and turned a very pale golden brown.
• Turn off the oven, and let the cheesecake rest in oven and water bath for 3-5 minutes with the oven door cracked. Then run a thin knife around the edge of the cake to make sure the cake doesn’t stick to the sides of the cake and crack when it cools. Next, remove the cheesecake from the water bath and aluminum foil and set it on a wire rack to cool completely.
• Cover with plastic wrap and chill in the refrigerator for at least 6 hours but preferably overnight to set before slicing and serving. Enjoy!

Tips for Baking

• Use a lot of aluminum foil to protect the springform pan. This is the one step that may ruin your cheesecake if water seeps into the pan. You have 2 options. 1) use at least 5-6 layers of aluminum foil to protect the base of the springform pan or 2) a 10-inch regular cake pan that is not springform to prevent any water leakage into the cake pan.
• Do not open the oven while baking. Do not open the oven door until the cheesecake has been in the oven for a minimum of 60 minutes. Opening the oven door can cause the cheesecake to deflate and shrink. The Japanese matcha cheesecake may seem underdone. The Japanese matcha cheesecake will 100% be wobbly in the center and seem underdone. Do not worry! It will firm up when it cools and chills in the refrigerator.
• Chill the cheesecake. After you cool the green tea cheesecake on the counter, you MUST chill the cheesecake in the refrigerator for a minimum of 6 hours. If you cut the cheesecake immediately after it cools, it may be soft and soupy in the center.