Ginger Passionfruit Yogurt Cheesecake With Toasted Italian Meringue

Ginger Passionfruit Yogurt Cheesecake with Italian Meringue

This Ginger Passionfruit Yogurt Cheesecake with Toasted Italian Meringue is the magical dream for ginger lovers!! The contrast between the hot, spicy ginger taste and the lightness of passionfruit makes the cake interestingly exotic but very balanced in taste. I am not a big fans of over-sweet dessert so I decided this recipe in such a way that the acidity from cream cheese, yogurt and passionfruit effectively tunes down the sweetness from the Italian meringue. And did I forget to mention GO CRAZY with the meringue piping and torching? If you like the idea of the cake, do check out my Lemon Curd Meringue Mousse Cake as well.

Ginger Passionfruit Yogurt Cheesecake with Italian Meringue

Ginger Passionfruit Yogurt Cheesecake with Italian Meringue

The idea of this cake came from my nostalgic cravings for a traditional Chinese Dessert “Ginger Milk Curd“. It is a simple dessert that uses only a few ingredients (milk, ginger juice and sugar) that’s available hot and cold. It costs around $25 HKD per bowl and I thought that was very expensive. Oh well, if only I had known gingers in Australia would be so much pricier, I would have eaten a few more back home.

Ginger Passionfruit Yogurt Cheesecake with Italian Meringue

Ginger Passionfruit Yogurt Cheesecake with Italian Meringue

The process of making this cake is pretty straightforward, but we have to be always careful when it comes to gelatine. Temperature control is crucial as we don’t want the gelatine to set before all ingredients are fully incorporated.  If we add the melted gelatine to a very cold mixture, what will happen is that you will “shock” the gelatine and it will set immediately. That said, if your passionfruit curd is cold and stiff (which happens when you choose to pre-make the curd the day before), I do recommend warming it up through double boiler to around 30C, before you mix it with yogurt, lemon juice, ginger cream infusion.  I hope you enjoy it!

Ginger Passionfruit Yogurt Cheesecake with Italian Meringue

Ginger Passionfruit Yogurt Cheesecake with Italian Meringue

Ingredients:

Ginger Infused Passionfruit Curd Yogurt Cheesecake

• 100g caster sugar
• 250g cream cheese, room temperature
• 200g natural yogurt
• 250g passionfruit curd (recipe below)
• 1/2 lemon, juice of
• 100g pure cream
• 15g ginger, thinly sliced
• 2 gelatine leaves, titanium
• 250g pure cream, semi-whipped

Biscuit Base

• 250g biscuit crumbs (I processed digestive biscuits into crumbs with a food processor)
• 200g unsalted butter
• 1/4 tsp salt

Italian Meringue

• 160g caster sugar
• 100g water
• 150g egg white

Passionfruit Curd

• 225g passionfruit pulp (before sieving out the seeds)
• 140g caster sugar
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 50g whole eggs
• 100g egg yolks (around 5)
• 125g unsalted butter, cut into small cubes
• 1 gelatine leave (titanium)

Instructions:

Passionfruit Curd

1. Sieve the seeds from the passionfruit pulp and set aside (this step is necessary as you will need to sieve the cooked curd to remove the egg strain) 
2. Prepare a double boiler. To do so, fill a saucepan with 1-1.5 inches high of water and bring it to simmer. Find a heatproof bowl that fits in the saucepan without directly touching the water.
3. Place the passionfruit pulp, sugar, egg, egg yolks in a heatproof stainless steel or glass bowl. Using a whisk, stir the mixture continuously but gently to slowly cook the eggs. The lemon curd is ready when it starts to thicken up (or when it reaches 80C). This process will take about 10 mins. Remove the bowl from the saucepan.
4. Sieve the curd into another bowl to remove egg strains.
5. Bloom the gelatine leaves with cold water. Squeeze out excess water and add it in the curd to melt completely.
6. Stir in the cold chopped butter into the mixture. Mix until the butter completely melts.
7. Take out 250g of the curd (for cake filling) and set aside until ready to use , and refrigerate the rest for other uses.

Biscuit Base

1. Line a baking tray with parchment paper. Put a 7inch cake ring on the tray.
2. Process biscuit of your choice (I used digestive biscuits with a food processor) into fine crumbs. Put in a big mixing bowl and set aside.
3. Melt butter in the microwave carefully. Try with 10 seconds intervals and check.
4. Pour the melted butter into the mixing bowl. Mix well with a spoon until crumbs are evenly coated with butter.
5. Press the crumbs into the cake ring and press with a spoon until flat and even.
6. Keep in refrigerator until ready to use.

Ginger Infused Passionfruit Curd Yogurt Cheesecake

1. In a small sauce pan, place 100g pure cream and ginger pieces and bring to boil. Turn down the heat. Simmer for 2 mins and set aside for the infusion to happen.
2. Bloom gelatine leave in cold water. Squeeze out excess water and add to the ginger-cream. Mix until fully melted.
3. Using an electrical mixer, beat cream cheese and sugar on high speed, while scraping the side occasionally, until creamy and smooth.
4. In a mixing bowl, add 250g passionfruit curd, yogurt, lemon juice, ginger cream infusion and mix well with a whisk. Turn on the mixer on low speed, pour the mixture slowly into the beaten cream cheese mixture and continue beating until smooth.
5. In another bowl, semi whip 250g pure cream. Fold into the mixture gently and evenly with a spatula.
6. Pour the mixture into the prepare cake ring. Smoothen the top with an off-set spatula. Wrap the cake ring tightly with cling wrap and put in the freezer to set. It takes around 4-6 hours.

Italian Meringue

1. Put sugar and water in a small saucepan and do NOT stir. Bring the water and sugar to boil at 118C. When the syrup reaches 115C, simultaneously start whisking the egg whites to soft peaks on a medium speed.
2. When the sugar reaches 118C, turn the mixer on low speed, pour it over the egg whites slowly in a stream motion. Turn the mixer to medium high speed and continue beating for about 5mins, until the meringue is cooled down to 50C and glossy stiff peaks have formed.

To serve

1.  Unwrap the plastic covering the cake, remove the cake from the cake ring by using a hot towel to warm up the cake ring, or use blow torch safely to heat up the cake ring lightly.

2. Pipe Italian meringue on top of the cake and blow torch lightly. Enjoy!