After much planning, I decided to bake her a cake with Cherry Blossoms aka Sakura theme. I bought a small tub of preserved cherry blossoms some time ago but till now, the tub is still sitting in my fridge. With so much updates of them blooming in various parts of Japan lately, without much hesitation, I decided to pair the cheesecake with my favourite Japanese plum wine, Honey Choya! I love to use different types of liquor in my bakes lately, it takes the end product to a different level when you think of Kahlua, Baileys Irish Cream, Kirsch, Rum, Amaretto and the list goes on...it's so experimental especially when you try to pair them with different ingredients in my "lab". Viola!
Here's the recipe adapted and modified from here. I used a 7" cake ring instead of individual moulds.
Sakura biscuit base
Sakura biscuit base
80g ................................ Digestive biscuits, crushed
40g ................................ Melted butter
Matcha chocolate cheesecake mousses
150g ............................... Cream cheese ( I increased to 200g)
40g ................................. Granulated sugar
2 ..................................... Egg yolks
100g ............................... White chocolate
150g ................................ whipping cream
25g .................................. Water, for melting the gelatin
5g .................................... Gelatin sheets
220g ............................... Water
20g ................................. Granulated sugar
1tsp ................................ Kirsch ( I replaced with Honey Choya)
10g ................................. Raspberry puree
4g ................................... Gelatin sheets
1-2 drop ......................... Sakura essence
For decorating
The cake turned out to be a pleasant surprise for all. Tastes heavenly with a cup of Japanese Green Tea. Cheers!