Step 1

Coat the side of the cake pan (15cm/5.9”) with a generous amount of butter. Using a pan with a removable bottom will help to remove the cheesecake.

Step 2

Place a piece of parchment paper cut to fit into the bottom of the pan. Then, cover the outside of the pan with a large piece of aluminum foil.

Step 3

Bring the cream cheese, sour cream and butter to room temperature and combine them in a bowl with a balloon whisk.

Step 4

Add one egg yolk and mix thoroughly.

Step 5

Then add the other egg yolk and mix.

Step 6

Sieve the cake flour into the bowl. Combine the mixture until there are no pockets of dry flour.

Step 7

Add the milk a little at a time and mix thoroughly. Be sure to bring the egg yolks and milk to room temperature also.

Step 8

Add the vanilla extract and mix.

Step 9

Finally, sieve the mixture into a bowl.

Step 10

Let’s make the meringue. Lightly beat the chilled egg whites with a hand mixer. Then, add the sugar in 3 steps and beat the egg white for a total of one and a half to two minutes.

Step 11

Avoid over-beating otherwise it’ll be difficult to combine the meringue and the egg yolk mixture, leading to more mixing and eventually breaking the foam.

Step 12

Just before the meringue is ready, switch to a balloon whisk and check its consistency. Beat until the meringue reaches a firm peak stage and has a glossy texture.

Step 13

Add one-third of the meringue to the egg yolk mixture.Mix thoroughly. At this stage, you don’t need to worry about breaking the foam.

Step 14

Then, add another one-third of the meringue. This time, gently mix and avoid breaking the foam.

Step 15

Finally, place all the egg yolk mixture into the bowl with the rest of the meringue.

Step 16

Like shown, lift the whisk from the bottom to gently combine the batter. Be sure not to break the foam. Mix until all of the white lumps of meringue have disappeared.

Step 17

Pour the batter into a pan and place it into a deep tray. The pan has a removable bottom so be sure to cover it with relatively thick aluminum foil to avoid wetting the cheesecake. If your aluminum foil is too thin, you should cover the cake pan with 2 or 3 layers, making absolutely sure to avoid any leakage.

Step 18

Slash the batter with a spatula to remove any air bubbles. Pour hot water into the tray about 2 cm deep.

Step 19

Place the cake pan into the preheated oven and bake at 160°C (320°F) for 10 minutes. Then, lower the temperature to 150°C (300°F) and bake for additional 40 to 50 minutes.

Step 20

Pierce the cake with a bamboo stick. If the stick is clean, it is ready.

Step 21

Remove and place the cake pan onto a cooling rack. Let it sit to cool and then chill the cake in the fridge for over 2 hours.

Step 22

Remove the soufflé cheesecake from the pan. Gently lift the bottom. Be careful not to damage the side of the cake. Run an icing spatula along the bottom. Remove the bottom of the pan and place the cheesecake onto a cutting board.

Step 23

Dampen the blade of a knife to help make a clean cut and cut a piece of cake.

Step 24

Place the souffle cheesecake onto a plate. Finally, coat the top with the apricot jam diluted with rum.