Taro burnt cheesecake

1. Preheat the oven to 180˚C and place the rack in the center of the oven. Have ready an ungreased two-piece 8”x3” round aluminium alloy cake pan, it is a loose base which easy to release the cake.

1. Separate the eggs. Placed the yolks in one bowl and the whites in another bowl.

1. Placed the egg whites in a clean bowl of your electric mixer and whip the egg whites until foamy. Gradually add the sugar and beat until the egg whites are shiny and just form stiff peaks.

1. Add the egg yolks into the beaten egg whites, and gently whip until the egg yolks are incorporated well with the egg whites.

1. Sift the flour over the batter and fold with the spatula until incorporated.

1. Combine the milk, corn oil, and vanilla essence in a bowl. Take some of the batters from step (5) to mix well with the milk mixture. Then gently poured it back into the batter bowl and fold well with a spatula.

1. Pour the batter into the cake pan, smoothing the top.

1. Bake in preheated oven for 20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean.

1. Peel the taro and sweet potato and cut them into cubes. Steam in the steamer for 15 minutes or until you can easily be mashed with a fork.

1. Add the sugar and whipping cream to the mashed taro and sweet potato until incorporated.

1. Blend the taro mixture with a hand mixer to create a smooth paste.

1. Pour the taro paste into the cake pan to cover the sponge cake layer, smoothing the top with the back of a WET spoon.

1. Preheat the oven to 170˚C and place the rack in the center of the oven. In a bowl of your electric mixer place the cream cheese, sugar, and flour. Beat on medium speed until smooth. Scraping down the bowl as needed.

1. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Scrape down the sides of the bowl.

3 Add the whipping cream, lemon juice, and lemon zest and beat until incorporated.

1. Pour the cheesecake filling into the cake pan to cover the taro paste, smoothing the top.

1. Ready a large roasting pan half-filled with water and put a 3” high steamer rack in the middle of the roasting pan. Place the cake pan on top of the steamer rack and place it in the oven.

1. Bake for 45 minutes and increase the temperature to 200˚C with UPPER heat for 10 to 15 minutes to create a scorched and caramelized top. (Keep an eye on the last 10 minutes in case the top layer is over burnt.)

1. Let the cake cool in the oven with the heat off and the door ajar for 30 minutes before taking it out to prevent cracking.

1. Remove from oven. Let cool completely before refrigerating it. Refrigerate the cake for at least 6 hours. Preferable overnight.

1. Remove from the fridge and carefully run a knife around the inside edge of the pan to loosen the cheesecake. And blow around the pan with a hairdryer.

1. Take a deep bowl or jar and turn it upside down on the table. Place the baked cheesecake on it, hold the side of the pan with one hand and push down gently with the other to release the cheesecake completely.