i didn't get out of bed until almost 11am today. it was dark outside because of the rain and i didn't want to leave the warm comfort of bed. my mother called asking if i needed to ride, but my parents wouldn't even be in belmont for much of the day - there was a holiday stroll small business event happening at the cafe - so i told her i'd stay home instead.

it was gross outside, cold and rainy. i spent the day indoors. there was an early afternoon patriots game but only for new england masochists. they played the 4-7 chargers. final score was 6-0. chargers didn't score a touchdown, but the new england offense was so ineffective under bailey zappe (was mac jones even suited?) they couldn't score a single point. if there's anything positive to be taken away from this game, it's that new england's defense is still solid. at least they won't have to rebuild that for next season.

i had some hot dogs for lunch. in the late afternoon i set out some ingredients for making japanese cheesecake.

this japanese cheesecake was a recipe i wanted to try since back in february. i even bought a set of springform cake pans at that time but never got to use them until now. i had wanted to make it for thanksgiving but never got around to it. besides, i didn't want to subject my family to a recipe i hadn't even tried out yet.

i started making the cheesecake at 6:30pm. the recipe is a little bit involved. first i set up the cake pan. i had three sizes but i used the largest 9-inch pan. the set came with 50 pieces of round parchment paper, but they were too big to fit inside the pan, so i trimmed off the edges. i also cut two strips from my own parchment paper roll for the sides. i applied some non-stick spray inside the pan to help the paper stick better. i then covered the bottom of the pan with heavy duty aluminum foil, to keep the springform pan from leaking.

next i had to melt the butter and cream cheese. you can do it on the stove, but the safer option is to use a double boiler, which i happen to have. i'd already set out the butter and cheese so they were already soft, i cut them into smaller pieces before adding them to the boiler. i mixed everything with a spoon until i realized it would be much faster using a wire whisk instead.

while the butter and cream cheese were melting, i was separating the eggs. the first egg i accidentally broke the yolk so i couldn't use that egg anymore. i was more careful for the remaining eggs. the recipes calls for 8 yolks but 13 egg whites. instead of cracking 13 eggs, i had the bright idea of buying some liquid egg whites instead and making up the difference. 2 tbsp of liquid egg white equals 1 egg, while 1/2 cup equals 4 eggs.

i mixed the egg yolks, then added the butter-cream cheese-milk mixture. to that i added the regular flour and corn starch, essentially cake flour. the result was a yellow greasy paste, not at all appetizing at this point.

i moved onto the egg whites. using a hand mixer, i was supposed to beat the whites until they formed stiff peaks. i'd never done this before so it was a first. i added a tiny amount of cream of tartar, which is supposed to help stiffen the peaks. you can also add lemon juice or even vinegar as a substitute, just something slightly acidic. i had to transfer the egg whites to a large bowl as i realized the one i was using was too small. i switched to the punch bowl, the largest container i have. at first nothing seemed to be happening, i was just making egg white foam. but i continued to beat, until almost like a magic trick, the egg whites turned into something that looked like whipped cream.

the peaks that formed when i lifted out the mixer were still soggy, but slowly over time they formed unmistakeable stiff peaks, a thing of beauty. that when i realized i forgot to add the sugar. adding the sugar seemed to have dampened the peaks so i had to continue beating. i was a little worried that i might've over beaten, and had to stop momentarily to check the answer online. i continued beating with the hand mixer until the stiff peaks returned. it was now time to combine the mixtures.

the recipe said to fold the egg whites into the egg yolk mixture. once again this was something i'd never done before, so i did the best i could. i don't think i mixed the two very well, because i noticed when i poured the combined mixture into the cake pan, there were separate white and yellow patches. the top of the mixture inside the cake pan looked a little rough, but i was hoping it'd smooth out. i put the cake pan into a glass lasagna tray and filled it up with boiling water and before baking it at 320°F for 25 minutes.

after the 25 minute mark i returned to the kitchen to turn down the heat and bake it for 55 minutes at 280°F. i could see the cake had already risen (a good sign) and the top was already a golden brown (though not very uniform).

while the japanese cheesecake was baking, it filled the house with a sweet eggy cake aroma, which was pretty nice.

after nearly an hour the cheesecake was ready. i removed it from the oven. it looked better than i'd imagined. the top was a uniform brown, a few wrinkles, but still looked good. the cake had a dome shape, it didn't deflate like some cakes i saw online. before taking it out of the oven i poked it with a bamboo skewer to check if it was done, the skewer came out clean. i removed the tin foil, then unbuckled the springboard pan. finally i stripped off the parchment paper. what remained was a beautiful japenese cheesecake, soft and bouncy, not bad for my first try.

but how does it taste? i cut out a slice. while the overall cake was very spongy and airy, there was a dense eggy bottom layer. i read this could happen if the mixture wasn't folded properly. another reason is if the cake was located too high in the oven (lower rack is hotter). a third reason was something i realized only much later: liquid egg whites can't be used for whipping because the pasteurization process destroys the proteins that create that whipped texture. so it looks like in order to create the perfect japanese cheesecake, i still need to sacrifice regular eggs in order to collect the whites. as for the taste, it tasted like a very soft and fluffy and dense sponge cake, with a sweet eggy flavor. i couldn't really taste the cream cheese, unlike with a typical cheesecake. the bottom layer had an omelette texture. my favorite part is the very thick crust though, had that slightly caramelized flavor.

i called my mother asking when they were going on a supply run tomorrow morning. she said they might go without me, since they're not buying too many things. tonight at the cafe they made what we usually make on a weekend, though in knitwear sales, since they weren't selling most of the food items.

for dinner i cooked a package of xi'an paomo. i love that flavor, instantly transports me back to my times spent in shaanxi province. xi'an is a great food destination, if i ever go back to china i definitely want to return.

i ate while watching sunday night football, a game between the chiefs and the packers. i was rooting against kansas city, hoping they play terrible so their chances of going to another superbowl would be less and all this talk of a chiefs football dynasty can be put to rest for this season at least. so this was a great game because green bay ended up winning, 27-19. i have no doubt kansas city will advance to the playoffs but this loss shows that they're vulnerable, and it won't be so easy winning a 3rd superbowl.