How To Make Steamed Cheesecake, No Oven Necessary

Tasting Table staff have developed many no-bake cheesecake recipes, like this no-bake strawberry cheesecake or this salted chocolate cheesecake. However, many view the mousse-like texture of no-bake cheesecakes as a downgrade from the fluffy yet dense and creamy texture of a baked cheesecake. Luckily, you can still achieve the mouthfeel of a baked cheesecake without turning on your oven. Instead, you'll take to your stovetop!

You'll use the stove to combine your cheesecake ingredients and to steam the cheesecake into a fluffy and delicious dessert. Steaming has its advantages over baking, maintaining a creamy, dense, and moist texture. In fact, steaming is a common Chinese technique for an extra moist sponge cake. You'll start by melting cream cheese, butter, and milk slowly over medium low heat, stirring to combine. Once combined, take the mixture off the stove and stir in flour and egg yolks. The key to fluffing up the steamed cheesecake is folding whipped egg whites into the batter. Using a whisk or electric beater, whip the egg whites and sugar until thick and stiff, and then blend into the batter before pouring it into a parchment paper-lined circular baking pan.

Wrap the pan in aluminum foil while you place a steaming rack in a large pot with water, bringing it to a boil. Place the cheesecake onto the rack, top the pot, and steam on medium low heat for around 30 minutes.

A steamed cheesecake is luxuriously moist, creamy, and bouncy thanks to the addition of separated eggs and flour to the batter. If you want to prevent excess moisture from seeping into the cake as it steams, you can cover the baking pan with aluminum foil. This'll create a barrier to stop any condensation dripping from the top of the pot onto the cake. Once you've removed the cake from the pan, you can top it with powdered sugar, fruit compote, whipped cream, or a drizzle of chocolate and caramel.

Since flour isn't a common ingredient in cheesecake, it'll transform the cheesecake's texture into a cross between cheesecake and sponge cake. If you want a more dense cheesecake crumb, you can leave out the flour completely. You can also steam a graham cracker or cookie crust for an even more traditional format. You can use this recipe for classic New York cheesecake for the tangy, sweet batter, pouring it over the graham cracker crust, and steaming covered in aluminum foil for up to an hour, or for a mere 30 minutes in an instant pot or pressure cooker. The steaming method also works on individual-sized cheesecakes, so you can portion the batter into glass mugs or ramekins to arrange in the steam pot.