Vanilla cotton cheesecake with soya sauce caramel

Preheat the oven to 180°C, gas mark 4. Choose a roasting dish that will be large enough to accommodate your baking tin. Pour enough water into the roasting dish to fill it halfway – approx. 2.5cm deep. Place the roasting dish inside the oven. Line a 22cm springform cake tin with baking paper around the sides and grease the bottom with a little butter. Wrap the outside of the tin in a large piece of foil to make it watertight.

Separate the egg yolks from the whites. Place the egg whites in the bowl of a stand mixer or a large metal/glass mixing bowl and refrigerate until needed. Melt the butter.

Place the egg yolks, cream cheese, butter, cream, 60g caster sugar and sour cream in a large bowl and whisk until smooth. Split the vanilla pod with a sharp knife and scrape out the seeds into the cream cheese mixture. Sieve the flour over the mixture and whisk until just combined but smooth. Set aside. Remove the chilled egg whites from the fridge and whisk on medium speed until soft peaks form. Add the remaining 85g caster sugar slowly while mixing then increase the speed to high and beat until stiff peaks form. Whisk of the egg whites into the cheesecake batter, then fold the rest into the mixture. Pour the batter into the prepared tin all at once and tap on the counter a few times to remove any pockets of air.

Place the cake tin inside the roasting dish in the oven. Reduce the oven temperature to 160°C, gas mark 3, and bake the cheesecake for 40-45 minutes, or until it is just set but still wobbly. If you insert a skewer into the centre, it should come out clean. Turn off the oven and leave the door slightly open for 20 minutes (with the cake inside). Remove from the oven and allow to cool to room temperature. Refrigerate for 1-2 hours.

To make the caramel, place the sugar and water in a small saucepan over a high heat without stirring. Simmer until the syrup turns dark brown, almost red. Remove from the heat and immediately add the butter and cream. Stir until smooth, then add the soya sauce and mix. Allow to cool.

Dust the icing sugar over the cheesecake and serve with the soya sauce caramel on the side.