What went wrong with my yuzu cheesecake?
Having seen an episode of The Great British Bake Off, I decided to bite off more than I could chew and made a yuzu cheesecake. As yuzu was described, on the program, as having a taste somewhere between mango and kiwi I was expecting a nice, fruity cheesecake. What I got was something like a not-quite-ginger, but bitter.
The recipe I used was a very basic cheesecake, with the yuzu added once the primary cream cheese, mascarpone and sugar were mixed.
Can anyone suggest what I should do - specifically for yuzu flavouring - or what might have gone wrong and perhaps what yuzu should taste like when used correctly?
Best Answer
Given that you were using bottled 100% yuzu juice (assuming this is what you bought), which although not as flavorsome as fresh yuzu, still tastes generally similar, I would say the 'disappointment' comes from how it was used.
When I have had yuzu based desserts they have nearly always used a yuzu syrup or jam or yuzu honey, giving a more jammy, sweet taste akin to marmalade but with a the indescribable, heady complexity of yuzu.
Try mixing the juice with an equal quantity of sugar, and simmering until you have a runny syrup. I believe this will have the flavour you are looking for.
You can then use this syrup in many different ways e.g. cocktails, added to a cup of hot water to make yuzu tea, over ice cream etc.
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