The most creamy passion fruit cheesecake ever

Planning

1. Cheesecakes are better prepared the day before. They need a minimum of 6 hours chilling in the fridge.
2. Day one: Prepare the crust, the filling and bake the cheesecake.
3. Day two: Prepare the syrup, the cold oil spheriphications, the meringue and decorate the cake. (Meringue is best prepared at the last minute.)

Method

For the crust

1. Prepare an 8 inches (20 cm) round cake pan. Lightly grease it with butter and line the bottom with a disk and the edge with a long strip of parchment paper.
2. Cut the butter in small cubes, put them in a small bowl and melt them for 30 seconds to 1 minute in the microwave oven. If there are still unmelted butter chunks, stir them until they melt with the residual heat. You want the butter to be lukewarm, not hot.
3. Process the biscuits. Pulse them in a food processor or blender until finely ground. If you don't own a blender, crush them up in a ziplock bag with a rolling pin. Put in a large bowl, and stir in the melted butter with a fork. When combined, it should look like course, damp sand. (I like the crumbs to be only wet enough to hold together, without getting too greasy and soggy.)
4. Press the biscuit crumbs into the bottom and up the sides of the pan. Gently press them using your fingers until they form a nice even layer. Make sure the crust is firmly packed.
5. Place the pan in the fridge and in the meanwhile prepare the filling.

For the filling

1. Preheat oven to 350 °F (175 °C).
2. Make sure all ingredients are at room temperature.
3. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment beat the cream cheese and Mascarpone on low speed until smooth and creamy. Don't over-beat or you'll incorporate too much air.
4. Add sugar and beat again until creamy. Using a spatula scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl.
5. Gradually add the eggs on low speed, one at a time, mixing just until each egg is just incorporated. Once all eggs have been added, scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl again and make sure all ingredients are evenly incorporated.
6. Combine the milk and cornstarch in a small bowl and add it to the mix. Beat for a few seconds until incorporated.
7. Add the cream, the vanilla and the passion fruit pulp. Beat after each addition but don't over-beat. Stop the mixer and scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl with a spatula again so that all ingredients are well combined.
8. Pour the cheesecake batter into the prepared pan. Make sure the biscuit crumb edges are not taller than the filling. You can cut and take the crumbs out with a spoon making sure to work cleanly.
9. Transfer the cheesecake to the center rack of your oven. Bake it on 350 °F (175 °C) for 15 minutes, adjust the temperature to 250 °F (120 °C) and bake for an additional 75 minutes until the outside is firm but the center still jiggles a bit. Don't overbake it, or it will not be so creamy. And don't open the oven door until the end of the baking time!
10. Crack open the door and leave the cheesecake inside for at least 1 hour (the more, the better!).
11. Take out of the oven and let cool down completely on a wire rack. Place in the fridge and let cool for at least 5-6 hours or overnight. It needs to set before unmolding.

For the passion fruit syrup

1. Place the sugar, water, and passion fruit pulp in a saucepan over low-medium heat and boil until syrupy, about 15 minutes.
2. Let it cool to room temperature.

For the cold oil caviar "seeds" (optional / only if the fruit syrup has no seeds)

1. Place a tall glass with a generous amount of unflavored plant oil in the freezer for at least 30 minutes.
2. Mix the passion fruit pulp with the black bamboo charcoal powder in small saucepan. Mix the sugar and the agar agar in a pincher bowl and add to the passion fruit pulp.
3. Over medium heat, stir constantly and bring to a boil. Simmer for about 2-3 minutes.
4. Take out of the stove and let cool to 120-130 °F (50-55 °C).
5. Fill a syringe and drop the passion fruit solution, one droplet at a time, into cold oil from about 5 inches from the surface of the oil.
6. When you’ve used all your mixture, strain the caviar by pouring the oil over a strainer. You can perfectly reuse the oil later!
7. Place strained caviar pearls into bowl of ice water to remove remaining oil, then strain from water and serve! If you don't use them immediately, keep them in a glass with orange or apple juice.

For the swiss meringue

1. Fill a pot with about 2 inches of water. Place over high heat until steaming-hot, then adjust temperature to maintain a gentle simmer.
2. Combine the egg whites and sugar in a bowl. Set over steaming water, ensuring that the water does not touch the bottom of the bowl. Stir and scrap constantly with a spatula, until egg whites mark at least 150 °F (65 °C) and the mixture no longer feels gritty when rubbed between your fingers, about 4 minutes.
3. Transfer to the bowl of the stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment and whip at middle speed for 4 minutes and at high speed for 4 more minutes until meringue is glossy and flows slightly. Use immediately.

To serve

1. Unmold the cheesecake.
   • If you used a regular cake pan, run a knife between the inside edges of the mold and the paper strips, place a flat plate covered with parchment paper on the mold, invert the cake onto the plate, take out the base paper circle and carefully invert it again onto the serving plate. Remove the side paper strips.
   • If you used a springform pan, take out the ring, transfer the cake onto the serving plate making sure to removing the parchment paper circle, and remove the side paper strips.
2. With a 4 inch cookie cutter, mark a circle on the center of the cheesecake. Cover the outer ring of the cake with a small amount of meringue and decorate it with the piping tip of your choice. (I used a "Saint Honoré" tip.) Torch using a blow torch.
3. Top the center of the cheesecake with passion fruit syrup.