Green Tea Cheesecake

JTL9000's Note:

This is classic New York cheese cake with a Japanese twist. I got the Nutty Rice Cereal for the crust at my local health food store. If you can't find it, any sort of puffed rice cereal should work (though the less ingredients that are in it, the better). A more traditional cheese cake crust could also be used, but I believe that the rice compliments the green tea far better than graham crackers.

• Total Time: 1 hrs 55 mins
• Prep Time: 40 mins
• Cook Time: 1 hrs 15 mins

Ingredients:

Serves: 10-12

Yield: 1.0 cheesec ...

Crust

• 1 ½ cups puffed rice cereal , crushed (Perky's brand Nutty Rice works well)
• 2 tablespoons sugar (less if using a sweetened cereal)
• ¼ cup butter (melted)

Filling

• 24 ounces cream cheese
• 16 ounces sour cream
• 4 eggs
• 1 ½ cups sugar
• 2 tablespoons cornstarch
• 2 tablespoons green tea powder (aka. matcha)

Directions:

1. Crush the cereal.
2. Put in a medium bowl and add the sugar.
3. Melt the butter and combine with the dry ingredients.
4. Mix well.
5. Cover the bottom and sides of your cake pan evenly with the crust mix (this recipes makes enough to fill a 9 inch cake pan, give or take).
6. Refridgerate while you make the filling.
7. Preheat the oven to 350°F.
8. In a large bowl or food processor, beat the cream cheese until it starts to get fluffy (a food processor or electric mixer is easiest).
9. Add the remaining incredients and beat until it's fully mixed and there are no remaining clumps.
10. Pour the filling into the cake pan with the crust (depending on the shape and depth of your pan, you may end up with a little left over). Note that the cake has a tendency to puff up while cooking.
11. Cook for 1 hour and 15 minutes or until the surface is lightly browned.
12. Take the cheese cake out of the oven and allow it to cool.