Cheesecake

Cheesecake with easily available ingredients. Want to make Cheesecake but you don’t have cream cheese and fresh cream? No problem let’s make Cheesecake with whatever available in your pantry. No need to go to market for the ingredients.

How to make cream cheese?

You can make your cream cheese easily at home. You have to make paneer first. Better to use full cream milk to make cream cheese. You can make paneer with lemon juice, curd or vinegar. Use whatever you have. When milk starts to boil add vinegar or lemon juice or curd. Add 1 tablespoon at a time. Stir and add 1 tablespoon more or as require to curdle the milk completely. When greenish whey and cottage cheese separates immediately pour into the strainer. For detailed method click here.

Drain the whey completely. Fresh paneer is ready. Take 1 cup paneer and 1/2 cup curd or yogurt in blender jar. Blend to make smooth mixture. Now your cream cheese is ready to use. You can store the cream cheese in refrigerator for later use.

And I have used malai or milk topping instead of fresh cream. But if you have fresh cream then you can use it. I have used digestive biscuit but you can use marry biscuit or any other biscuit. Earlier I shared Eggless mango cheesecake with cream biscuits. And didn’t use butter. This time used digestive biscuits with salted butter. You can use unsalted butter if you want.

Recipe

Digestive biscuit -12

Butter- 2 tablespoon

Cream cheese-1 cup, tightly packed

Hung curd- 1/4 cup

Sugar- 1/2 cup

Cornflour- 2 tablespoon

Cream or malai- 1/2 cup

Lemon juice- 2 teaspoon

Lemon zest- 1/4 teaspoon

Vanilla essence- 2 teaspoon

Method

1. Break the digestive biscuit into small pieces. Grind the biscuit pieces into fine powder. Watch video recipe for detailed method.

2. Melt butter in microwave for 30 seconds or heat to melt on stove top. Add ground biscuit and mix well.

3. Generously grease silicon moulds or springform pan with butter or oil. Transfer the ground butter mixed biscuit into the pan or mould.

4. Press to make an even layer in the bottom. Press with a spoon or back of a bowl or glass. Place the mould or pan in refrigerator for at least 30-60 minutes.

5. In a large bowl whisk cream cheese and sugar. Whisk well to make smooth. Add Hung curd, Cornflour, lemon juice, lemon zest and vanilla essence. Whisk everything well to make a smooth lump free batter.

6. Add Cream or malai, Whisk again. Don’t over beat. Whisk only to combine everything well. If you are using malai or milk topping over beating will turns the malai into butter.

7. Take out the mould or pan from the refrigerator. Pour the batter over the biscuit crumb. Tap the pan gently.

8. For microwave preheat at 170° convection or hot blast mode. Bake for 8 minutes or till edges slightly puffed up and separated from the pan or mould. For OTG preheat at 180° and bake 35-30 minutes or till edges puffed up.

9. Let the cheesecake cool down completely. Cover with aluminum foil and keep in refrigerator for 6-8 hours. Better to keep overnight. Gently remove the cheesecake from the pan or mould. Serve chilled soft delicious cheesecake as it is or with any fruit sauce.

Notes

1. You can also make this cheesecake with store bought cream cheese.

2. You can use any biscuit instead of digestive biscuit.

3. Any flavour or fruit puree can be used in the batter.