Mango Mania: Mango Cheesecake

Ever since my last post on mango gojju, not a day has passed without eating mango in some form or the other. And when mango and cheese is combined, it is a killer combo. Layers of fresh ripe mango pulp, cheese and cottage cheese on a bed of crushed biscuits is just what the family needed as a sinful sweet indulgence on a hot Sunday afternoon.

Ingredients:

Cheese spread - 1 tub (I used Amul creamy cheese)Cream - 100 gms (I used Amul)

Cottage Cheese - 250gms (I used Amul paneer)

Sugar - Half a cup 

Mango puree from 4 ripe mangoes

Gelatin - 1 tbsp (I used Lion vegetarian gelatin)

Hot Water - 1/4 cup

Digestive biscuits - 2 packets (I used Marie biscuit)

Unsalted butter, melted - 75 gm 

Method:

Crush the biscuits in a food processor to form a coarse powder. Add the melted butter and mix well. Press into a spring form pan or a loose bottom dish, or individual glasses. Refrigerate till rest of the cheesecake is ready. 

Blend the mango pulp with sugar and set aside. Add gelatin to hot water till completely dissolved. Add this to the mango puree and stir well. 

Blend together the cheese spread, cottage cheese and cream. To this cheese mixture, add half the mango pulp and beat till well incorporated. 

Pour the mango-cheese mixture over the biscuit layer as a second layer and refrigerate for a about 2 hours. As a third layer, pour the mango pulp gently over the mango-cheese ensuring the layers do not get mixed. Refrigerate for at least 8 hours or overnight.

Strawberry Cheesecake

Yay! Finally got on with my post for January 2013! 

Hope the new year has started on a good note folks :)

December is typically such a crazy, hectic month of celebration, eating out and entertaining....for me, this spirit has carried on to January 2013.

A weekend dinner party I hosted for a dear friend gave me the opportunity to try my hand at a 'proper' cheesecake. And mind you, it was a gelatin free egg less one at that.

With strawberries aplenty these days, and before the season is through, I decided to make a strawberry dessert.

Ingredients:

2 packets digestive biscuits (I used Marie)

2 cups grated cottage cheese (paneer)

1 cup cream cheese (I used Britannia Cream Cheese)

1/2 cup condensed milk

2 table spoons cooking butter

6 to 8 fresh hulled strawberries for blending

20 strawberries sliced for decoration

strawberry syrup for topping

For the biscuit base:

Crush the biscuits in the mixer until it forms a coarse powder. Melt the butter and mix it with the biscuit powder. Grease a spring-form pan or a baking tray and press down the crumbs firmly to form a 1 inch base. Refrigerate.

For the filling:

Combine the grated cottage cheese, cream cheese and condensed milk in a blender and pulse for a few seconds. Add the hulled strawberries and pulse again until it forms a smooth and creamy mixture.

Pour this strawberry cheese mixture on to the biscuit base and bake at 180 degrees centigrade for about 30 minutes. Baking temperature may vary depending on the oven, however you know the cheesecake is done when the strawberry cream bubbles up. Allow to cool completely. Decorate with fresh cut strawberries and refrigerate for about 4 hours. Serve with a dollop of strawberry sauce. 

No Bake Nutella Cheesecake

A Sunday afternoon lunch at a friend's place called for some dessert! As I was feeling very lazy ( remember it was a Sunday), I wanted to make something in a jiffy with ingredients I had at hand. Thanks to my 9 year old daughter (who is addicted to nutella) I had an unopened jar and some cream cheese!

This cheesecake turned out to be a big hit! Sinfully yummy and very easy to make. Best part is that it is a no-bake cheese cake!

Ingredients:

• Pack of 4 Marie Biscuits
• 100gms cooking butter
• Half cup milk
• Half tsp Vanilla essence
• One big jar Nutella
• 200gms Britannia Creamcheese
• 3tbs Drinking chocolate powder for dusting
• A dash of Hersheys chocolate syrup for decoration

Coarsely crush the Marie biscuits (in a mixer). Add softened butter and milk and mix thoroughly. Press into a spring form pan or a flat pudding dish to form a base of about 1 inch. Refrigerate for 20 minutes.

In a food processor/hand blender mix the nutella, cream cheese and vanilla essence until well incorporated. Pour this mixture over the biscuit base and refrigerate for 6 hours or overnight. Before serving, dust a little drinking chocolate powder and add a dash of Hersheys chocolate sauce.