Sweet with an underlying hint of sour blueberries; this creamy, summery cheesecake is sure to take your breath away!
Soon after the Diwali festival, much like a kid that had won a thousand gems in a game, I excitedly waited to splurge on fancy desserts at the local café/cake shop. I had received a little more than a thousand rupees as gift for Diwali from my elders. This meant only one thing, some would go to the bank account. And with the rest, I was going to cater to the needs of my perpetually growling tummy. Rawwwr.
This was somewhere in 2016. I waited for the perfect day; fewer lectures in college, a pleasant weather and a hungry belly. I set aside some extra coins for my bus fare. It must’ve been 3pm when our class was dismissed. In no time, I was aboard a bus, off to Vasco city.
I trod along the footpath, crossed roads that stood in the way of my meal, and with a hop, skip and jump, I was standing right outside the cake shop staring at a sign board that read: Temptation. I went in, carefully scrutinized each and every fine looking pastry. The pastries must’ve felt so violated. It was the longest I’d ever taken to decide on an order. I saw two slices of mango cheesecake somewhere at the side. I’d never tasted a cheesecake before. So I shyly asked for one slice of mango cheesecake and some other delectable pastries to be packed. Food is best savoured at home (at least for an introvert like me) so I was off to my home, with a package full of goodies.
Few hours later, back at home, I was raving about the texture and the taste of this cheesecake to my mother. I never knew a cheesecake would be this tasty. After this sinful delight, I decided to someday prepare a cheesecake at home. How difficult could it be, I thought to myself.
Two years later, my interest in cheesecakes was renewed and I looked for recipes online. After getting a basic idea, I altered the proportions, the ingredients and whipped up a yummy cheesecake with the help of my lovely mother.
The way Mr. Owen seemed to be missing from Soldier Island (In Agatha Christie’s And Then There Were None), our Mr. Oven does the same here. This creation doesn’t need a Mr. Oven to complete it! 😀
What you’ll need
(Serves approximately 5-6)
For the filling
450-500g cream cheese (I used the one by D’lecta)
2 whole eggs
¼ cup powdered sugar
¾ cup condensed milk
¼ cup milk
¼ cup water-free yoghurt/Greek yoghurt
½ cup fresh cream
Few drops each of vanilla and butterscotch essence
1 can of blueberry or strawberry topping/filling
For the crust
1 packet of McVities digestive biscuits (around 150g)
¼- ½ cup unsalted butter, melted
Method
Crush one entire packet of biscuits either by sealing them in a ziplock bag and crushing, or by hand. The idea is to keep the biscuits crumbs a little coarse. Take a bowl, empty the biscuits into it and pour some melted butter over the biscuit crumbs. Take care to not drown your biscuit crumbs in butter. They should just be combined well.
Take a springform pan, I used a square springform pan of length 23 or 26cm. I had just one at the time, it was a little larger than it should have been. If you don’t own one, don’t worry. Just use a normal non-stick cake pan; you will have to eat the cake from the pan itself in this case, no fancy presentation. But that’s okay. Ultimately, taste is all that matters! 😉
Spread the biscuit-butter mixture on the pan, coat the bottom with an even layer.
Cover and chill this in the fridge for an hour.
In a bowl, whisk the room temperature cream cheese with an electric hand blender, until fluffy or smooth; for about 5-6 minutes.
Slowly add sugar, until all of the sugar is dissolved and combined well; for about 5 minutes.
Crack open two eggs and add them into the bowl, blend them until they are combined uniformly.
Add in ¾ cup of condensed milk, ¼ cup of milk, ¼ cup of yoghurt and blend until all the ingredients mix well.
In a separate bowl, take ½ cup of chilled fresh cream and whisk with a hand/electric blender until soft peaks form. Transfer this cream to the previous bowl of ingredients.
Fold gently with the help of a spatula, until the batter is smooth and even.
Add few drops of vanilla essence and few of butterscotch essence.
Take out the springform pan from the refrigerator and pour the batter into it, over the biscuit crust. Wrap the pan completely with aluminium foil, so as to prevent water from getting deposited on the cheesecake. Keep aside.
Then add 2-3 cups of water to the pressure cooker and place a wire stand at the bottom. Place the springform pan on the wire stand and cover the pressure cooker without the whistle and the gasket.
Pressure cook for around 40-45 minutes on medium flame. Turn off the flame and let the pan sit in the cooker for 10-15 minutes. You may now check its readiness using a toothpick; if it comes clean, it’s ready. Be very careful, it may still be very hot inside. You may run a knife along the sides of the container to separate the cheesecake.
Once it comes down to room temperature, spread you favourite blueberry or strawberry topping on the cheesecake, cover and chill it in the refrigerator for 2-3 hours. Release the interlocking band of the pan and that’s all, your cheesecake is now ready for you to gorge on!
Ankita's Kitchen 