Khoya Cheesecake (fusion dessert) is a wonderful lip-smacking dessert that you can even prepare without baking. There are baked versions of cheesecakes also but to keep the recipe simple we are doing a no-bake version. Khoya/Mawa from milk is a very rich, delicious ingredient used for Indian sweets. Using khoya in cheesecake with Indian cookies ‘nankhatai’ crust gave it such a wonderful taste and I loved the way this Khoya Cheesecake(fusion dessert) looked.
When I started cooking in the kitchen, it was forced by my mother and my whole aim used to be to finish the given work fast as soon as possible and dash out of the kitchen.
Later, when I started staying in a different city alone because of my job, I had to cook because I needed something to fill the stomach.
After marriage I was completely a housewife, so started doing organized cooking. Some disasters happened and calls to mom before each festival for the recipe of a particular dish were regular.
Disasters in the kitchen never encouraged me to try the same dish again. As I used to feel that already I had wasted so much… I should not take a second chance.
Successful attempts and praises used to give energy and enthusiasm to try something new!!! But till now I was cooking only those dishes which had fixed recipes. It never occurred to me to do some experiments and create something new. Probably because I was in my own shell. My world was around my mother and my mother in law’s world where traditions were fixed. But now social media was slowly creeping into people’s life. People were getting introduced to unknown regions. I got introduced to the world of baking. I was so surprised to see that people bake bread and cookies in their kitchen ovens. Not only this, but many create new dishes by experimenting with two different types of recipes together.
I gathered courage and started baking in my microwave. Slowly we stopped buying any bakery stuff from the market as I got to know the difference between ingredients used in bakery and home-baked stuff.
Success boosts our confidence a lot!! I was willing to prepare a dessert which should be a fusion of western and Indian cuisine. But at the same time, it should not be complicated. Mawa/khoya (evaporated milk) a traditional, classic, rich ingredient in many Indian sweets preparations. A whole sweet could be done with khoya or it could be the base ingredient for other sweet or it can be used as a filling in sweets. It is even added in some vegetables and the best part is that I always prepare it at home rather than buying. So I decided to use khoya, an all-time favorite ingredient and prepare Khoya/Mawa Cheesecake. For the base of any cheesecake, Marie or graham crackers are generally used. I felt that instead of using graham crackers or marie cookies, Nankhatai (cookies prepared with clarified butter) would complement this cheesecake better.
Just a few days ago I had baked nankhatai by following the recipe from my very dear multi talented friend Archana Chauhan’s blog https://apinchoflyfe.com/2019/01/12/kesar-naankhatai/These kesar nankhatai complimented cheesecake so well.
I wanted to create a small border around the cheesecake along with the base from the cookies. I had seen some pictures of cheesecake like this, and this brown border had always attracted me….!!! Cheesecake looked very pretty with this brown border and with the addition of khoya this Cheesecake became a perfect symphony of Indo-Western cuisine culture!!!
Ingredients :
Crust
200 gm crushed nankhatai
3 tbsp melted butter
Filling
200 gm cream cheese
200 gm mawa/khoya
2 tbsp milk
100 gm powdered sugar
1/2 tbsp cardamom powder
1/2 cup whipping cream
1 tsp rose essence (optional)
Topping/Decoration
Cardamom powder
Roasted mixed nuts
Dried rose petles
Saffron strands
Process:
Crush nankhatai in a zip lock bag and keep it in a bowl. Add melted butter to it and mix nicely.
In a springform tin spread this nankhatai mixture evenly and press it nicely with the help of the back of the spoon. If you want to add a little border at the sides of the cheesecake, spread nankhatai mixture slightly at the sides of the tin and press there also. Keep the tin in the fridge for half an hour so that the mixture becomes firm.
In a pan add milk and khoya and keep stirring it on sim heat until khoya turns into a thick paste consistency. Switch off heat and let it cool down.
Whip up cream cheese till it is smooth and then start adding caster sugar in small portions. You can reduce or add sugar as per your taste bud. Add cardamom powder and keep this ready cream cheese in a separate bowl.
Now whip up 1/2 cup of whipping cream till it gets stiff consistency.
Now gently add cream cheese and khoya in whipping cream. If you are interested, can add rose essence. I did not add because I wanted the fragrance of dried rose petals.
By now cookie mixture is settled down firmly – take out the tin from the fridge and spread evenly cream cheese, whipping cream and khoya mix in the tin. Keep it in the fridge for 4-5 hours or overnight to firm up.
Toast some mixed nuts and crush them. When cheesecake firms up, take it out from the fridge, loosen the pan and take out the cheesecake carefully and keep it on a separate plate. Decorate it on the top around the edges with crushed toasted nuts and dried rose petals. In the middle of the top sprinkle cardamom powder and some strands of kesar to add some more beauty and flavor.
Enjoy this delicious fusion dessert and if you have a big generous heart, share it with your friends !!
I loved a lot this slightly high brown border around it!
Did you like my experiment for creating a fusion dessert !!
I would be glad to hear from you all ❤️
