Kesar Thandai Cheesecake
Its almost Holi and the festivities have kicked in all our households. Holi celebrates the spring and onset of the scorching summer season. Hence I thought of making a fusion dessert to celebrate Holi with the flavors of Thandai. Here is an interesting recipe of Kesar Thandai Cheesecake which is a perfect dessert for the festival of Colors.
” Thandai” is milk based drink popular for its cooling effect. It is infused with a special Thandai Masala prepared with dried fruits and cooling spices. If you are looking to avoid the sugar laden thandai mix available at stores, then you must try this recipe.
I have been pondering over the thought of making cheesecake for quite sometime. I am glad that my first attempt of making this no-bake, Eggless cheesecake was successful.
This recipe of Kesar Thandai Cheesecake is very simple to prepare. One can also make it the previous night so that its chilled and set the next day. Its also not overtly sweet, hence you can indulge in it without much regret.
I am happy that this Kesar Thandai Cheesecake had an amazing texture. Its an eggless recipe which requires no baking at all. Since I had less time, I could not take the pictures in a proper manner. But I can guarantee you upon its taste even if the pictures don’t do justice. As its a No-bake cheesecake…it tends to melt down easily if you live in a hot climate. All the more reason to devour it sooner that you think.
Kesar Thandai Cheesecake
Traditional thandai flavours combine with the modern cheesecake. A no-bake dessert perfect for the the festivities.
Ingredients
For Thandai Masala
- 20 nos Almonds
- 20 nos Pistachios`
- 20 nos Cashew Nuts
- 2 tsp Melon Seeds
- 2 tsp Fennel Seeds
- 2 tsp Poppy Seeds
- 2 tsp Cardamom Powder
- 2 tsp Black Pepper Powder
- 10-15 strands Saffron
For The Cheesecake Base
- 24 nos Digestive Biscuits
- 30 gms (2 tbsp) Butter, melted
For the Cheesecake Mix
- 175 gms Cream Cheese
- 175 gms Double Cream or Whipping Cream
- 60 gms (4 tbsp) Castor Sugar
- 1 tsp Vanilla Extract
- 5-10 strands Saffron
- 1 tbsp Warm Milk
- 5 drops Yellow Gel/ Liquid Color
- 1 tsp Lemon Zest
- 2 tbsp Thandai Masala
Instructions
For Thandai Masala
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Dry Roast all the dry fruits for 2-3 minutes.
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In a grinding jar, put all the roasted nuts, poppy seeds, fennel seeds, melon seeds, saffron, black pepper powder, cardamom powder and pulse it to make a coarse powder. Its advisable to pulse and grind the thandai masala else the oils from the nuts will make it into a paste instead of powder.
Store the Thandai Masala in an air tight glass container, refrigerated.
For Cheesecake Base
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Grind the Digestive Biscuits into powder. Add the melted butter into the powdered biscuits and mix well.
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Press the butter and biscuits into the base of a 6 inch Spring form pan into an even layer. Keep the pan in the fridge while preparing the cheesecake mixture.
For Cheesecake Mixture
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Soak the saffron strands in warm milk for around 10-15 minutes.
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In a bowl, Mix together Cream Cheese, Castor Sugar, Vanilla Essence, Lemon Zest until light and fluffy.
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Add the Saffron milk mixture and thandai masala into the cream cheese mixture. Add 5-7 drops of yellow gel color into the cream cheese mixture and mix until incorporated.
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Whisk the whipping cream until you have stiff peaks. With an electrical mixer it should take around 2-5 minutes. Make sure that the whipping cream is chilled for whipping it faster.
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Fold the whipped cream into the cream cheese mix in 2-3 parts gently. Make sure not to whisk rigorously as it will deflate all the air that has been incorporated while whipping the cream.
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Pour the cheesecake into the chilled tin where in the biscuit base was put earlier.
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Cover the cheesecake tin with cling wrap such that it touches the top layer of the cheesecake. Place the prepared cheesecake in the refrigerator for at least 7-8 hours or overnight so that it sets.
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After the cheesecake has rested in the refrigerator, cut a slice and serve.
