Ever heard of a low-fat cheesecake? Here’s your answer to a guilt-free cheesecake made with just two ingredients – hung curd and condensed milk. Inspired by Bhapa Doi, a Bengali style steamed yoghurt dessert with a texture quite close to that of a cheesecake.
Ingredients
- Requirements: Mixer, Blender
- 7” Baking Tin-spring form-or use my aluminium foil hack
- A large Pressure cooker/OTG
- Spatula/spoon
- Aluminium Foil
- Fine Muslin Cloth
- A Few Mixing Bowls
- 1 Cup Full Fat Hung Curd (I like using Amul Gold for this)
- 1 Cup Condensed Milk
- A Pinch of Salt
- Flavouring of Choice: Butter or Ghee to Grease the Tin
- 1 Teaspoon Vanilla Extract/Lemon Zest/Cinnamon/Instant Coffee (basically anything you wish flavour it with)
- Optional but highly recommended crust: 1 Cup Nuts of Choice + Half Cup Dates, Enough Butter to Hold Them Together- About 4-5 Tablespoons (will vary depending on the kind of dates you are using)
- OR
- Crushed Digestive/Oreo/Bourbon/Marie Biscuits.
- Enough Butter to Hold Them Together (Around 4-5 tablespoons depending on the biscuits you are using. You want to create a half-inch thick crust in the tin).
- For the Garnish – Nuts/Chopped Fruits/Caramel Sauce/Chocolate Ganache (See what you can pair with the flavour you have chosen)
Preparation
Prep: 20 minutes
Cooking: 40 minutes
- To make the hung curd – Set curd with half a litre pouch of full-fat milk. Once the curd has set, transfer to a sieve lined with a fine muslin cloth and place over a container with decent height for the whey to get collected in. The whey can be used to make soups/added to your gravies/to make whey soda.
- Alternately, hang the curd tied in a fine muslin cloth over a tall container to collect the whey.
- The curd needs to hang for two hours. This will give you 1 cup of hung curd.
- To make the crust – Crush the nuts and dates in the mixer, add melted butter to the mix and get it together and press down in the greased tin and chill in the fridge for 30 minutes or crush the biscuits, add melted butter and bring it together. The consistency should be such that the mix holds shape firmly when you press it in your fist. Press down in lined tin and chill in the fridge for 30 minutes.
- To make the “cheesecake” batter. Place about two inches of water in the pressure cooker, place a stand over it. The whistle and rubber gasket both have to be left on.
- Using a hand blender, mix the hung curd, condensed milk, salt and flavouring you are using till well incorporated.
- To bake – Pour over on the prepared crust in the well-greased tin. Cover the top with aluminium foil.
- Place over the stand in the pressure cooker. Shut and cook over medium-low heat for 25 minutes. Don’t count the whistles.
- Can do this in a steamer/idly-dhokla cooker for 25 minutes as well. If using OTG, then bake for 25 minutes @150 deg C in a double boiler. No need to add foil on top here.
- Once the pressure drops, open the cooker and remove the cheesecake container carefully and let it come to room temperature. Chill for at least 6 hours before unmolding.
- Garnish with your choice of fruit/nuts/sauces/ganache. I’ve topped it up with mangoes since they are in season.
