Strawberry Cheesecake
Cheesecake is a very popular dessert and is made from cream cheese , cream and eggs. It is either baked or set with gelatine like a pie over a base of biscuit crumbs or pastry. Cream cheese is a sweet, soft, mild-tasting, white cheese that contains at least 33% fat. It is sold in brick form or in a small, tub-like container. It is a primary ingredient in cheesecake.
It can be substituted with labneh or curd cheese/ hung curd made from full fat milk. The curds need to drain at least for 6 hours or overnight before it is firm enough to use in place of cream cheese. A combination of curd cheese and cream cheese can also be used. Curd cheese is made by hanging the curd in loosely woven cheesecloth or thin cotton cloth and letting the whey drip off. The fat content is much lower than cream cheese.
- 100 g biscuit crumbs
- 40 g butter or margarine
- 300 g (approx) curd cheese (labneh or hung curd) made from 700 ml thick curds
- 250 g cream cheese
- 250 g cream
- 2 eggs
- 3/4 cup castor sugar
- 2 tbsp full cream milk powder (only if curd cheese is used)
- 1 lemon juice
- 2 tbsp gelatin
- Melt the butter or margarine. Mix in biscuit crumbs.
- Place ring mould over serving plate. Line sides with parchment/wax paper.
- Sprinkle the mixture of biscuit crumbs on the base at the bottom of the ring. Press well and refrigerate to harden.
- Sprinkle gelatin over 100 ml water. Keep aside for ten minutes to soften. Heat in microwave for 1 minute or over gentle heat until dissolved. Cool.
- Beat cream cheese, lebneh/curd cheese and sugar with an electric mixer. Add cream, eggs, essence, lemon juice and milk powder (if used) and beat again.
- Add dissolved gelatin and beat again with hand mixer.
- Chill in freezer or over ice until semi set. You need to stir it every 2 minutes until ready.
- Pour over biscuit base and set in refrigerator for at least 6 hours or overnight.
- Remove metal ring and parchment/wax paper.
- Decorate with fruit topping. Sprinkle with a little icing sugar if strawberries are tart. Chill until served.
This recipe is for an 8” ring mould.
Note : the hung curd can be replaced with an equal quantity of cream cheese.