Brownie bottom Chocolate Cheesecake

Cheesecakes  are  a  rage in the western world and have now entered our desert menus too. Cheesecakes are essentially of two types-Baked and Non
baked. The baked one require eggs whereas the non-baked ones are eggless, set by using gelatin. 

The main component of a cheesecake is, of course, a cheese. Usually it is cream cheese (sometimes ricotta, quark etc). In our country till some years back cheese essentially meant either Processed cheese (Cheddar) or Pizza cheese (Mozzarella). But actually there are various varieties of cheeses, each specific to a country or region.

When I was reading about cheesecakes I began searching where to find cream cheese. The one usually suggested is of a brand called Philadelphia, nowadays available in the International section of supermarkets  but is a bit too expensive . A little more search helped me to understand the Indian name for it, which is "Chenna"(in hindi).  Yes, the one that is used to make those divine ‘Sandesh’ or  the one we mix with some onion and tomato to eat as bhurjee when the milk gets sour and splits!!

Once I zeroed on the main component, it was time to search for a recipe, which I found in Joy of Baking . I have actually compiled two different recipes to come up with my version of the Brownie Bottom Chocolate Cheesecake.

As exotic as they are, cheesecakes are actually very simple to make and turn out very yummy when made at home.

Ingredients

For the brownie base

·         ½  cup butter

·         2 tbsp dark chocolate

·         1 cup sugar(powdered)

·         2 eggs

·         ¼ cup milk

·         1 cup refined flour

·         ½ tsp salt

For the cheesecake

·      3 cups chenna (read note)

·      3 eggs

·      ½ cup hung curd

·      1 cup dark chocolate

·      ¾ cup sugar(powdered)

Note- To make 3 cups of chenna: Boil 2 litres of milk and add either 1 tsp of lemon juice or a pinch of citric acid to split the milk. Drain on a muslin cloth till the water separates. This milky water is Buttermilk which can be used to boil dal or any veggies or added in place of water to make yummy gravies. What remains in the muslin cloth is chenna. Once cool, blend chenna in a mixer to get a smooth consistency. This is Cream cheese.

Always have your ingredients at room temperature before you start baking .

 

Procedure

For the brownie - 

Preheat oven to 180 degree Celsius. Grease and line  9 inch square (or round)baking tin.

Melt chocolate in the microwave for 1 min and add butter by stirring well or melt chocolate and butter in a heavy saucepan on very low heat stirring constantly. Let it cool.

Add 1 cup powdered sugar and stir well.

Add 2 eggs, one at a time, mixing after each addition until blended. 

Add milk and mix well.

Mix flour and salt and add to the chocolate mixture, until blended.

Spread evenly on the prepared pan and bake for 25 mins or till a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean. Let it cool.

Note : No baking powder is required for the batter as we do not want a risen cake .

For the cheesecake -

Preheat oven to 180 degree Celsius.

Melt chocolate in the microwave for 1 min or on a double boiler till melted. Let it cool.

Mix the cream cheese and ¾ cup powdered sugar until blended well.

Add 3 eggs, one at a time, mixing after each addition until blended.

Blend in hung curd and melted chocolate.

Pour this mixture over the baked brownie and bake for 30-45 mins or until the centre is set.

Let it cool and then refrigerate for 4 hours or overnight before serving.

(Baked cheesecakes are ideally left in the fridge overnight. We obviously could not wait so long, so we devoured the cake within 4 hours of refrigeration!!)

 

A very big thanks to my dewar (brother-in-law) Kushal for taking amazing and mouthwatering pictures of the cake and for being such an inspiration for me to try all the goodies I have been wanting to bake for long time.

            
Happy Cheesecakemaking !!
Amrita