A Fruity Cheesecake

 “I'm not a vegetarian! I'm a dessertarian!” 

Bill Watterson, Calvin and Hobbes

 

 I Love Desserts and have confessed so a zillion times!! Blame it to my 'staying in Bengal' genes. I am the kind who eyes the dessert menu before moving to the main course. There is a kind of magnetic pull that makes me hunt for them. I make a mental note of the available varieties and keep my appetite adjusted to devour them in the end. Yes, I like to eat them very slow, enjoying and relishing every minute fraction of the sweet beauty!! And as much as I love eating them, I love to make desserts at home. My little diary is heaped up with dessert recipes and I long for reasons(or none) to try them. 
Apart from the sinful Chocolate recipes, I love to make desserts which incorporate fruits. Seasonal fruits are awaited every year to be turned into easy and simple desserts. Last year I made batches of the yummy Mango Mousse, Mango Cheesecake and Mango Banana Gelato. 
This time I wanted to reinvent the Mango cheesecake and incorporate chunks of the fruit in it. While planning I stumbled upon the idea of using chunks of different coloured fruits. And Voila! here it is my Fruity Cheesecake experiment.
What I loved the most was the attractive colour combination of the fresh and seasonal fruits. You may try any other fruit combination. I always like to use local available ingredients and so my cheesecake has hung curd and Paneer in it. You may use Cream cheese, if easily available at your part of the world. Together with the soft and fresh cheesecake, it surely is now one of my favorite Dessert.

Ingredients : For a 5" round cheesecake

• 4-5 digestive biscuits
• 2 tbsp melted/softened butter
• 1/2 cup hung curd, preferably overnight
• 1/2 cup Paneer, crumbled
• 1/2 cup cream (I used Amul)
• 2 tbsp sugar
• 1/2 tbsp gelatin
• 2 tbsp cold water(to soak the gelatin)
• chopped fruits-I used Mango, Papaya and Kiwi fruit

 

Procedure:
Place the biscuits in a kitchen towel/cloth and crush them with a rolling pin. Gather in a bowl.
Add melted/softened butter and mix well. 
Line a 5" round tin and press the biscuit mixture evenly on the base. Refrigerate to set for 1/2 hour.
(Check here to see details to line a round tin for the cheesecake instead of a springform pan.)
Sprinkle gelatin over cold water and let it sit for 5 mins till it gets spongy.
Take hung curd, paneer, cream and sugar in a mixer bowl and churn till it gets mixed well.
Pour this mixture in a pan and warm it over low heat. Take care not to boil.
Mix the gelatin and remove from flame.
Mix well so that the gelatin gets dissolved.
Add chopped fruits(reserving some for garnishing)
Pour the cheesecake mixture over the biscuit layer.
Refrigerate for 3-4 hours or till set. 

To remove the cheesecake from tin, heat little water in a wide pan(do not boil). Place the tin in it for a count of ten and remove. Now carefully invert and tap from bottom taking care not to crack the cheesecake. As it begins to loosen, use the hanging liners to pull the cheesecake out(see here)

Garnish with chopped fruits. I used a heart mould in the center and placed the fruits in it to get a heart arrangement of fruits.

 

Slice and serve. Dip knife in warm water to get clean and neat slices.

 

This Fruity Cheesecake is a modern reminder of the amazing, classic and famous dessert Fruit cream.

A perfect summer desert.

Happy Fruity Cheesecake Eating

Amrita