Saturday 14 February 2015

Posted by jinson on 01:52
Prep time: 30 min
Cook time: 5 min
Yield: 8
Main Ingredients: blueberries cream cheese

Ingredients

  • For the base:
  • Britannia Marie biscuits -180 gms (or digestive biscuits)
  • Butter - 5 1/2 tbsps, melted
  • For cheese cake layer:
  • Hot water - 3/4 cup
  • Agar agar - 2 tbsps strands or 1 tsp agar agar powder
  • Cream cheese - 1 cup/225 gms, room temperature (I used Philadelphia brand)
  • Whipping cream - 1/2 cup/120 ml
  • Powdered Sugar - 1/2 cup
  • Blueberry preserve - 1 cup
  • Vanilla extract - 1/4 tsp

    Method

    1. Grease a 8" springform pan or a round cake pan with a removable bottom.
    2. Crush the biscuits using a rolling pin to a fine crumb consistency powder. Add the melted butter, mix well and add this mixture to the greased pan. Press to the bottom to form a uniform thin layer. Refrigerate to set (approx 30 to 40 mts) while you prepare rest of the recipe.
    3. Mix the agar agar strands in 3/4 cup of warm water and set aside for 15 mts. Place the agar agar mixture over a pan of simmering water and keep mixing till it is fully dissolved. Allow to cool a bit.
    4. Warm the blueberry preserve slightly and add the warm and melted agar agar mixture into it and mix well. Set aside for a mt.
    5. To prepare the cheesecake, place the cream cheese, powdered sugar and vanilla extract in a stainless steel bowl. Using an electric mixer, beat together till it forms a smooth mixture, approx 2 mts.
    6. Add HALF of the blueberry-agar agar mixture to the cream cheese mixture and mix well till fully incorporated, approx 30 secs.
    7. In a separate bowl, whip the whipping cream till peaks form and fold it gently in two batches into the cream cheese mixture. Do not over mix.
    8. Remove the springform pan from the fridge and pour the prepared cream cheese mixture all over the biscuit base and smooth the top. Cover with cling film wrap and refrigerate for 2 1/2 hours or till almost set.
    9. After two hours, place the bowl containing remaining half of blueberry-agar agar mixture (which would have become solid) over a pan of simmering water and keep mixing till it is fully dissolved and becomes a liquid. Turn off flame, remove the pan from the simmering water and cool for 2 mts.
    10. Remove the springform pan from the fridge, remove the cling film wrap and pour the blueberry glaze evenly all over the set cream cheese layer. Cover with cling film again and refrigerate for another 2 to 3 hours or till serving time.

    Tips

    • You can set the cheesecake in individual glasses too. In that case, set the biscuit layer in the glass and refrigerate while you prepare rest of the recipe.
    • If using hung curd/yogurt (instead of cream cheese), add 1/2 cup of freshly made crumbly paneer and blend to a smooth paste.
    • You can substitute the agar agar with gelatin. If using gelatin, use 1 tbsp.
    • To prepare gelatin, place the gelatin in a bowl with 1/4 cup cold water. Keep aside for a few minutes to allow it to bloom (the gelatin absorbs the water). Add 1/4 cup of warm water to it and place the bowl over very low flame and stir till the gelatin dissolves. It should not boil. Turn off heat and cool.
    • The original recipe called for digestive biscuits which I substituted with Britannia Marie biscuits.