No Bake Eggless Mango Cheesecake - Indian version

This will make people go wow and firmly establish you as a great home cook. This mango season and you need to quickly find an excuse to make this. So you can make it a few more times before the season ends. And once you do, you might want to grab as many mangoes as you can and stuff your freezer with them, so you can make it again and again throughout the year. Considering how great this looks with minimal effort, this is sure to become your fall-back item for parties, celebrations or potlucks. You may even want to invent a few celebratory events. The toddler didn't fall flat on his face today. Yay! Let's have cheesecake.

Traditionally, cheesecakes need a spring form pan and are baked with cream cheese using eggs as the setting agent. Cream cheese is not an easily accessible ingredient in regular Indian supermarkets. Spring form pans are not common in a novice baker's kitchen. Cheesecakes then become fancy items that are viewed with suspicion by a home baker. I was like that too until i saw this recipe that promised i could do this with the everyday tools and ingredients of my kitchen. I was sold and other cakes were instantly thrown out to make place for this in my party menu.

Recipe Source: Yummy Tummy

Prep time: 15 minutes

Assembling time: 1 hour

Ingredients:

Base:

30 Good day butter cookies, powdered finely (or use any other of your choice)

75 gm butter melted (100 gm if using milk bikis)

Cheese Layer:

200 gm paneer/cottage cheese
1 tin condensed milk/Milkmaid (400gm)

2 Tablespoon sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla

2 Tablespoon gelatine

300ml mango puree

Mango Jelly Topping:

200ml mango puree

1 Tablespoon gelatine

Method:

Prep:

1. Soak the 3 Tablespoon gelatine in about 1/2 cup cold water for around 15 minutes till it plumps up.
2. To make a fake spring form pan, take a round (or square if that's all you have) freezer-safe bowl/pan with straight sides. Line it with cling wrap and then line the bottom with parchment paper. 
3. If using whole mangoes, remove the skin and seed. Cube the mangoes and puree into a smooth paste in a blender. Strain if your mango pulp is stringy.

Cheesecake base:

1. Take biscuits/cookies in a blender and make into a fine powder. 
2. Melt butter in a pan. Switch off the flame and add the powdered biscuit into it. Mix well. 
3. Tip it onto the base of the prepared pan and press slightly to get an even base. Place the pan in the freezer for 10 minutes.

Cheese layer:

1. Take paneer, condensed milk, vanilla, sugar in a blender and make into a fine puree.
2. Pour this in a bowl and add 300 ml of mango puree to it. Mix well.
3. Bring 1/2 cup water to boil. Add the soaked softened gelatine and mix well till dissolved. Remove from flame.
4. Pour 2/3 of this gelatine to the paneer- mango mixture and mix well. Pour this over the biscuit base and return it to the freezer for 10 minutes.

Mango jelly layer:

1. Mix the remaining gelatine in the 200 ml of mango puree and mix well. Pour it over the cheese layer after the pan has stayed in the freezer for at least 10 minutes and the cheese layer has firmed up slightly. Place in the fridge for 4-6 hours before serving.

To Serve:

Option 1: Remove the cheesecake slowly from the pan with the help of cling wrap and place it over the serving plate. Return it back to the fridge till serving. Slice and serve.

Option 2: Once the cheesecake is set completely, place a clean dry plate on the top of the cheesecake pan. Turn it upside down and gently tap the bottom of the pan so that the cheesecake falls onto the plate. Remove the cling wrap and parchment paper from the bottom. Gently invert back onto your serving plate. Slice and serve.

La's Notes:
I used the second option to serve my cheesecake. If you want to use the first option it is advisable to line the pan with aluminum foil first and then line it with cling wrap and butter paper. The foil will be strong enough to lift the cake out of the pan.
The original recipe called for a total 5 tablespoons of gelatine - 3 for the cheese layer and 2 for the mango jelly layer. I found it to be way too much. In the recipe above i recommend 2 tablespoons for the cheese layer and 1 tablespoon for the jelly layer. I used the recommended 3 tablespoons gelatine for the cheese layer but only 1 tablespoon for the jelly layer and found that the jelly layer had a better texture while the cheese layer appeared too firm.
Use mangoes that are not stringy. Else you may need to strain the mango puree from the blender to get smooth puree.
Use the same quantity of agar agar for a purely vegetarian version.
You can make this in individual serving glasses too.
Garnish with some fresh mint or candied cherries or both for an even more festive look.