Honestly, before I started writing this blog post, all I knew about cheesecakes was that I liked eating them. However, being true to the nerd I am, I started doing research into the history of cheesecakes and found some pretty cool stuff!
Cheesecakes originated on the Greek island of Samos, where they were traditionally served at weddings, baked by the bride and served to her husband and his family. Primarily comprising only flour, wheat, honey and cheese, they had a long way to go before they became the beloved dessert we all know.
When the Romans invaded the Greek Empire in 146BC, they incorporated some Greek cuisine into their own, and modified the cheesecake by adding eggs to the mixture and baking it in a pastry shell. Soon, the cheesecake spread to other parts of Europe and reached England, where it was christened the ‘Cheesecake’, and the recipe was published in 1545. Centuries later, the cheesecake made its way over to America, where it was further modified by the addition of cream cheese, and the recipe finally took the form of the classic ‘New York Cheesecake’.
Now, a lot of countries have their own variation of cheesecake. Germans make them with Cottage cheese; Greeks prefer them with Feta and Italians with Ricotta, in Japan, they’re made with a mixture of corn starch and egg whites. The ingredients may vary, but the general recipe is usually very similar.
I have a particular soft spot for no-bake cheesecakes. They’re so easy to put together, and the only waiting time involved is letting them set in the refrigerator, unlike the baked version
which requires additional patience through the baking time.
Mango season is slowly coming to an end, so of course I had to make this a mango cheesecake with mangoes from my tree. If you missed my previous post about mango season and my beautiful tree, find it here.
This recipe is heavily influenced by my idols, and is quite the amalgamation of a few of their recipes. First is Pooja Dhingra, India’s Macaron Queen. The arrangement of mango slices like a flower is inspired by the recipe from her first cookbook The Big Book of Treats. Follow her on Instagram (@poojadhingra) for some amazing content. Next, I have to credit Shivesh Bhatia (@bakewithshivesh) for his simple cheesecake recipe.
A combination of these two recipes, with a few modifications inspired by an old cookbook belonging to my mother led me to this recipe. And, my God, it was delicious. My parents were circling around the cheesecake while I was taking photos, impatiently waiting to get a taste. Once they did, it was polished off fairly quickly, and I had to struggle to save a slice or two for a friend.
NO-BAKE MANGO CHEESECAKE
Serves: 10-12
Equipment: 9” round Spring-form Pan*
Ingredients:
Base:
Digestive biscuits* – 160g
Butter – 110g
Filling:
Cream cheese – 450g
Caster Sugar – 200g
Mango Purée – 195g
Vanilla Extract – 1tsp
Gelatine* – 15g
Heavy Cream* – 250ml
Topping:
Mango slices, to decorate
Method:
To make the base, crush biscuits in a food processor until fine (or use a rolling pin and relieve some of that pent up frustration) and mix with melted butter until the mixture forms clumps and the crumbs are evenly coated in butter.
Press into the bottom of the pan, and refrigerate for 30 minutes.
In a microwave-safe bowl, sprinkle the gelatine over 125ml water. Stir and set aside.
In another large bowl, combine the cream cheese, sugar, mango purée and vanilla with an electric mixer. If you don’t have one, use a wire whisk and mix each ingredient in one at a time.
By now the gelatine should have bloomed (solidified into a jelly). Microwave it for 10 seconds at a time until the gelatine is completely dissolved. Let it cool for 5 minutes.
Add the heavy cream and gelatine to the cream cheese mixture and mix well for 1-2 minutes.
Pour over chilled cheesecake base. Smooth the top and refrigerate for at least 6 hours or overnight.
Once the cheesecake has set, remove from pan, top with the mango.
To make the flower, arrange each slice by overlapping slightly over the previous. Start from the outside and make your way towards the centre. Cut into slices and serve!
*Notes:
To remove a cheesecake from the pan easily, it is recommended to use a Spring-form pan or any other pan with a removable base. If you have a smaller pan, reduce the quantity of base and filling and add the remaining to glass jars for mini, portable cheesecakes. If you use a larger pan, you will have a thinner cheesecake which will taste just as good!
160g Digestive Biscuits is approximately 18-20 biscuits depending on the brand and size of each biscuit.
Heavy cream has a higher fat percentage than regular fresh cream. If unavailable, it can be substituted with fresh cream, but your cheesecake filling will have less volume.
Gelatine can be replaced with a vegetarian alternative like agar-agar. The gelatine helps the cheesecake set. If you choose to leave it out, you will have to freeze your cheesecake, and it will not hold its shape when it is taken out of the pan and it comes to room temperature.
What other flavours of cheesecake would you like to see? Comment below and let me know!
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