Cheesecake is pretty easy to make with cream cheese. You will love it too… it is simply the most delicious dessert, rich and satisfying. Top it with caramel sauce or fresh fruit or cherry compote… and you have a stunner!
I looked up a lot of websites before making this New York cheesecake modified into Noida Cheesecake! ‘NOIDA’ because it is where I live as on 2021. I am always for using the ingredients available. So that’s the basis on which I moulded the cheesecake recipe with cream cheese, to suit our palate and resources.
Read on to see what I do!
Jump to RecipeHave you tasted the Burnt Basque Cheesecake that I make without a fuss? It is the most amazing dessert if you want a quicker, more trustworthy and robust cheesecake that does not need any topping whatsoever. It is a more rustic and farmhouse kind of dessert.
If you are looking for inspiration for a make ahead, fuss-free, easy to store and serve dessert, try my mom’s 7-cups recipe… it is actually popular in my family as my grandmother taught it to one and all!
Or the chocolate cheesecake that is a no-bake kind of dessert… again very delicious and made of paneer.
This one, on the other hand, is a delicate, sophisticated and a very presentable dessert for your chic parties or family events. It will be an awesome addition, say, after a good meal with gnocchi or some meal with cold pasta salad and chicken tenders.
Cream cheese is now readily available in the Indian market, making the perfect cheesecake within our reach.
Ingredients for the cheesecake (with cream cheese)
As I had mentioned before, the main ingredients for this cheesecake is cream cheese. In addition, traditional recipes call for cream and sour cream. Now, since I do not have access to sour cream, I simply collect cream from the top of the milk I boil at home in a box and add a bit of curd to it.
So, I keep adding more cream everyday, and give it a stir once in two days with a teaspoon of fresh curd. Once the cream box comes to around a cup and a half, it’s good to go!
The cheesecake comes together very easily if you do have good cream cheese. I used D’lecta … it comes in a large pack and stays for a month in the fridge without any problems. And fresh cream, eggs and sugar. Some lime juice. And vanilla essence.
It is a baked cheesecake and I also suggest you use a springform cake tin for this… as you will be able to unmould it easily and stun your family and friends!
NOIDA Cheesecake
Course: DessertCuisine: WesternDifficulty: Medium10
servings15
minutes1
hourIngredients
500 g Biscuits (Use a combination of Marie and Digestive Biscuits)
1/2 cup butter
1 1/2 cup cream cheese at room temperature ( I used d’lecta)
1 cup fresh cream from a carton at room temperature ( I used Amul)
1 cup prepared cream or sour cream (see notes)
3/4 cup sugar
2 eggs + 1 yolk
1/2 lime squeezed to extract juice
3 tbsp corn flour
1 tsp vanilla essence
1/4 tsp salt
Directions
- Break biscuits into a blender and grind to a fine powder. You can do it in two to three lots.
- Warm butter very gently in a thick bottomed pan. Dump the biscuit powder in it and continue mixing till all the butter is absorbed into the powder. Turn off the heat. Mix till there is no dry crumb visible.
- In a 8-10 inch springform cake tin, (depending on whether you want the cheesecake to be thick or thin) spread the buttered powder. Use a small flat, small vessel to press it gently on the bottom. Spread some of the biscuit to the sides also. Using the bottom and sides of the vessel, use gentle pressure to form a biscuit layer all along the sides and bottom of the springform tin.
It is OK if it is slightly uneven… the cheesecake will still look pretty! If you don’t have a springform tin, refer to the notes below.
- Bake the biscuit covered tin for 10 minutes in a moderately hot oven… around 150°C. REmove from oven and keep aside to cool. Do not jerk or shake the tin.
- Meanwhile, whisk the cream cheese till smooth using a whisk or a hand blender till smooth. Do not over do this step. We do not want to incorporate air in it.
- Add the eggs, one at a time. Keep mixing it in. Now add the corn flour. Finally add the egg yolk.
- Now add the sugar, salt, vanilla and lime juice. Blend well.
- Add the fresh cream and whisk till smooth. Finally add the prepared cream. Mix well till it is all in one uniformly smooth mixture.
- Preheat the oven to 175 °C. Throughout the baking and the further setting in the oven, remember you cannot open the oven at all.
- Prepare the springform tin for baking by covering the bottom and the sides with two layers of aluminium foil. Find a tray or pan larger than the springform tin. Fill this larger pan or tray with an inch of hot water.
- Pour the prepared mixture in the tin. Gently smooth it out.
- Bake at 175 °C. for 30 minutes. Without opening the oven, reduce the temperature to 150 °C. Continue baking for 30 minutes more. Finally put off the oven but let the cheesecake tin sit in the oven, undisturbed, for 1 hour more.
- Take out of the oven and let it cool to room temperature.
- Now set it in the fridge for 6 hours or more. Take out the cheesecake from the springform tin very carefully. You can choose to leave the rim or frill-like sides of the biscuit like I did, or trim it to the same height as the cheesecake. Put on a flat decorative plate and serve with or without topping. Enjoy!
Notes
- Remember to not open the oven door till the cheesecake has been in the oven for a total of 2 hours.
- Chill the cheesecake, preferably overnight, to ensure it sets well.
- This cheesecake freezes really well. Simply cover it with aluminuim foil and pop it in the freezer. Thaw for about 6 hours in the fridge before you need to serve it.
- You can make it without a springform tin, but it will be difficult to remove the first few slices. But post that, I am sure you will find it just as neat to cut and serve.