Mango Cheesecake

It’s the most interesting time of the year. Summer is around and so are some of the good things in life. We enjoyed plentiful mangoes and jackfruit this year from our friends’ homes and farms. These are my most favourite fruits and we binge eat mangoes and jackfruit during its season. I remember as a child, watching the fruit vendor loading off a heap of mangoes at the doorway in our old house without even asking my mother and she’d come later to collect the money. Also, I’m a bit partial towards banganapalli. I am not a big fan of the rest of the varieties and luckily Josh and Minu also like the same. I find banganapalli extremely juicy and less fibrous. So during the mango season there are a few default recipes that I make at home with the local mangoes, the most favourite being mango cheesecake. I first tried this recipe when I was in my first year of bachelors at a friends place and the memories are pure bliss. I remember sitting with her mom to pen down the recipe and I have made it hundreds of times at home. It never falters, but through the years I have made many alterations to the recipe and what I pen down below is an absolute hit and fail-proof method.

I have used fresh homemade creamcheese to lift up the flavours, whereas the actual recipe calls for only fresh yoghurt and condensed milk. I like the flavor of creamcheese and love the fact that it helps the cheesecake set firm without the help of gelatin.

Distinct layers of fresh mangoes and whipped homemade creamcheese!

Ingredients

• Mangoes – 2 large (I used banganapalli. You can you any variety available)

• Sugar – ½ cup

• Gelatin – 2 tsp

• Yoghurt/fresh curd – 1.5 cup

• Sweet condensed milk – 1 cup

Crust Layer

• Marie biscuit -15 biscuits

• Butter – melted – ½ cup

• Sugar – 1 tbsp

For Cream Cheese

• Milk – 1.5 litre

• Lemon - 3

• Salt - a pinch

Method

Cream Cheese

1. Bring milk to boil. Simmer and slowly add the juice from 3 lemons in four batches until the milk curdles completely and the whey separates to form a translucent pale yellow liquid.

2. Cool for 10 mins and drain over a sieve lined with muslin cloth and gently press. Do not remove excess water like in the case of panner. Retain a little bit of moisture. Allow to drain for 5 minutes.

3. Add the milk solids to a blender with a pinch of salt and blend well until creamy. Use this creamcheese for the rest of the recipe.

Cheesecake filling

1. Use one mango for fruit layering. I have pureed pulp from one mango with 1 tsp of gelatin (mix one tsp of gelatin in hot water until completely dissolved). Keep aside.

2. For the cheesecake blend together pulp from one mango, condensed milk, yoghurt, creamcheese, sugar, and 1 tsp of gelatin. The amount of sugar can be modified depending on your taste requirements.

Mango layer

1. For this recipe I have pureed one mango and mixed it with 1 tsp of gelatin to set firm.

2. Alternately, you can just tightly line the pan with cut/sliced mangoes. They set well too.

Crust

1. For the crust, crush biscuits to form a coarse meal. Add melted butter and sugar.

Assembling

1. Add the prepared crust filling and press well to form a tight layer. Freeze for 15 minutes.

2. You can use cupcake tins/liners or use a detachable 6 inch cake pan.

3. Remove from freezer. If using sliced mangoes add the cut mangoes and freeze for another 15 minutes. If using puree, add and freeze until well set.

4. Add the creamcheese filling and freeze until well set. It would take 4 to 6 hours to completely set.

5. Remove from mold and serve.

*Notes

• The recipe can be made without gelatin as well. It will still hold firm. The addition of gelatin helps it hold shape even after a few minutes of removing from the fridge. Gelatin makes no taste difference.

• I have used pureed mangoes for this recipe. Sliced mangoes are even better for the fruit layer.