Gulab Jamun Cheese Cake

Hello everyone it’s been few months since I have posted my last blog.. It’s been the busiest few months of my life. I was travelling from mid November to mid January – Malaysia and India ( Agra, Vrindavan, Amritsar, Delhi and Mumbai)..  Getting back to Melbourne to a hectic schedule of my elder one starting school- prep.. Getting her uniform, books and other things sorted and getting us more ready emotionally and physically for a full time routine; it was a roller coasters ride for us.. Coping issues with little one, anxiety, nervousness for elder one and settling back with a long period jet lag took me completely away from my blogging world..

I did keep cooking even in India and back home in Melbourne – wrote my recipes clicked photos but just no time to consolidate and upload them and now by end of February when things looks good, settled and adjusted to the new routine I am back..

Omg!! I missed this space so much, I was constantly peaking in to read recipes from awesome bloggers!! I was partially alive though.. lol

A special thanks to my blogger friends who messaged me to ask about me being missing and some messages saying they missed my blogs!! You guys are an inspiration to me and reason for me to be what I am!! As mentioned before also, I am not a chef or a professional blogger I am a home cook with minimal writing skills but an extraordinary nature to learn and share!

The toughest part was brainstorming what to make for my first returning post and that took a while, My husband’s birthday was in end of January so thought let’s make it a double reason to celebrate.. So I decided to make this cheese cake which was on my list for a while..

Presenting the No Bake Gulab Jamun Cheesecake with all desi ingredients.. This recipe is truly inspired from internet search and clubbing few recipes… Honestly not my version!! Except the entire idea of decorating it.. It’s a simple but yet very intricate recipe do try and share your cake photos..

Method:

 For the base:

• In a chopper add the biscuits and cashew nuts. Make a powder; make sure no big pieces are left.

• In a Mixing bowl, combine the powdered biscuit and butter. Mix using a spoon till everything is combined very well.

• I used an 8” spring foam pan, layer it with baking paper at the bottom, and grease the sided with butter and then put the mixture and press it down evenly.

• Make sure to use some pressure but not too much or else the base with are very hard.
• Push the mixture even to the sides to get a beautiful binding and cake shape.

• Refrigerate the base till the filling is ready.

Some preparations for the filling:

• In ¼ cup of milk add the saffron and microwave it for 20 seconds or heat it in a pan till the saffron releases it colour, keep aside.

• Prepare the gelatin as per you packet instructions and keep aside. PS – I have used gelatin powder and I mixed 1 tbsp of powder in 5 tbsp cold water and then used a double boiler method (Keeping one bowl over boiling water) and mixed it till the gelatin dissolved completely and kept it aside. Make sure to strain it before using.

• Put the gulab jamun’s in a strainer to make sure all the water has drained out and jamun’s are dry.

For the filling:

• Using a large blender jar, add in the paneer, cream, hung yogurt and condensed milk.

• Blend them to make a smooth mixture, no lumps at all.
• Pour the mixture in a mixing bowl and then add the saffron mixture, gelatin mixture and cardamom powder mix it with a spoon.
• Now remove the base from the fridge and place the gulab jamun’s in it, it should fit in 17 – 18. PS – You can place less if you want to it’s totally your wish.

• Then pour the blended mixture over it and tap the spring foam pan to make sure the mixture spreads evenly.

• Refrigerate the pan for at least 5 to 6 hours.

• Once the cake has set well remove it from the pan carefully and use your imagination to decorate it.

• Like me you can use the leftover gulab jamun to decorate the cake or else you can use any sorts of nuts, berries..

Note:

• For the base some people use chopped cashew nuts, but I prefer to chop in the chopper for finer texture
• Some people use baking paper on sides also, but then there are chances you might get folding marks if the paper folds at any point. So for best result use paper at the bottom and grease the sides.
• It’s very simple to make hung yogurt, for this recipe you need ½ cup of it so in muslin cloth put ¾ cup of yogurt and hang it on a tap or put some pressure on it by placing heavy object. All water should be released from the yogurt. For best result leave it overnight or else 3-4 hours should also do the job.
• It’s very import to make the gelatin the proper way, you can even use the gelatin sheets just follow the packet instructions. Straining the gelatin is also a very important step.
• The gulab jamun needs to be dry, so make sure to put it in a strainer for approx 30 minutes. You can even use dry gulab jamun or any variety or flavor it’s totally your choice.
• If the jamun’s you are using are big ones or the oval ones you can cut them in half and place the cut side down.