Safarnamay: Eid Recipes Series – 4th Edition: Mahvish’s Very Berry Cheesecake

Prep time: 50 minutes (sauce plus cheesecake)

Setting time: 1 hour

As the Eid Recipes Series comes to an end, I thought I should wrap it up with some mithaas. It’s meethi Eid, afterall! Aur mithaas ke saath seasonal fruits ho jaein to kya hi baat hai.

What makes my cheesecake a winner is its very berry sauce topping. It is so shiny and eye-catching! To make it, I use mixed berries. I use strawberries because I like their flavor and smell. I use raspberries because I like their tangy punch and the texture their seeds add. I use blackberries too for the colour they add. However, I do understand that finding a variety of berries is not typically easy in Pakistan. But not to worry! You can use only strawberries too, if they are in season. And, if you want to make your life even simpler, just buy blueberry sauce topping off the shelf (I used the American Garden brand in Pakistan) from stores such as Al Fatah in Lahore or Agha’s or Paradise in Karachi.

I decided to share my easy breezy and very popular cheesecake recipe because I felt it would be a brilliant feature to add to an Eid trolley. It is so simple to make. It is beautiful to look at. And it is fresh. The crazy part is that it is cheese-less. Yet, a cheesecake nonetheless. Naam jo bhi de dein, hai fit. To aaein seekhtey hein, iss khubsurat se meethay ko bananay ka tareeqa e kaar.

Ingredients:

Digestive biscuits 200 grams

1 tin of condensed milk 400 grams

Cream 400 ml (2 packets of Milkpak or Olper’s cream for Pakistan)

Melted butter 100 grams

Gelatin powder (I use Rosemoor brand from Pakistan)

Berries of your choice (2 roughly filled mugs)

Sugar

Method:

For the sauce:

In a saucepan, add 1 mug of water, 1 tablespoon sugar and the berries.
Allow the water to come to a boil. Then lower the heat so that the fruit cooks and eventually disintegrates.
Use a hand blender to puree the fruit.
Cook the sauce further until it starts to thicken.
In about 2-3 tsps of lukewarm water, add 2 tsps of gelatin and mix quickly. Then add the gelatin to the sauce ad stir well
Allow the sauce to cool down and then put it in the fridge so it may thicken a little more
It takes about 25 minutes for the sauce to cook to its desired consistency.

For the Cheesecake:

In a blender, crush together the biscuits and the melted butter. They will combine to form a coarse mixture.

Now layer the base of the container in which you intend to set the cheesecake while pressing with a spoon so that the biscuit is packed tightly. [You can use the traditional cheesecake mould, which is removed after the cake is set or use shot glasses/small bowls to make individual servings like me. I prefer the individual servings because they look so cute!]

Put the bowls in the fridge for a few minutes so that the base is firmly set
In a large mixing bowl, whisk the condensed milk and the cream together

Then add 3 tsps of gelatin in about 4 tsps of lukewarm water and mix well. Add the gelatin to the mixture and whisk again
Now, pull out the bowls from the fridge and layer the creamy mixture on top. Keep in mind that the biscuit base should form ¼ of the dessert and the creamy mixture ¾

Put the bowls back into the fridge and allow 1 hour for the dessert to set
Once the cheesecake is ready, garnish your bowls. In my photos, I have given you 4 ideas for garnishing and decorating. You can pick your favourite style or even mix and match!