You’ve heard of Basque cheesecake and New York-style cheesecake but have you heard of Ramalai cheese cake? No? We are here to change that. We have the perfect cheesecake that combines the sturdiness of the New York-style cheesecake, with its wholesome crust, the balanced creaminess of the cake, and the goodness of the soft and spongy Rasmalai, all in one dessert! Try the Rasmalai cheese cake recipe and decorate it the way you’d like to.
Rasmalai Cheesecake Recipe
Ingredients
For the base:
- 300 gm Digestive biscuits
- 120 gm unsalted butter, melted
- 50 gm pistachios, finely chopped
For the cheesecake:
- 300 ml of the milk, from the Rasmalai
- A few strands of saffron
- 800 gm cream cheese
- 150 gm granulated sugar
- 60 gm corn flour
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 2 tsp cardamom powder
- 160 gm white chocolate, melted
For decoration (optional):
- Whipped cream
- Pistachios, chopped
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 170°C. Grease the bottom and sides of an 8-inch cake tin. Then place parchment paper in it.
- Put the biscuits in a ziplock pouch and crush them with a rolling pin until they are crumbs.
- Mix the crushed biscuits with the melted butter and chopped pistachios. Then add this mixture to the cake tin. Press it down firmly until it forms a flat, even layer. Set aside.
- In a pot, add 300 ml of Rasmalai milk. Crush saffron strands with your hands, then add this to the pot too.
- Place this onto medium heat and let it simmer. Don't let it come to a full boil. Once simmering, remove from heat and leave this aside to cool down a bit.
- Take a big bowl, and add the cream cheese, sugar, corn flour, vanilla extract, and cardamom powder. Mix, then add half of the saffron-infused milk. Whisk thoroughly, then pour the remaining milk and mix to combine.
- Add the melted white chocolate to the mixture and mix well.
- Cut a few pieces of the rasmalai and fold them into the batter. Add as much as you want, leaving some for decoration.
- Pour the batter into the cake tin over the biscuit base and smoothen with a spatula.
- Take a large baking tray with high sides. Pour some boiling water into this tray until it reaches about halfway up the sides of the tin with the cheesecake in it.
- Carefully place this into the preheated oven and bake for 50-55 minutes. Once done, the cheesecake will look set but the center will still be slightly jiggly.
- Turn the oven off and open the door slightly. Leave the cheesecake in there for 1 hour.
- After an hour, take the cheesecake out of the oven. Let this cool down to room temperature. Once completely cooled, place it into the fridge to set overnight.
- The next day, take it out of the tin and decorate.
- For decoration, pipe some whipped cream on top, sprinkle some chopped pistachios over this, then add pieces of the reserved rasmalai.
If you don’t wish to use storebought Rasmalai, here’s a straightforward Rasmalai recipe from scratch that also shows you how to make the rasgullas. You can use the tin rasgullas too if you don't want to deal with the hassle of handmaking them.
Homemade Rasmalai Recipe
(Makes 12 pieces)
Ingredients
For Chenna:
- 1.2 liter full-fat milk
- 45 ml lemon juice
- 45 ml water
- 1-liter ice water
For Sugar Syrup:
- 200 gm sugar
- 825 ml water
- ¼ tsp cardamom powder
Instructions
- To make the Chenna, Heat milk in a saucepan until boiling, then remove from heat. Mix lemon juice with the water and add to the milk, stirring constantly until the milk curdles.
- Add the cold water, and let it stand briefly.
- Line a colander with muslin cloth and strain the mixture through it. Thoroughly wash chenna to remove sourness.
- Squeeze out liquid, tie the cloth, and suspend for about an hour. Aim for moist, grainy texture without excess moisture.
- Transfer the chenna to a clean surface and knead thoroughly until smooth. Divide it into 12 portions, shape it into flattened circles. Smooth any cracks on edges. Set aside.
- To make the sugar syrup, take water in a saucepan with the sugar, and bring it to a boil. Once the sugar dissolves, add cardamom.
- As it starts rapidly boiling, carefully add chenna pieces. Cover and cook on medium-high for 9-10 minutes.
- Remove from heat, keeping lid on to maintain shape. The chenna discs will sink when ready.
- Remove chenna from the syrup, allow to cool. Gently press to remove excess syrup.