Holi special: Kokum cheesecake

Have you ever tried kokum in cheesecake? Tempt your sweet tooth with this scrumptious offbeat flavour. This Holi try making something beyond your regular menu.

Holi is incomplete without sugary indulgence. We have scoured various chefs' kitchen just to bring you the most unique dessert preparation that you have never tried before.

Inspired by traditional Indian sweets the dish has the perfect tinge of sweet and sour flavour. This luscious preparation will leave the sweet-toothed asking for more.

“Kokum is usually used in making kokum sherbet, sol Kadi or at times its combined in making juices. However, it’s never explored much as an ingredient, hence we decided to use it in something that’s trending in the food industry. Cheesecake was our pick, and the end result was worth it. Kokum cheesecake is a bit sweet and sour, but the flavours are balanced perfectly,” says Chef Gaurav Chakraborty, Executive Chef, Novotel Imagica, Khopoli.

Ingredients:                          

For Cheese cake base

• 100 gm   Cheese cracker biscuit                         
• 80 gm     Butter unsalted                                              
• 50gm      Caster Sugar                                   

Method:

• Powder the cheese crackers and add some soft butter and caster sugar in it.
• Mix the mixture together and then refrigerate it.

For Kokum Cheese Cake

• 450 gm   Cream Cheese                                      
• 90 gm     Fresh Cream                                     
• 75 gm     Butter Unsalted                                   
• 75 gm     Caster Sugar                             
• 3 no’s      Eggs                                                
• 30 gm     Kokum pieces

Method:

• Cook fresh cream and Kokum together.
• Soak till the kokum infuse well and blend it obtain a smooth texture paste.
• Mix cream cheese and kokum paste and sugar in mixer with whisk attachment and add eggs one by one, lastly add melted butter.
• Line a cake ring with aluminium foil and spread the biscuit base at the bottom of the ring and pour the cheese cake mixture, and bake at 140 degrees for 30 minutes with water Bath (double boiler).

Note: Centre part will be slight wobbling as it will set after cooling, do not over bake which lead to crack from centre. Rest in refrigerator for 30 minutes.

For Kokum Glaze

• 250 gm   Kokum pulp     
• 100 gm   Sugar                                      
• 04 gm     Agar Agar                            

Method:

• In a clean saucepan boil the kokum puree and add Sugar and Agar agar together.
• Cook it for 2 minutes and cool it down.
• Use the Kokum Glaze as required.

Assemble:

• Melt the kokum glaze and pour from the top to cover the cake.
• Refrigerate it again for 10 minutes to allow glaze to set.
• Garnish and serve chilled quenelle of fresh cream.
• The recipe above is contributed by Novotel Imagica, Khopoli.