Bakefree Lime Cheesecake

The Indian taste bud has evolved tremendously. Thanks to our global exposure and the new age calorie conscious concerns. International desserts have found a special place in our palette. Among them are cheesecakes from UK and USA which essentially consist of a soft topping of freshly prepared cheese or home made paneer (exclusively for weight watchers) on a base made from biscuits, pastry or sponge cake. They have their own style depending on the place of origin. To give you an example is the classic difference between New York cheesecakes which relies on heavy cream whereas its Philadelphia counterpart is much lighter in texture yet richer in flavour than the former. The options are plenty and the scope for adding your own special touch is immense.

The best part is that these cheesecakes can be easily stored and frozen for later use. So what are you waiting for? Go ahead and try this Karen Anand's recipe of Philadelphia styled Cheesecake which is super friendly to prepare and requires minimum fuss.

Ingredients to serve 6:

For base:

75 g/ 1/2 cup Batter
200 g/ 1 large cup of digestive Biscuit crumbs

For filling:

250 g/ 1 1/2 cups Curd, hung for 2-3 hours
125 ml/ 1/2 cup Cream
2 Eggs separated
200 g/ 1 cup Sugar
4 teaspoon powdered Gelatin dissolved in juice of Limes
Grated rind of two Limes

Method:

Grease a 9" round, loose-bottomed cake tin or a flan ring.

In a bowl, melt butter for the base and stir in biscuit crumbs. Mix well and press into cake tin or flan ring.

For the filling, mix cottage cheese or paneer, hung curd and cream in a mixer.

Cream egg yolks and sugar together and mix into cheese mixture. Stir dissolved gelatin into cheese mixture.

Whisk egg whites till stiff peaks form and fold into cheese mixture along with lime rind.

Spoon filling into cake tin or flan ring and smoothen the top with a knife.

Place it in the refrigerator to set for about 2 hours.

Serve chilled and dig into this sweet delight.