NEHA DEEPAK SHAH: Tangerine - citrus Cheesecake

Whenever you get a chance to read my posts, they would all be Lacto – vegetarian. I was raised being a lacto – vegetarian and thereby it has been inculcated in me, hence my recipes do not even include eggs.

It was Sunday morning and I was craving something sweet. I looked IN my refrigerator and f.ound some Quark cheese and some mascarpone cheese; hence a no-bake cheesecake was in order. I love both of them as Quark cheese is low fat and Mascarpone is so velvety. Since I am a a lacto-vegetarian, I do not use gelatin in my cheesecake, I substitute it with ‘Vegetarian gelatin’ – as it is sold in the speciality shops (it is actually carrageenan). Use exactly the same amounts as gelatin but no soaking is required. All you have to do is beat it along with some warm water

Recipe – This recipe makes 2 3 inch cheese cakes

INGREDIENTS

Crust

Digestive Biscuits / Graham Cracker – 8 (ground to a fine powder)

Melted Butter – 2 tbsp (30 g)

Filling Base

Mascarpone Cheese – ½ cup

Quark Cheese – ½ cup

Hung curd / yoghurt (hung overnight 1 cup curd = ¼ cup hung curd) – ¼ cup

Vegetarian Gelatin (Carrageenan) – 1 tsp dissolved in 1 tbsp warm water

Whipping cream – ¼ cup whipped

Powdered sugar – ½ cup

Flavouring - Orange Juice concentrate / Lemon juice

Jelly Layer

Orange / lemon orange jelly crystals - 1/2 pack

METHOD

Crust

Mix the powdered biscuits and the melted butter together. Spoon it in the dish you are going to present it in. I used mousse rings. Press the mixture till it is firm and compact. Freeze it for about 30 minutes.

Base Filling

In a bowl mix all the ingredients together. Use the sugar as per the sweetness desired by you. Add the Orange juice concentrate,Lemon juice and orange pieces to it and spoon over the crust and level with a spatula.

Jelly Layer

Make the jelly layer as per the pack instructions. and pour over the filling layer.

Refrigerate this for about 4 – 5 hous before de-moulding it. Carefully de-mould it and garnish as desired. I used tangerine slices and mint to garnish.