Eggless Gulab Jamun Cheesecake

Gulab Jamun is a milk-based Indian dessert that is soaked in sugar syrup with a hint of rose. Khoya or milk solids are kneaded into a soft dough with a little flour, deep-fried, and soaked in syrup. They are addictive and are made for many festivals, get-togethers, parties, and birthdays too! We make it often. There is no need for a reason to make this dessert. If you haven't tried this, you are missing something. One try, and for sure you will be addicted to it for lifelong. These can be easily modified and many variants of the original can be made which are equally tasty too. 

Cheesecake is always creamy, decadent and it is absolute bliss. There is no stress when you enjoy it. The creaminess of the cream cheese along with a little tart sour cream perfectly balances the sweet gulab jamun making it even more enjoyable. The flavors dance in your mouth to all your tunes.  

We love both gulab jamun and cheesecake. They are great candidates for fusion cooking. They go very well with creamy desserts and hence offer a chance to make a plethora of fusion desserts. Both gulab jamun and cheesecake are make-ahead desserts. So combining both is quite easy. This fusion is going to satisfy all the flavors that you ever dreamed of. 

I love this recipe. Over the years, slowly I had reduced the sugar and butter too. This has the perfect balance of sweetness too. The gulab jamun is sweet too and wanted to have the right balance of sugar in the cheesecake. I used a 200g gulab jamun mix for this cheesecake. A couple of things to keep in mind when baking cheesecake - baking in a water bath, and leaving it to cool inside the oven for some time followed by cooling outside. Then it should be refrigerated for at least 4 hours before serving. The center should be a little jiggly when it finishes baking. It will firm up when it completes the cooling inside. 

Here is the list of my recipes posted for Bake-A-Thon 2020. 

Ingredients

Makes one 9-in cheesecake

Crust

Graham cracker crumbs - 1 and 3/4 cups

Butter - 6 to 8 tbsp

Filling

Cream cheese - 24 oz, 3 8-0z packages, room temperature

Sour cream - 1/2 cup

Heavy whipping cream - 1/2 cup

Sugar - 1/2 cup

Condensed milk - 2/3 of a 14-oz can

Corn starch - 3 tbsp

Water - 3 tbsp

Cardamom powder - 1/2 tsp

Saffron - 2 generous pinches

Gulab Jamun - 40 -42

Method

Cover the outside of the springform pan with aluminum foil. This is to prevent water from seeping inside the cheesecake pan when it bakes in a hot water bath. Line the inside with a circle of parchment paper. Also line the inner edges with parchment paper. This helps in the easy release from the sides. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. For the crust layer, mix the graham crackers crumbs and melted butter. Add to the lined springform pan. Press down with a flat glass to set a uniform crust layer. I like to have some crust on the side edges too, as they give a border to the gulab jamun that would be arranged later. This crust can be left as a flat layer too. 

Whip the heavy cream to and set aside. In a bowl, add the cream cheese and sugar, and beat well. Add in the condensed milk, sour cream and beat well. Mix corn flour and water. Add it to the cream cheese mix. Add crushed saffron and cardamom. Mix thoroughly. Fold in the whipped cream.

Arrange about 36 gulab jamuns on the crust. Pour the cream cheese mixture on it. Tap a couple of times. Carefully, place this on a tray and pour hot water to half the height of the pan. 

Bake in the oven for 40 minutes. Switch off the oven and let it cool inside for another 30-40 minutes. Remove from the oven and let it cool completely. Remove the foil wraps and refrigerate for at least 4 hours. Slowly release the springform pan lock, remove the pan, and also remove the parchment from the sides. 

Add a few more chopped, or sliced gulab jamuns, a few whipped cream swirls which are optional. The gulab jamun cheesecake can be served without the additional decorations on top too.