Cream cheese crackers with coriander and carum seeds

Cream cheese is a very versatile ingredient that can be used in breads, biscuits, desserts (of course!) and frostings. It carries the flavour of whatever ingredient you add along with it. It provides that light, fluffy texture to savoury dishes without having to add too much butter/oil. It is, however, difficult to store for too long in the refrigerator. I have seen that securing the lid with a cling wrap works well  and the cheese keeps fresh for about 10 days. I have a huge tub of cream cheese sitting in my fridge and you will see that I will be using it in everything I make the coming fortnight!

These lovely cheese bars can be flavoured as per your desire. You could use other combinations: garlic/thyme, grilled paprika/rosemary, curry leaves/asafoetida etc. Make them sweet with chocolate chips, cinnamon, apples etc; the choices are endless. They are very quick to make with no fuss and no mess. Store them in an airtight container to keep them crisp and fresh.

Portion: Makes 50 crackers
Ingredients
110 g all purpose flour
50 g salted butter
100 g mascarporne or Philadelphia cream cheese (room temp)
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking powder
Fresh chopped coriander
1/2 tsp carum (ajwain) seeds
1 egg white
Dried onion seeds (kalonji) and sesame seeds for decorating

Method

Mix together the flour, salt, baking powder, carum seeds, fresh chopped coriander along with the butter and cream cheese to make a soft dough; do not work the dough too much. Transfer the dough to a clean, lightly floured surface and roll it out into a flat rectangle, about 1/2 inch thick. Use cookie cutters or a pizza cutter to make 1.5 inch wide and about 4 inch long crackers. Transfer very carefully to a tray lined with a baking sheet and greased well. Give the crackers a light egg wash with a soft, silicone brush. Sprinkle the sesame and onion seeds on top.

Bake in a preheated oven at 175 degrees Celsius for 15-20 minutes, until golden brown. Enjoy with a steaming cup of masala chai!

Real vanilla bean cheesecake with blueberry topping

Everyone who knows me knows that I always order a cheesecake for dessert when I’m dining out. I have always wanted to try making it at home and now I can say with some confidence that I know how to make a decent one. I would still recommend that you buy one off the shelf rather than make one at home, simply because cream cheese is so expensive in India and It’s not worth it to make a huge one for a dinner party. But my love for baking and my gluttony for cheesecake make me want to bake it again and again!

My version involves a shortbread crust to go with the cheesecake but you could do with a biscuit/cracker base as well. I always use fresh vanilla scraped off the vanilla bean, but this can most definitely be substituted with vanilla extract.

This cheesecake is actually a shortcut version of the actual one; it takes only 20 minutes to bake and a couple of hours to chill before serving. I used Philadelphia cream cheese, which is the classic cheese used for cheesecakes. But you could also try ricotta, mascarpone, curd cheese or cottage cheese. However, if you want the taste to be spot on, go for Philadelphia cream cheese. It’s expensive but it makes the cut.

I can think of a few things you should remember while doing cheesecakes. First, all the ingredients must remain at room temperature. The cream cheese should be beaten till smooth and creamy without any lumps, and at a slow speed to reduce the amount of air incorporated into the batter. Cheesecakes are baked in a slow oven to prevent cracking and are done when the filling is set but still a little wet and wobbly in the centre. Let cool before covering and placing in the refrigerator for several hours, or even overnight. I tend to add a little grated lemon zest to the batter to perk up the flavours a bit, but then this is just my way of doing it.

This one is a basic cheesecake with vanilla bean flavouring; so it’s versatile in terms of what you wish to serve it with. Fresh strawberries, preserved blueberries, chocolate sauce or any other topping that suits your palate.

 Prep time: 15min

Cooking time: 1hr

Serves: 6-8 people

Ingredients
Shortbread Crust

130g plain flour

35g icing sugar

1/8 tsp salt

113g cold unsalted butter cut into small cubes

Filling

450g of full fat cream cheese, room temperature

130g granulated white sugar

1/8 tsp salt

2 large eggs, room temperature

1 tsp pure vanilla extract or ½ vanilla bean scraped

½ tsp grated lemon zest

120ml sour cream, room temperature

Method

Shortbread Crust

Lightly butter a non-stick 8-9 inch tart pan with a removable bottom. Place the flour, sugar and salt in a food processor and pulse till combined evenly. Add the butter cubes and pulse till the pastry starts to come together in small bread crumb-like lumps. Place the pastry in the prepared tart pan and using your fingers tips and knuckles, gently pressing the pastry into the base and up the sides of the pan. Use the back of a spoon to even out the surface of the pastry. Prick the bottom of the crust with a fork (so it won’t rise while baking), cover the tart pan with cling film and place the pastry crust in the freezer for 15-20 min to chill (so it won’t shrink while baking).

Preheat the oven to 220°C. When the pastry is completely chilled, place the tart pan on a larger baking sheet and bake until the crust is golden brown, about 13 -15 minutes. Remove from oven and place on a wire rack to cool while you make the filling.

Reduce the oven temperature to 150°C.

Filling

Beat the cream cheese on low speed until creamy and smooth. Add the sugar and salt and beat until combined. Scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating until incorporated. Add the vanilla extract, lemon zest, and sour cream and beat until incorporated. Transfer the filling to the tart pan. 

Bake for about 18 -22 minutes or until firm but the centres of the cheesecakes still wobble a little. Remove from oven and place on a wire rack. Let cool and then cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate (a few hours or even overnight).

Serve with strawberry or raspberry sauce, fresh berries, or drizzle with melted chocolate. These cheesecakes can be covered and stored in the refrigerator for several days.

Coffee and walnut mousse

I have to begin with admitting that this recipe is borrowed from a very dear friend and full credit goes to her for its taste and simplicity. This is a very versatile recipe, and you can replace the coffee in the mousse with any other flavouring. Use fresh mangoes, strawberries or even melted dark chocolate instead of the coffee.

I used Columbian coffee for the flavouring but you can use any instant coffee with a strong and aromatic flavour. My version of the mousse leaves a mild bitter aftertaste in your mouth (which gives it its charm!), so add sugar as per your preferred degree of sweetness.



Serves: 12 (shot glasses)
Prep time: 15 min
Cooking time: 40 min

Ingredients
Mousse base
100g Chocolate cream biscuits
1tbsp unsalted butter

Filling
4 tbsp Custard powder (vanilla flavour)
500ml Full cream milk
150ml Double cream
1 tsp Coffee essence/coffee powder dissolved in 2tbsp milk
1 tbsp unsalted butter
125g caster sugar
2tbsp walnuts roughly chopped
12 choco sticks for garnish

Method
Pulse the chocolate cream biscuits in a blender with 1 tbsp unsalted butter to form a fine rubble. Spoon this soft rubble into the shot glasses, pressing down with an inverted thin-necked bottle to get a smooth top surface. Refrigerate the shot glasses till you make your filling.

In a bowl, add custard powder and 25% of the milk. Whisk till you get a smooth mixture without any lumps. Place the remainder of the milk in a thick-bottomed non-stick saucepan and bring to a boil. On a reduced flame, add the custard mix slowly to the boiling milk, stirring continuously for 3-4 min. Set aside and allow the custard to cool.

To the cooled custard, add the double cream, coffee powder, 1 tbsp unsalted butted, and caster sugar. Transfer this final mixture into a blender and pulse till the mixture attains a smooth consistency.

Pull out the chilled shot glasses from the refrigerator and spoon the final mousse into these glasses. Garnish with chopped walnuts and choco sticks. Refrigerate for 3-4 hours allowing the mousse to set completely. Serve cold.

Bench notes before you begin

• Your final mousse mix should be thick, with a spooning and not a pouring consistency.
• If your final mousse mix is too runny, feel free to make some more thick custard and add to the mixture.
• DO NOT chill the mousse in a deep freeze. This spoils the consistency of the mousse.
• If you plan to use dark chocolate in the recipe instead of the coffee, place the dark chocolate into a heat-proof bowl. Create a double boiler by placing the bowl of chocolate over a saucepan of simmering water (approximately 3-4cms deep). Slowly melt the chocolate, stirring occasionally until the chocolate is silky smooth. Set aside to cool. If the chocolate is too thick and burning on the sides add 2-3tbsp of water to the chocolate while melting.