Mango Cheesecake (No Bake)

Cheesecake? Love... Mangoes? Love... Put them together and you have heaven in a plate. Mangoes are in season , I could hardly wait for it to get here. The excitement of biting into that first mango every season, the aroma , the colours, the nostalgia, the wish to freeze 100 s of them so you can have them all year round. . Sigh... I can never eat enough mangoes.

Another thing I can't get enough of is cheesecake. Walk into a dessert cafe and though there might be a 50 options I almost always go back to cheesecake. It's like I left my heart with the cheesecake. Now I got to admit, this here is a cheat's cheesecake recipe, buuuuuut, it tastes good, and is a healthier version, which means, you can have a bigger piece without feeling too guilty.

This recipe needs very few ingredients, and very little preparation time, if you can just ignore the refrigeration bit, which also isn't too much. Let me remind you again, it is the cheat version of a cheesecake, but you got to believe me, it really works.

Some tips about using gelatine:  Everyone has their battle with gelatin. But trust me with some experience and persuasion, anyone can win this war. I've had my share of gelatin failures, and for a while I stopped trying desserts that used gelatin, simply because I was scared I would end up without a dessert for my guests. Then again, I needed to conquer my battle, and conquer I did. Here's the thing about gelatin, if the dish hasn't set, it needn't necessarily mean that you didn't use enough gelatin, it could be that you didn't give it enough time to set. I once made a coconut pudding, that was the consistency of condensed milk, it didn't set in time for a dinner party, after being refrigerated for about 4 hours. Almost defeated, I just tossed it back in the fridge, thinking I'd deal with it the next morning. Aaaaaaaaand, when I took it out of the fridge the next morning, it had set perfectly . So here's my little advice; If you aren't too comfortable with gelatin, don't give your dessert just a couple of hours to set, and then frantically toss it in the freezer to set, because you are running out of time.  This is going to ruin the consistency of the dish. Instead,  just make the dessert well in advance. It's best to make it the previous day and let it set in the fridge overnight. Unless you used really poor quality gelatin or didn't use it right, your dessert is moooooosssst likely to set perfectly. So one worry put to rest here.
The second is the proper way to use gelatin. While in some dishes, gelatin is directly added to the mixture ( mostly where you need to heat the ingredients) in a dish like this, it is important to let the gelatin soak up all the water. So let the gelatin sit in water, and let it be the first step of your dish, so you give it enough time as you get all the ingredients together. Make sure there are no lumps, just give it a gentle stir if you need to. Then once it soaks up all the water, put it in the microwave till it turns it into a clear syrup and add it to your mixture and put in the fridge to set. If you follow these 2 steps , you are most likely going to get it right. And if you don't, don't lose hope. With practice, you can master any skill. Happy dessert time.


Now on to the recipe :

Let's get started:

For the cheesecake base

You will need : 14 marie biscuits

                        45 gms butter.

You could use any biscuit you like for the base, oreo, choco chip, digestives, just play around and go with what you like.

I used a 6 inch round loose bottomed tin, you can also use a springform pan. You don't need to butter the base or sides, but if you like you can line it with butter paper.

Start by putting the biscuits in the mixie to sort of make a rough powder. It doesn't need to be too fine, you could also just crush the biscuits, using a rolling pin. Melt the butter in a bowl ( I just tossed it in the microwave for a few seconds) and add the biscuit powder. Mix till it resembles coarse breadcrumbs and then tip it onto the base of the tin. Using the back of a spoon or spatula, press the mixture onto the base, till it smoothens out. Make sure you've covered the entire base of the tin.

 I like to use very little butter, that is just enough to bring the biscuit together. Using too much butter makes the crust very hard and difficult to cut, once the cake has chilled. 

Keep the base aside and start on the cheesecake filling.

For the cheesecake  you will need:

400 gms thick yoghurt

2 mangoes, skinned and pulped
2 tbsps icing sugar

2  tbsp gelatin

3 tbsps water

Begin with putting the gelatin in a microwave safe bowl and mix it with 3 tbsps water. Keep aside as you make the rest of the filling.

Cut and scoop two mangoes. I cut the sides of the mango, and use a spoon to scoop it out, same with the center of the mango. Blend it in the mixer with the icing sugar to make a puree. Again it needn't be fine, you're gonna be happy to bite into a few pieces of mango in your cheesecake. I used 2 tbsp of sugar, but you can play around with the quantity, depending on sweet the mangoes are and how sweet you like your dessert. Mix with the yoghurt. You need to use thick yoghurt, I used Milky Mist.  I found that using this set curd was best, and I didn't need to hang the yoghurt. If you find that there is too much water, hang the yoghurt in a cloth over a strainer and let it sit on a vessel for at least 20 minutes

The gelatin by now would have soaked up all the water.Just put it in the microwave for about 10 - 12 seconds, till it changes into a clear syrup. Mix the gelatin with the yoghurt and mango mix. Pour the filling on to the biscuit base and leave the cheesecake to chill for at least 2- 3 hours or if you are worried about the cheesecake setting well, it's best to leave it to chill in the fridge overnight.

You'll know the cheesecake has set, when the mixture is firm to the touch. To remove the cheesecake from the tin, first run a flat knife along the edges of the cheesecake. Place the loose bottom tin on a jar or container that is slighter smaller than the tin and then push the rim down. Cut in to slices using a sharp knife, so you can get a clear cut on the biscuit base. If you like, you could drizzle  a bit of honey on the cake and then Devour................