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As the summer season approaches, you must be craving cool desserts like kulfi, sundaes, rasmalai, panna cotta, and much more. While it’s pretty easy to get your cravings satiated with a few scoops of ice cream of your favourite flavour, why don’t you live to the fullest by making fusion desserts this summer?
Combining the goodness of Indian sweets like gulab jamun and rasmalai with global favourites like cheesecake and mousse, Akash Deep, Chef De Cuisine at Novotel Goa Panjim, has shared some of his signature recipes that you can recreate this season at home.
Gulab Jamun Cheesecake
Ingredients:
For The Crust:
- 1 packet of digestive biscuits
- ¼ tsp ground cardamom
- ⅛ tsp salt
- 15 gm granulated sugar
- 50 gm melted ghee
For The Cheese Filling:
- 1½ tbsp cornstarch
- 150 gm powdered sugar
- 100 gm caster sugar
- 500 gm cream cheese
- 100 gm Mascarpone cheese
- 4 eggs
- 1 tsp vanilla
- ½ tsp rose water
- ⅛ tsp salt
- 1 pinch saffron
- ¼ tsp cardamom powder
- 12 Gulab jamun without syrup
Instructions:
- Grease 7″ pan and set aside.
- Add pistachios to a food processor and grind until coarse.
- Add the cookies and the rest of the dry ingredients. Pulse to get an even, coarse texture.
- Add ghee and pulse to mix well.
- Spread evenly in the mould and Refrigerate while you prepare the cheese mix for at least 15 minutes.
- Preheat oven to 155°C.
- In another small bowl, mix the rose water and saffron. This will bloom the saffron without adding any additional liquid to the recipe.
- In a large bowl (or stand mixer), beat cream cheese, mascarpone cheese and powdered sugar & sugar until just combined.
- Add eggs one by one, then corn-starch vanilla, rose water, salt, saffron, and cardamom powder. Beat until just incorporated.
- Transfer cheese batter to the crust. Spread evenly using an offset spatula.
- Cut the remaining Gulab jamun in half and gently place it on top of the cheesecake, cutting it side down. Place the cheesecake in the middle rack.
- Bake for 40- 50 minutes or until the top is slightly jiggly.
- Cool for 3 hours on a wire rack, then transfer to the refrigerator. Chill for at least 4 hours before serving.
- Decorate with dried rose petals.
Rasmalai White chocolate Mousse
Ingredients:
- 10 pcs white rasgulla
- 4 cups whole milk
- 1/2 cup white sugar
- 7-8 strands saffron
- 1/4 teaspoon cardamom powder
For The White Chocolate Mousse:
- 250 gm white chocolate (chopped and melted)
- 250 gm heavy cream
- 7-8 strands saffron
- 1/8 teaspoon cardamom powder
- 500 gm whipped cream
- Chopped/unsalted nuts of choice for garnish
Instructions:
- Heat milk in a wide bottom pan. Bring it to a boil and reduce the flame to medium. Add sugar and saffron and stir constantly, removing the malai that forms on the sides of the pan. Cook for 18-20 minutes till the milk is slightly reduced.
- Add the squeezed rasgulla pieces and cardamom powder and turn off the heat. Make sure all the rasgulla pieces are submerged in the milk. Cool completely before covering it and placing it in the refrigerator for later use.
- Heat cream till it’s very hot but not boiling. Pour the hot cream over the white chocolate in a bowl and add saffron and cardamom. Ensure all the chocolate is covered with the hot cream and let it sit for 1-2 minutes. Then, start mixing the chocolate with a spoon. Let it cool down completely.
- In the meantime, make whipped cream with the remaining cream. Using the whisk attachment, whisk just until the cream reaches stiff peaks.
- Slowly fold in half the whipped cream into the white chocolate ganache with a spatula. Gently fold in the rest of the whipped cream.
- Use jars, glasses or cups to assemble the dessert. It should be large enough to fit one rasmalai at the bottom without breaking it. You will need 10 of them.
- Start layering the as-per-picture components. It is easier to use a piping bag to layer the chocolate mousse. Garnish the last whipped cream layer with slivered pistachios. Refrigerate until ready to serve.
