Skip to main content

The last strawberries this season


India has a strange strawberry season. They red berries come into the market end of January, just when winter has started to ebb into spring. And by mid-March, even before summer sets in, they are all gone. I have been doing a lot of strawberry eating past few weeks but I wanted to keep this cheesecake, a recipe I spotted in a magazine a few months back, for last.

Then, for a week, there were no strawberries to be seen and I thought I'd waited too long. That I'd have to wait another year to make this one. But then, this one last box made a miraculous appearance and here it is - the grand finale of strawberry season.

The magazine I picked the recipe from had a full scale 9" springform pan in mind. But I have it here adapted to my mini 3" tart tin. You start with the biscuit base. Break 4 digestive biscuits into 3-4 pieces each. Drop in a plastic bag and use your rolling pin to turn them into crumbs. Heat 30 grams butter in a microwave until just melted and pour on the crumbs. Mix well, then spread in the tart tin to make your biscuit base. Put this in the fridge for at least an hour to harden. At the same time, take out 80 grams of cream cheese to soften.

After an hour, mix the cream cheese with 30 grams caster sugar and 1/2 tsp vanilla essence. Whisk until well blended. Add 2 tbsp heavy cream and keep beating until it is smooth. Spread on the biscuit base, making it as even as you can and leave to set it the fridge for a few hours or overnight.

Once the cheesecake has set, unmould and pile halved strawberries in the centre. Puree 4-5 strawberries with a tsp of sugar and pour on the cake. Then go find friends to share this last berry bounty of the season.
Labels:

Comments

notyet100 said…
whts the substitute for cream cheese ,..any specific brand to choose,..?tart looks yum,,..
March 23, 2010 at 8:10 PM
RV @ Food for 7 Stages said…
Looks yummilicous. A perfect dessert after a nice meal.
March 23, 2010 at 8:14 PM
Suma said…
Looks really delicious!!
March 23, 2010 at 8:38 PM
Bombay Foodie said…
Notyet100 - I use Philadelphia cream cheese. I don't think there's any other brand you can substitute, but I am going to try this again with homemade mascarpone.
March 23, 2010 at 9:51 PM
Parita said…
I think mascarpone cheese would be a good option, especially its very easy to make it at home, do give it a try!
March 23, 2010 at 10:07 PM
FewMinute Wonders said…
Hi Simran,

I am glad that you got the last strawberries in season and came up with something this delicious. I got your mail. I will send in my list soon.
March 23, 2010 at 11:54 PM
Veggie Hut said…
thats an absolute treat..
March 24, 2010 at 2:15 PM
Suma Gandlur said…
Thats sounds simple and looks lovely. :)
March 25, 2010 at 4:52 AM
Poonam said…
this looks great! iv made a lemon flavored version of this and am waiting to try it with mascarpone,,
March 25, 2010 at 10:40 AM
Miri said…
The season isn't that strange actually - thats when the temps are at the most suitable. What is summer in Western countries is still 25C tops I would think - those kind of temps are done with in India by March...

The dessert looks amazing!
March 26, 2010 at 9:44 AM
Unknown said…
I haven't ever made a cheesecake yet!! Soon! This one looks so good :)
April 9, 2010 at 1:09 PM
Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

I've found my perfect cookie

It's a bite sized cookie, with flavors of a pie, shape of a croissant and a pretty, pretty name. It's Rugelach. I first heard of this cookie when it became the baking pick for Tuesdays with Dorrie a couple of months back. The looks, the concept - everything was fascinating. And I've dreamed of making this cookie ever since. I ditched hundreds of recipes floating around and went straight to the master. It's Dorie Greenspan's recipe that I used, and ain't I glad I got it so perfect the very first time. So what's rugelach? It's cream-cheese pastry dough, rolled then cut into wedges, spread with jam and sugar and fillings of choice, rolled into crescents and baked. First the dough. Dorie did it in her processor, but I just went and did it by hand. Put 100 gms cream cheese and 100 gms butter out of the fridge until they were soft but still cold. Added both to a cup of plain flour (I omitted the salt because I use salted butter). Rubbed the flour and but...
10 comments
Read more

Of Brun and Bun Maska

There is more to Bombay's breads than the pao that goes into pao bhaji and vada pao. There's Brun. and there's bun. We will get there. First, you have to get to know the city's Parsis. And Iranis, who are also Zoroastrians, but came to city a little later, in the late 19th or early 20th century. And when they came, they brought with them these little cafes that dot the city. I am no expert on Irani chai cafes. And I can't tell you whether Yazdani Bakery will provide you the best experience or Kyani's. But I can tell you a few things you need to ignore when you get there. Appearances don't matter; so ignore the fact that the marble/glass top tables and the wooden chairs look a bit dilapidated. Also ignore the rundown look the place sports. Instead, get yourself settled. And order a bun muska. This one's familiar to you as a first cousin of the soft hamburger bun. It's similar, but just a tad bit sweeter. Maska, of course, is the generous dollop o...
13 comments
Read more

Mystery Fruit

This only happened a few times every year, just when the rainy season kicked in. A street hawker will come by, straw basket on head. He will yell "kaul chapni" and I will run out to buy a bundle of these. Stuck together like flowers, they looked like a bouquet. Every hole contains a little fruit. You break out the package, peel the tiny fruit that pops out and eat it. Done slowly, it can take you an hour to eat an head. Or did, when I was about 12 years old. That was the last time I saw this fruit. I've never seen it again, didn't even know what it was called or where it came from. Three weeks back, Vikram Doctor wrote about a store in Khar that sells Sindhi foods. He described this fruit and I knew it came from my vivid childhood memories. And finally, I knew we were talking about lotus fruit. Now talk about coincidences. Last weekend, I was passing by a lane in Bandra and for the first time in many, many years I saw the straw basket filled with my mytery fru...
14 comments
Read more