Best Eggless Gulab Jamun Cheesecake
Rich, creamy eggless gulab jamun cheesecake that is easy to make! This is an Indian fusion dessert inspired by the popular sweet, gulab jamuns. Perfect for special occasions or festive seasons like Diwali.
Servings: 12 slices
Calories: 0.4kcal
Equipment
- `1 spring form pan 8 inches
- 1 parchment paper
- 1 stand mixer
Ingredients
Cheesecake Crust
- 10 sheets graham crackers Each sheet has 4 crackers, about 2 cups of crumbs once food processed, `153g
- 3 tbsp sugar 40g, can also use brown sugar
- 6 tbsp butter
- ¾ tsp cardamom powder
Gulab Jamun Cheesecake
- 16 oz cream cheese 2 blocks/brick style cream cheese, not spread
- 14 oz condensed milk
- ½ cup greek yogurt or sour cream I used Fage 5% Greek yogurt (full fat) or full fat sour cream, 120g
- 3 tbsp milk used in parts: 1 tbsp for saffron, 2 tbsp for cornstarch slurry
- 1 pinch saffron generous pinch for more flavor
- 1 tbsp cornstarch
- 1 tbsp lemon juice
- 12-15 gulab jamun ready made, cut 8-9 in halves for inside cake. Cut 3 in quarters to use as slices for decoration on top
Topping (optional) to decorate
- whipped cream ready made or follow rose whipped cream recipe found in this post
- gulab jamun ready made, 3 gulab jamun cut into quarters
- rose petals optional, for decoration
- pistachios optional for decoration
Instructions
Prep
- Spray or grease the sides of the springform pan with butter or oil. Place a cutout circle of parchment paper on the bottom.
- Cut gulab jamun into halves.
- In a small bowl, put 1 tablespoon of milk and a generous pinch of crushed saffron. Set aside.(Let saffron bloom)
- Melt butter (20-second intervals in microwave safe bowl)
Make crust
- Add graham crackers to a food processor to crush them into crumbs. Add in the melted butter,cardamom powder, and sugar. Give the food processor a few spins to combine the mixture well.
- Pour crumbs into a 8” Springform pan and press firmly into the bottom and up the sides of your pan. Set in the fridge or freezer to set while you work on the cheesecake mixture.
Make cheesecake batter
- Preheat oven to 285FAdd cream cheese to a bowl for a stand mixer or to a largebowl (if using a hand mixer). Stir until smooth.
- In a small bowl, mix cornstarch with two tablespoons of milk.
- Add cornstarch mixture, condensed milk, saffron milk, Greek yogurt (or sour cream), and lemon juice to a mixing bowl with cream cheese mixture. Mix to combine until smooth.
- Pour cheesecake batter into the prepped springform pan in parts. I chose to layer in thirds. So, a third of the cheesecake mixture is on the bottom. Topped with a layer of gulab jamuns (spread apart). Topped with another third of the batter. More small pieces of gulab jamun on top.Finally, the remaining batter tops off the pan.
- Place the springform pan with the mixture on a baking tray (cookie sheet). Place cookie sheet with pan in the preheated oven to bake in the center rack of the oven. Bake for 50 minutes.
- You will notice the cake slightly puffs up. There is a very little bit of jiggle when done.Prop oven door slightly open with a rolling pin or a cloth for 15-20 minutes.
- Place back in the oven (propped open) or on the countertop for at least 2-3 hours until it reaches room temperature. Once room temperature you can continue to let it set for 4-6 hours in the fridge.
- Once set, release from pan and slice and serve.
Notes
Use room temperature ingredients
Let it come to room temperature in the oven – crack it open by putting a velan (rolling pin) or towel. This helps prevent cracks.
After about 15 minutes of it done being baking, take it out of the oven. Use a flat, thin knife to run around the inside edge of the springform pan. This will help release the crust from the edge and prevent cracking later.
- For rose flavor, try making rose whipped cream which I used for Gulab Jamun Cupcakes, recipe here.
Nutrition
Calories: 0.4kcal | Carbohydrates: 0.1g | Protein: 0.01g | Fat: 0.01g | Saturated Fat: 0.001g | Sodium: 0.02mg | Potassium: 2mg | Fiber: 0.02g | Sugar: 0.03g | Vitamin A: 0.1IU | Vitamin C: 0.5mg | Calcium: 0.2mg | Iron: 0.01mg