Mithai Cheesecake- an Indian inspired fusion cheesecake flavored with flavors like rose, cardamom, saffron and topped with assorted Indian sweets (mithai).

This is a no-bake cheesecake and makes a show stopper of a dessert for the festive season!

Cheesecake pairs well with so many flavors, that’s the reason you have such a big menu at Cheesecake Factory!

All Indian sweets also go really well with cheesecake and in the past few years I am sure you have seen the rise of rasmalai and gulab jamun cheesecakes.

I shared these Motichoor Ladoo Cheesecake Jars on my blog 2 years back and so many of you made it and loved it.

The flavors go really well together and it’s also so easy to put it altogether.

This year I am back with another cheesecake meets Indian mithai recipe. This No-Bake Mithai Cheesecake has the best of both worlds!

It has creamy cheesecake, lots of Indian sweets and all those flavors like rose, cardamom, saffron which you associate with Indian sweets.

No-Bake Mithai Cheesecake

✔makes a stunning Indian fusion dessert.

✔perfect dessert to made in advance.

✔show stopper dessert for your Diwali party!

✔no bake and easy to put together.

I like not baking my cheesecakes whenever possible. Yes I do love the baked cheesecake and their texture but something is so easy about no bake cheesecakes that I always end up making them.

Ingredients

This cheesecake doesn’t need a ton of ingredients! However one thing that you must absolutely use is a springform pan.

That’s the only way this cheesecake will come out nicely, do not a regular cake pan here.

Cream Cheese: it is the base of this cheesecake and you need 3 x 8oz blocks of cream cheese. That might seem a lot but remember this is a big 9-inch cheesecake.

An important thing to remember is to make sure your cream cheese is at room temperature, it should be really softened, only then you will get that smooth cream cheese texture.

Heavy cream: to make the cheesecake lighter, we add some whipped cream to it.

Of course adding more cream makes the texture lighter but you have to use just the right amount so that the cheesecake holds it shape and sets well.

This is a no-bake cheesecake hence it becomes really important to use just the right amount of cream here.

Sugar: I like to use powdered sugar (also known as confectioners sugar) for no-bake cheesecakes.

It mixes easily and results in a smooth texture and consistency. It also has cornstarch mixed in it which helps in firming up.

Cookies: the crust of this cheesecake is made with parle-g, which are very popular Indian biscuits.

However, you can use any cookie for the crust. Digestive biscuits, biscoff cookies are other good options.

Mithai: aka Indian sweets. Since this is a mithai cheesecake, I used an assortment of popular Indian sweets like jalebi, gulab jamun, motichoor ladoo. You can use whatever mithais you like but I have to say jalebi and gulab jamun go so well here so don’t skip on those.

I got all these sweets from local Indian sweet shop. You can do the same, just get 2-4 pieces of each to make this cheesecake.

Making every mithai at home will make this recipe very long and complicated.

Flavors: the cheesecake is flavored with all the flavors that you associate with Indian sweets. There’s rose water, cardamom, saffron and kewra water.

You can skip on the kewra if you don’t have it but don’t skip on the rest.

Ratio of cream cheese to cream: so while testing no-bake cheesecakes, I first made one with 2 blocks of cream cheese (16 oz) with 1 cup cream.

The cheesecake did set but it had a very loose texture, it wasn’t firm at all and didn’t really hold its shape after taking it out of the refrigerator.

After some experiment I have found out that 3 blocks of cream cheese (24 oz) with 1 cup cream (8 oz) works the best and that’s what I have used here.

Do not change this ratio if you want the cheesecake to set well, since this isn’t baked this ratio is important.

Serving Size

So, this recipe makes a big 9-inch cheesecake. This will easily serve 8-10 people.

Can you make this in individual jars? Yes but then you will need to layers all those mithais in every jar and it will involve lot more work but it’s definitely an option.

Making ahead: make this cheesecake in advance, it need to be chilled overnight. You can make it 2 days in advance and will be just fine.

It is best served straight out of the refrigerator since this is no-bake and the filling loosens up as it sits outside.

 

Method

1- Pulse parle-g biscuits (or any cookie you like) in a food processor until you have crumbs. Transfer it to a bowl and add 1/2 teaspoon cardamom powder and mix.

Then melt 1 stick (1/2 cup) unsalted butter, let it cool a bit and then add to the bowl of crumbled pargle-g.

2- Mix until the mixture resembles wet sand.

3- Transfer the mixture to a 9-inch springform pan and press tightly into the pan. Use the back of a bowl of spoon to press it compactly.

Place the pan in the freezer for the crust to set while you make the filling.

4- Meanwhile, heat 2 tablespoons milk in a small pan. Once it’s hot, add a generous pinch of saffron to the milk and set it aside.

5- Beat room temperature cream cheese (3 x 8 oz blocks) until very smooth, at medium speed for 3-4 minutes in a stand mixer (using paddle attachment) or use your hand mixer.

6- Then add powdered sugar and mix until well combined.

7- Add rose water, cardamom powder, prepared saffron milk and few drops of kewra water.

8-  Mix until it’s all well combined and then transfer this prepared cream cheese mixture to a bowl.

9- Now add 1 cup of heavy cream to the stand mixer (or use your hand mixer) and beat using the wire whisk attachment until it forms peaks. Make sure the cream is cold and straight out of the refrigerator.

10- Start folding in the whipped cream into the cream cheese mixture using a spatula.

11- Fold in parts and mix until all the whipped cream is combined with the cream cheese mixture.

12- Now, take out the crust out of the freezer. Cut 4 gulab jamuns in half and arrange over the crust with the cut side facing down.

13- Now, pour over half of the cheesecake filling over the top of the crust, smooth using a spatula.

14- Crumble one motichoor ladoo and one jalebi and spread over.

15- Top with the remaining cheesecake filling and smooth it out with a spatula.

16- Decorate with chandi ka vark, and sweets (chum chum, crushed motichoor ladoo, gulab jamun, jalebi or any assorted mithais that you have), crushed pistachios, dried rose buds.

Cover and chill the no-cake Mithai Cheesecake overnight. Next day, remove the sides of the springform pan carefully and then transfer the cheesecake onto a serving stand. Slice and serve.

This is best served straight out of the refrigerator. The filling since it’s not baked will loosen up when left at room temperature.

If you’ve tried this No-Bake Mithai Cheesecake Recipe then don’t forget to rate the recipe! You can also follow me on Facebook and Instagram to see what’s latest in my kitchen!