For someone like me who loves everything gulab jamun, this Indian Fusion dessert gives me everything that I want in a festive dessert – gulab jamun, mishti doi, and cheesecake combined into one!!! You get the best of both worlds in this amazing gulab jamun cheesecake dessert. Creamy, luscious, and extremely tasty!!!

This Indian Fusion dessert made with gulab jamun and mishti doi has no eggs, no cream, and no gelatin. Celebrate the Indian festivals or a milestone birthday or anniversary with this creamy, dreamy, and luscious Gulab Jamun Cheesecake made with Saffron and rose water flavored Greek Yogurt with bites of Gulab Jamun in it.

A few weeks ago I made gulab jamun and I ate almost all of it. As if that wasn’t enough and I have been craving and itching to make something fusion and innovative using the gulab jamuns. And the bulb went off with this thought of baking an Eggless Gulab Jamun Mishti Doi Cheese Cake!!

Since I was a kid, I would always add pieces of gulab jamun into my bowl of freshly made yogurt and enjoy it as a sweet treat. I always knew that gulab jamun and yogurt go so very well. This cheesecake is inspired by that childhood favorite of mine.

This Indian Fusion dessert made with gulab jamun and mishti doi has no eggs, no cream, and no gelatin. Celebrate the Indian festivals or a milestone birthday or anniversary with this creamy, dreamy, and luscious Gulab Jamun Cheesecake made with Saffron and rose water flavored Greek Yogurt with bites of Gulab Jamun in it.

Let’s talk about two irresistible desserts meeting and becoming friends and turning into an amazing dessert – Yes, I’m talking about Gulab Jamuns and Misti Doi. Two of India’s quintessential festive sweets. This eggless cheesecake combining gulab jamuns and sweetened yogurt is a showstopper, friends.

Table of Contents

WHAT IS MISHTI DOI

Mishti Doi/Misti Doi/ Indian Sweetened Yogurt is a very favorite Bengali Dessert. A personal favorite of mine. The yogurt is set in clay pots and has deep caramel which comes from sweetening the milk with either burnt sugar or jaggery.

In Bengali “Mishti” means sweet and “Doi” means yogurt/curd. Mishti Doi is more than a dessert to Bengalis, it’s a part of our culture and traditions. The taste that comes from the caramel, the creamy, dreamy sweet yogurt which has a prominent sour aftertaste is something so heavenly that cannot be expressed in words.

Also, making Mishti Doi is pretty easy. In this recipe for Misti Doi Cheesecake, I have provided a step-by-step process to make Misti Doi at home.

WHAT IS THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN MISHTI DOI AND YOGURT

The difference between normal yogurt and Mishti Doi is that the first Mishti Doi is sweetened. Secondly, it is made of thickened milk. That is the milk is reduced and thickened and then the sweetener and yogurt are being added. As the milk is reduced it adds a nice rich and luxurious taste to the yoghurt.

In this fusion cheesecake recipe, instead of using homemade yogurt, I have used Greek Yogurt to make Misti Doi. Greek Yogurt is thick and creamy and doesn’t require a lot of prep time to make hung curd.

WHY FUSING GULAB JAMUN WITH MISHTI DOI INTO A CHEESECAKE

During festive seasons, like Holi, Dussehra, Holi etc, we all want a dessert that can wow all our friends and relatives with its taste and texture. Also, we want an Indian Fusion dessert that can be made and enjoyed at any time of the year. And what other fusion dessert can fit the bill other than an Indian Version of Cheesecake made without cream or eggs!!

In this eggless cheesecake recipe, I have used bit and pieces of store bought gulab jamun in a yogurt cheesecake. The crust of the yogurt cheesecake is made with cookies and ghee. Yum, right!! And, oh!! the yogurt cheesecake is flavored with saffron & rosewater.

WHAT TO LOVE ABOUT GULAB JAMUN CHEESECAKE

Eggless: YES!! This fusion yogurt cheesecake has no eggs.
No Cream Cheesecake: Again, no cream is added to the fusion cheesecake. The Greek Yogurt is creamy enough.
Low Calorie Cheesecake: When we use hung yogurt or strained yogurt in place of cream cheese to make this saffron cheesecake, automatically this dessert becomes less calorie dense than the regular cheesecake.
Fusion Indian Dessert
Made with homemade Mishti Doi
Loaded with Festive flavors

WHAT I NEED TO MAKE GULAB JAMUN MISTI DOI CHEESE CAKE

FOR THE EGGLESS CHEESE CAKE CRUST

Cookies – I have used Britannia Marie biscuits. However, you can use regular Graham Crackers as well.
Melted Ghee – Butter can be replaced with ghee.
Cardamom powder – Freshly ground cardamom powder

FOR MAKING HOMEMDE MISHTI DOI/INDIAN SWEETENED YOGURT

Greek Yogurt – Full fat Greek Yogurt. Don’t use low fat or reduced fat yogurt for this gulab jamun misti doi cheesecake recipe. Full Fat yogurt is creamy and luscious and will ensure a rich cheesecake.
Saffron – A pinch of saffron will give you that authentic Indian flavors in this cheesecake recipe.
Warm milk – To soak the saffron strands to get the saffron milk
Milk Powder
Rose Water
Sweetened condensed milk
Cardamom powd
Gulab Jamun

WHAT TO GARNISH THE GULAB JAMUN CHEESECAKE WITH

Gulab Jamuns
Crushed Pistachio
Edible rose petals

In this recipe, I didn’t make my own gulab jamuns , I used store bought ones. But if you really want to make your own Gulab Jamuns then check out the recipe here – The Perfect Gulab Jamun Recipe

STEP-BY-STEP METHOD TO MAKE EGGLESS GULAB JAMUN CHEESECAKE

STEP 1: Drain and chop the Gulab Jamuns

Place the gulab jamuns on a mesh strainer to get rid of as much syrup as you can.

STEP 2: Make Misti Doi with Greek Yogurt

Line a fine sieve or colander with a cheesecloth. Place a bowl underneath the sieve. Now, pour yogurt into the middle of the cheesecloth.
Gather the sides of the cheesecloth and tightly fold the cheesecloth. Do not squeeze the cheesecloth.
Place a plate and heavyweight over the folded cheesecloth. Let the sieve, bowl, and yogurt rest 3 hours in the refrigerator.
After the rest time is over, the excess liquid (whey) will strain into the bowl underneath and you will end up with a thick yogurt that will have cream-cheese like consistency. Store the yogurt in the refrigerator
Place the drained yogurt, condensed milk, milk powder in a large bowl and whisk with a balloon whisk until smooth. Mix the cardamom powder, bloomed saffron milk.
Stir all the ingredients together until well mixed.
Add chopped Gulab Jamun and fold until smooth. Set aside.

STEP 3: Make Gulab Jamun Cheese Cake Crust

Lightly grease the base and sides of a 6” springform pan.
Place a parchment round on the base.
Roughly break the crackers and pulse in a food processor until it resembles sand. Now add the melted butter and cardamom powder to it and pulse few times until mixed well.
Press this mixture evenly in the prepared pan. Use a small bowl to press it down firmly.
Place the pan in the freezer until you prepare the Misti Doi batter.

STEP 4: Bake the Gulab Jamun Mishti Doi Cheesecake without cream or eggs

Preheat the oven to 180C. or 350F.
Arrange sliced Gulab Jamuns into the chilled crust
Pour the yogurt filling over the sliced Gulab Jamun
Using an offset spatula spread the even layer of yogurt filling over the Gulab Jamuns. Turn into prepared tin and bake for 30/35 minutes.
Then chill covered in baking tin overnight.
De mold and place on cake stand/serving platter.
Once chilled, garnish the Gulab Jamun Misti Doi Cheesecake with crushed pistachios, dried rose petals, and gulab jamuns.

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

Can I prepare this fusion dessert ahead of time?

Yes, the best part about this cheesecake is, it can be prepped ahead of time. You can make the crust one day, and the cheesecake portion the next and then have it chill the day before you need it.

What Can I do to prevent my yogurt cheesecake from cracking on top?

Try the water bath. It’s a small additional step that will make sure your cheesecake doesn’t crack when baking.

A water bath is used to help create a steamy environment for the cheesecake and it helps prevent the cheesecake from cracking. Learn more here – Water bath

TIPS TO MAKE THE PERFECT HUNG CURD

Use a cheese cloth to drain the whey from the Greek Yogurt.
Greek Yogurt is naturally thick. Your straining time shouldn’t be more than 3 hours.
Only measure after hanging the curd, since we are losing a lot of volume while straining.
Use room temperature ingredients for gulab jamun cheesecake.
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.

TRY OTHER INDIAN FESTIVE DESSERTS

Eggless Mini Gulab Jamun Cheesecake

Ras Malai Tres Leches Cake

Mishti Doi Cheesecake/Greek Yogurt Cheesecake

Try this one out, it will be great for a special occasion and leave me a review or find me on Instagram @http://www.instagram.com/myyellowapron and let me know!

I just wanted to say thank you to all of you who read my blog! Your messages, comments, and emails encourage and inspire me to no end.