Learn how to make sweet and creamy Shrikhand Cheesecake with a crunchy biscuit base. This easy baked cheesecake is eggless and inspired by the famous Indian yoghurt dessert, shrikhand.
I flavour the sweet ricotta and cream cheese filling with lemon, cardamom and saffron, which are subtly balanced to create a dessert that feels beautifully bright, warm, and comforting.
Food has a funny way of holding onto your history. Growing up, proper shrikhand required serious patience.
My mum would hang yogurt in a muslin cloth over the sink for hours just to get it thick and sweet.
It’s a whole military operation.
One single bite of those classic flavours takes me straight back to the chaos of family weddings. I ran around with my cousins and trying to sneak sweets before the buffet officially opened.
There would always be little bowls of shrikhand, sometimes with fresh fruit. It was a match made in heaven.
I adore the cold and creamy texture of the saffron yoghurt with juicy strawberries.
How to make Shrikhand Cheesecake
Today, we’re skipping the bowls, bypassing the waiting game, and baking those exact flavours into a buttery biscuit crust.
Merging a western bakery favourite with the spices of my childhood isn’t a gimmick. This is the most honest way I know how to cook.
Indeed, it represents the beautiful, messy blend of growing up between two places, creating something entirely new that still honours where we started.
Turns out, you really can have the best of both worlds, and it tastes amazing!
The traditional pairing
While a cheesecake crust is a brilliant modern vessel, traditionally, shrikhand is never eaten on its own with a spoon. It is served as a core part of a thali, specifically paired with hot, fluffy, deep-fried puris (unleavened fried bread).
The magic lies in the contrast: the hot, crispy, savoury bread tearing through the cold, thick, sweet dairy.
I’ve been making eggless baked cheesecakes for years and this recipe is adapted from Kurma Dasa’s Great Vegetarian Dishes. His recipe produces a mighty fine cheesecake and allows for oodles of flavour experimentation. My kind of thing.
Step-by-step method for making Shrikhand Cheesecake
1. Prep the biscuit base
Crush the NICE biscuits into fine crumbs, then stir in the melted butter until it feels like wet sand. Press the mixture firmly into the base of a 23cm (9-inch) springform tin and place it in the fridge to chill and set while you prepare the filling.
2. Mix the filling
In a large mixing bowl, combine the ricotta cheese, cream cheese, double cream, caster sugar, cornflour, freshly ground cardamom seeds, lemon zest, lemon juice, vanilla extract, and the large pinch of saffron. Beat everything together on a low speed until the mixture is completely smooth, velvety, and free of lumps.
3. Slow bake
Remove the tin from the fridge and pour the filling over your chilled biscuit base. Place the tin into the oven and bake at 160°C for 1 hour and 15 minutes (1 1/4 hours). The edges should look stable and set, but the center will still have a gentle wobble.
4. Cool-down inside the oven
Turn off the oven completely. Prop the oven door open just a tiny crack—using a wooden spoon works perfectly—and leave the cheesecake inside to cool down slowly to room temperature.
5. Chill for 24-hours
Once the cheesecake has cooled completely, wrap the entire tin securely in cling film and place it in the fridge. Leave it to chill and firm up for a full 24 hours so the flavors can fully deepen.
6. Decorate and serve
The next day, carefully unwrap the tin, run a thin knife around the inside edge to loosen it, and release the springform ring before decorating and slicing.
Shrikhand Cheesecake recipe | How to make Eggless Shrikhand Cheesecake
Shrikhand Cheesecake
Learn how to make sweet and creamy Shrikhand Cheesecake with a crunchy biscuit base. This easy baked cheesecake is eggless and inspired by the famous Indian yoghurt dessert, shrikhand.
Ingredients
Cheesecake base
- 250g NICE biscuits (swap for digestives or your favourite biscuits)
- 75g unsalted butter, melted
Cheesecake filling
- 500g ricotta cheese
- 500g full-fat cream cheese
- 320ml double (heavy) cream
- 300g caster sugar
- Zest of 4 large, unwaxed lemons
- 80ml lemon juice
- 1 tbsp cornflour (cornstarch)
- 1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
- 8 cardamom pods, seeds finely ground in a pestle and mortar
- Large pinch saffron
To decorate
- 180g fresh strawberries
- 2 tsp icing sugar
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 160°C fan.
- Crush the NICE biscuits into fine crumbs in a food processor. Transfer to a bowl and stir in the melted butter until it feels like wet sand. Press the mixture firmly into the base of a 23cm (9-inch) springform tin and place it in the fridge to chill and set while you prepare the filling.
- In a large mixing bowl, combine the ricotta cheese, cream cheese, double cream, caster sugar, cornflour, freshly ground cardamom seeds, lemon zest, lemon juice, vanilla extract, and the large pinch of saffron. Beat everything together on a low speed using an electric beater until the mixture is completely smooth, velvety, and free of lumps.
- Remove the tin from the fridge and pour the filling over your chilled biscuit base. Use a spoon to smooth out the top. Place the tin into the oven and bake at 160°C for 1 hour and 15 minutes (1 1/4 hours). The edges should look stable and set, but the middle will still have a gentle wobble.
- Turn off the oven completely. Prop the oven door open just a tiny crack—using a wooden spoon works perfectly—and leave the cheesecake inside to cool down slowly to room temperature.
- Once the cheesecake has cooled completely, wrap the entire tin securely in cling film and place it in the fridge. Leave it to chill and firm up for a full 24 hours so the flavours can fully deepen.
- The next day, carefully unwrap the tin, run a thin knife around the inside edge to loosen it, and release the springform ring before decorating with strawberries and a dusting of icing sugar. Slice and serve.
Nutrition Information:
Yield: 12 Serving Size: 1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 443Total Fat: 27gSaturated Fat: 15gUnsaturated Fat: 12gCholesterol: 71mgSodium: 294mgCarbohydrates: 43gFiber: 1gSugar: 29gProtein: 9g
If you like this, you’ll love my recipe for Classic Shrikhand
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