Gulab Jamun Cheesecake

About 7 years, a move to Atlanta and two kids later... I’m back! (temporarily). I created this Gulab Jamun Cheesecake recipe to serve at a few Diwali events this year. I seem to always be looking for ways to combine the east and the west in my life just as I have found my balance as a fusion person. Well this time, it turned out to be a hit! I’ve been asked for the recipe by loads of my friends... so much so that I dusted off my password and logged back into this blog after 7 years. By the way, I love that they are individually portioned. 

Time: about 90 minutes (mostly baking time), 
Makes 36 normal sized cupcakes or 72 mini sized cupcakes
Calories/Serving: you only live once

Ingredients

For the crust

• 2 cups crushed gram crackers 
• 3 tbsp sugar
• 6 tbsp melted butter

For the filling

• 32 oz cream cheese
• 1 cup sour cream
• 3 eggs
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 2 tsp vanilla
• 2 tbsp lemon juice
• 1 tsp orange extract (optional but recommended)
• 1 tsp powdered elichi
• 36 gulab jamuns (if using cans, about 3) I’ve used both homemade gulab jamuns and canned ones. Result is similar 

Procedure

1. Prepare cupcake pan by inserting cupcake liners. 
2. Preheat the oven to 325F
3. Mix the ingredients for the crust. 
4. Add the mixture evenly and pat it down in the liners. A little less than 1 tablespoon per cupcake liner. 
5. Bake for 5 minutes until golden brown and then let cool completely
   
6. In the meanwhile, use a hand mixer to beat the creamcheese
7. Add in the sour cream, eggs, sugar, vanilla, lemon juice, orange extract and elichi. The mixture should be lightly sweetened as the gulab jamun will bring in more sugar. 
8. Pour the cheesecake filling in each cupcake liner evenly (leaving enough space to add a gulab jamun)
9. Add one gulab jamun in the center of each cheesecake. Reserve a few tablespoons of syrup for later. 
10. Bake for about 16-18 minutes at 325F. Do not over cook. The cheesecake should still have a giggle. If they crack, they are being over cooked. 
11. Allow the cheesecakes to cool completely. 
12. Lightly garnish with pistachio and a drizzle some of the reserved gulab jamun syrup. 
13. Refrigerate to chill and serve.

These cheesecakes can be frozen or can remain in the fridge for at least one week if you want to prep ahead of time. 

I made these recently for a holiday gathering. From this recipe, I made 24 regular cupcake sized and 24 mini cupcake. For the minis, I divided the gulab jamun in quarters. I baked these for about 10 minutes. 

I presented it in a vase with a foam ball in it and attached the cheese cake with toothpicks... a Gulab Jamun Cheesecake Bouquet. (could have been done much better had I had more time to get it together... oh well)