Holi, the indian festival of colors is later this week and my kitchen is buzzing with the colors and aromas of festive dishes and these rose cheesecake bars turned out to be so amazing. Holi is the time for throwing parties with friends and family and taking forward the theme, besides traditional gujiya and thandai, I like to make a few fun snacks & desserts. Good food, good times! We are on a thandai high at this time of the year and I love using my homemade thandai masala in a ton of recipes.
Start With Thandai Masala Mix
Making thandai masala at home is super simple and takes barely 5-6 minutes. Once you make at home, you will never go back to store bought. You can be assured about the quality of ingredients and the freshness is just impeccable. Thandai Masala is made with nuts like almonds, cashews, seeds like melon and poppy seeds. Spices like fennel, black pepper and cardamom give it a fragrant exotic flair. You can check my full recipe in this Thandai post.
Thandai Shortbread
Nutty and buttery shortbread cookie goodness that is not too sweet. The shortbread crust has a delicate crumbly texture and aroma of cardamom and rose in every bite. The crust of these bars is made with super simple shortbread dough prepared using just 4 ingredients-
All purpose flourUnsalted ButterPowdered SugarThandai masala powder
Imagine eating thandai in a buttery crumbly cookie form. So yummy right? I have to stop myself from eating the dough raw. If you want, you can use the recipe to make just thandai shortbread cookies. Chill and roll out the dough and cut using cookie cutters.
No Bake Rose Cheesecake
Rose desserts are my most favorite. The rose cheesecake layer in this dessert is basically a fusion recipe combining flavors of traditional thandai with the cheesecake filling. The eggless cheesecake filling is super easy, one bowl recipe made with cream cheese, mawa and flavored with rose syrup and thandai masala. The mawa in the filling makes it taste like mithai. Yummy! You need the following ingredients to make the no bake rose cheesecake layer.
Cream CheeseMawa. Store bought or HomemadePowdered SugarRose Syrup - I used Rooh Afza, you can choose any culinary grade rose syrup.Rose Water (optional)Thandai masala powder Heavy Cream
How to Make?
Thandai Shortbread is super easy to make in 3 easy steps
Cream softened butter and sugar together. Add thandai masala and mix well. Mix in flour and using your hands make into a soft dough. Done!
Rose Cheesecake Filling
Add softened cream cheese and beat it to smooth. Add softened mawa and mix in. Next add the powdered sugar and rose syrup. Beat well.
Add heavy cream and thandai masala.Mix well to a soft luscious creamy cheesecake filling.
Assemble Everything
Press the shortbread dough in a parchment lined baking sheet. Bake till golden brown. Once cooled, add the cheesecake filling. Scatter some nuts.Refrigerate overnight or for 6-8 hours.Slice into bars.
Detailed instructions are in recipe card
Few Tips
You can make the layers as thick or thin as you like. I use a 8 by 8 inch baking pan to set. You can use a 9 by 9 inch or 9 by 13 pan for thinner layers. The filling should be a little fluffy and thick. The cream should be softened before you start beating it to avoid lumpy filling. Cook mawa for 2-3 minutes just till its softened, dont brown it. If you want, you can skip the mawa. Dont have rose syrup?Just use rose water and add a few drops of food color (optional) for pink color.Add the cheesecake filling only after the shortbread layer has completely cooled down. You can serve these bars with a berry compote. Rose and berries are beautiful together.
Serving & Storage
Serve sliced bars chilled. You can crush some rose petals or add whipped cream and berries on sides as well. Store the bars refrigerated for 2-3 days. You can freeze them for a month. Freeze them in a single layer first. And then individually wrap in cling wrap and store in the freezer. Thaw before serving.
