I had never baked a cheesecake until last week. It’s odd—I love baking and have tried so many things, yet cheesecakes always intimidated me. Silly, isn’t it?
Sometimes we avoid doing something for no good reason, even when we know it’s straightforward. When I finally tried, it felt natural and much easier than I’d imagined.
The turning point came when I decided to make cream cheese from scratch. That’s what I’m sharing here. But first, my cheesecake story.
I experimented with making cream cheese several times, and each attempt worked beautifully. In the end I had a large bowl of homemade cream cheese. I spread it on toast, dipped pita in olive oil with a scoop of it (delicious), and even tried it on plums and apples—trust me, it’s surprisingly good. Still, there was more in the bowl, and cheesecake naturally came to mind.
I reached out to my friend Aditi, whom I jokingly call The Cheesecake Queen—she fills my feed with cheesecake photos. She shared a recipe that worked wonderfully. My cheesecake turned out light, creamy, and perfectly tart—everything a cheesecake should be. Now I have no more fears about making them; in fact, I’m making another batch of cream cheese for my next cheesecake.
Before we get to cheesecakes, let’s focus on this simple homemade cream cheese. The beauty of this method is that there’s no cooking involved. The result closely resembles store-bought cream cheese: smooth, creamy, slightly tangy and salty. The technique is similar to making labneh and takes some time, but it’s easy and worth it.
Also see my tutorial on How To Make Homemade Paneer (Cottage Cheese) In 15 Minutes.
If you try this recipe, I’d love to hear how it turned out. Connect with me on social media for more updates and recipes.
Recipes With Cream Cheese:
- Mini Mango Cheesecakes
- Caramel Pumpkin Pie Cheesecake Dip
- No Bake Mango Cheesecake Mousse Jars
- 8-Ingredient Passion Fruit Cheesecake Jars
- No Bake Strawberry Cheesecake Jars
Homemade Cream Cheese
Ingredients
- 1 Kg Yogurt, (I used commercially available curds)
- 1 teaspoon Salt
- Layers of muslin or cheesecloth
Instructions
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Line a colander or sieve with several layers of muslin or cheesecloth and set it over a bowl. Pour the yogurt into the lined colander. You’ll see a pale liquid drain out—this is whey.
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Gather the cloth edges and tie them to form a bag. Tie the bag to a wooden spoon and rest the spoon across a deep bowl so the bag hangs without touching the bottom—this lets the whey drip into the bowl beneath.
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Place this setup in the refrigerator for 24 hours. Check occasionally and pour off any whey that collects in the bowl so the bag doesn’t sit in it. Save the whey—it’s useful, for example, as a liquid for kneading dough.
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After 24 hours, untie and open the bag. The yogurt will have thickened into a spreadable, cream-cheese-like texture. Transfer it to a bowl and stir in the salt until evenly distributed.
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Line a bowl with the cloth again, spoon the cream cheese into it, wrap the cloth over the top, and place a heavy weight on it (a plate or a bowl filled with water works). Refrigerate for up to 2 days to firm it further.
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After up to 2 days, unwrap and your homemade cream cheese is ready to use.
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Yield: approximately 2 cups.
Nutrition
, Carbohydrates: 23g
, Protein: 17g
, Fat: 16g
, Sodium: 1393mg
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