Rose Cheesecake Thandai Shortbread Bars are made of a buttery thandai shortbread crust topped with a no bake rose cheesecake filling. The cheesecake layer is also flavored with thandai masala.Perfect for Holi, this make-ahead indian fusion dessert is easy-peasy to make.
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 flour
- Unsalted Butter
- Powdered Sugar
- Thandai 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 Cheese
- Mawa. Store bought or Homemade
- Powdered Sugar
- Rose 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.
No Bake Rose Cheesecake Thandai Shortbread Bars
Equipment
- Hand Mixer
Ingredients
For Thandai Shortbread
- 115 g unsalted butter softened
- 80 g powdered sugar
- 165 g All purpose flour
- 25 g thandai masala
For The No Bake Rose Cheesecake Filling
- 8 oz cream cheese
- 125 g Mawa
- 70 g powdered sugar
- 2 tablespoon rose syrup
- ½ cup heavy cream
- 1 tablespoon thandai masala
Instructions
Make The Shortbread Dough (Can be made 1-2 days in advance)
- In a large bowl, beat together softened butter and powdered sugar until light and fluffy. Takes about 3-4 minutes.
- Add the thandai masala and beat again to combine very well.
- Add the flour and using your hands, bring everything together to make a soft and pliable dough.
- Notes:- 1) Shape the dough into a flat round by pressing it. You can freeze the dough for later use. 2)Once chilled, You can use the dough to just make shortbread cookies. For this roll the dough on a floured surface and cut using cookie cutters.
- Line a 8 by 8 baking dish with parchment paper with overhang. Press the shortbread dough in a uniform layer. Using a fork, poke the dough so that it does not puff up while baking. Refrigerate and let chill for 10-15 minutes.
- Preheat oven 350F.
- Place the baking sheet in the oven and let bake for 11-15 minutes until the shortbread is golden. Once baked, take out of the oven and let stand on the kitchen counter until completely cooled down.
Make The Rose Cheesecake Filling (Make While the shortbread bakes and cools)
- In a small pan, add crumbled mawa and cook for 2-4 minutes on very low heat until softened. The mawa should not brown. Let cool completely.
- Add softened cream cheese to a large and using hand mixer beat it to smooth. Takes about 4 minutes.
- Add the cooled softened mawa and beat together with cream cheese.
- Next,add the powdered sugar, rose syrup and rose water (is using).Fold with spatula to mix sugar and then beat for a good 2-3 minutes until smooth. it will turn a beautiful pink color.
- Add heavy cream and thandai masala next. Beat very well to make a smooth fluffy thickish filling.
- Note:- If the shortbread is not cold yet, refrigerate the cheesecake filling.
Assemble
- Add the cheesecake filling over the cooled shortbread crust.
- Smoothen out using a spatula. Press down some silvered pistachios or almonds if you wish.
- Cover the baking sheet with a foil or cling film and refrigerate for at least 6 hours or overnight(best).
- Lift the set cheesecake bar(using the overhung parchment) and place on a hard surface .
- Slice using a sharp knife into 6 long bars or 9 small squares or however you wish.
Notes
- 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 dollop of whipped cream and berries. Rose and berries are beautiful together.
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