Saffron Cheesecake …the best thing ever! Smooth, beautifully flavoured, most addictive, so satisfying. I know I’ve said this before, but honestly, this is my ALL TIME favourite cheesecake, a recipe I’m sharing here today. Flavouring this beautiful recipe is a very special product, the best quality saffron I’ve ever used, and it’s from Tahmina International. There is a heart-warming story behind the brand, and how it contributes back to society; a brave story that helps communities in conflict zones.One whiff of Tahmina transports you into another world, and I’m not kidding. I use a lot of saffron, always ensuring its good quality. After all you can’t go wrong with the most expensive spice in the world!I still remember when my son came back home from school years ago telling me they had learnt about the most expensive spice in the world! He was most impressed by his mothers in-depth knowledge when she said must be saffron! And his eyes opened as big as saucers when I showed him some from my pantry. He thought I was the richest mama in the whole world! Little did he know that in almost every kitchen here in India, there will always be saffron!Saffron is an inherent part of our existence, deeply rooted in our culture, both culinary and religious. While most auspicious ceremonies are embarked upon by a ’tilak’ that includes saffron, a wide variety of Indian desserts are delicately flavoured by this beautiful spice. You’ll also find savoury dishes that celebrate the fragrance – kormas, pulaos, kebabs and so much more. A little goes a long way, which is why using the best quality you can find makes so much sense.
We have always used saffron at home. My old aunt still makes her caramel custard with saffron as the central flavour and swears by it. I use saffron a lot too, and it’s one of my all-time favourite spices. One of my favourite uses has been my own special version of the Indian rice pudding or Zafrani Phirini, a recipe that I fast tracked to make super simple. Of course, now I have a new favourite, this Saffron Cheesecake flavoured most luxuriously and deeply by Tahmina’s saffron. That brings me to Tahmina. Derived from the Persian word ‘tahm‘, meaning strong and brave, Tahmina is an international brand with a vision to export transformational products from different conflict areas of the world. Their belief that economic development is one of the sustainable agents of change to war-torn societies resonates with me deeply, knowing that positivity like this can bring about much-needed change in a world torn apart by strife. It was heartening to hear the story, first hand for me as I was fortunate enough to meet the founder of Tahmina International in Gurgaon recently. She spoke so passionately about their maiden project, Afghan Saffron and Saffron-infused Teas, that I was moved. To see a brand so young and so brave, with such a strong vision to make the world a better place fills me with pride. To be able to get one of Afghanistan’s best luxury products saffron to international markets by connecting local farmers, employing Afghan women, and helping to develop an industry that can offer meaningful alternatives to an illicit drug economy is so meaningful. Tahmina breathes and lives this dream. They work hand in hand with communities, speak the local language fluently and are extremely proud of the quality of saffron made available to the international market.And proud Tahmina should be. I take in strong whiffs of the saffron as I pry open the beautifully designed box. When I first saw the branding and packaging, I was smitten. It was love at first sight. The colours, the design, the branding, the concept. For me, everything works like magic! And believe me, try a few strands of Tahmina’s saffron, and you will know what I mean. As the world’s most expensive spice sees a growing demand internationally, the popularity soaring, it’s so easy to fall prey to poor quality saffron.While Afghan saffron struggles to demand a good price in the international market, currently priced almost a seventh the price of Spanish saffron, Afghan saffron has been named the best in the world by the International Taste & Quality Institute for three years running. Given the relatively newer and largely underdeveloped saffron industry in Afghanistan, proper development and branding of this quality product should fetch it recognition and the price that is rightly due. Tahmina is working towards shaping this future, raising hopes to rewrite their story!And if the saffron is as good as this, it can only be a win win situation for all. The flavours became deeper chilling in the fridge overnight, the cheesecake beautifully fragrant. It tasted like heaven! Light, silky, smooth, sensuous, all the flavours tying in beautifully. It’s a luxurious yet simple cheesecake to bake. I often bake large cheesecakes, but this time chose to bake little and medium-sized ones.The fun part was dressing them up with the saffron mascarpone frosting, then adding the garnish. I love how pretty all the colours look, like a dessert worth celebrating. The Saffron Cheesecake can be made a day or two ahead, frosted a day ahead too. It holds really well, so in many ways is the perfect dessert for a special celebration.And one last word before I leave you, do try their Saffron Black Tea Blend too. I’m not a huge tea drinker but I love iced tea in summer. I made a cold brew with the tea bags {look at that colour!}, sweetened it with a little honey, and added pomegranate pearls to the glass. So refreshing, and bursting with saffron flavour. So potent! I’ve got another saffron dessert brewing in my head as I write. Another time perhaps…
Saffron Cheesecake …the best thing ever! Smooth, beautifully flavoured, most addictive, so satisfying. I know I’ve said this before, but honestly, this is my ALL TIME favourite cheesecake. Flavouring this beautiful recipe is a very special product, the best quality saffron I’ve ever used from Tahmina International.
Prep Time 10 minutesminutes
Cook Time 1 hourhour
Total Time 6 hourshours10 minutesminutes
Servings 8people
Ingredients
Biscuit base
200gdigestive biscuits
25gpistachiosfinely chopped
50gunsalted butter
1pinchsaffron strandsgenerous
Saffron Cheesecake Filling
150gmascarpone
175gcream cheese
300gsweetened condensed milk
200gsingle cream
25gcornflour
3eggs
1/2tspvanilla bean paste
1tspsaffron strands
Mascarpone Saffron Cream
100gmascarpone
50gwhipping cream
15g{1 tbsp} icing sugar
1pinchsaffron strandsgenerous
To garnish
saffron strands
Pistachio slivers
Organic rose petals
Instructions
Biscuit base
Preheat the oven at 180C. Prepare one loose bottomed 8-9" round tin, or smaller tins as desired. Lightly grease the inside, and wrap the outside with heavy duty foil. Place on baking tray.
Place all ingredients except pistachios in jar of processor. Process until fine breadcrumb like mix. Stir in chopped pistachios.
Turn into prepared tin, press gently. Bake for 10 minutes. Cool on rack, then top with saffron cheesecake filling.
Saffron Cheesecake Filling
Place all ingredients other than saffron in jar of processor. Blend for 30 seconds to a minute until well mixed together. {I used the Thermomix, Speed 7, 20 seconds}
Add the saffron strands and mix in on low speed {Thermomix, Reverse speed 4, 5 seconds}
Pour over biscuit base. Pour about 1 cup of water into baking tray.
Bake 170c for an hour/until slightly firm to touch. Cool completely, then cover and chill overnight.
Mascarpone Saffron Cream
Place whipping cream and sugar in a large bowl and whip to medium stiff peaks. Add mascarpone and whip on slow speed until blended, then add saffron strands and mix in on lowest speed for 20 seconds.
Transfer to piping bag fitted with star nozzle. Pipe over chilled cheesecake.
Garnish with pistachio slivers, saffron strands and fresh, organic rose petals.
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Deeba @ PAB
About me: I am a freelance food writer, recipe developer and photographer. Food is my passion - baking, cooking, developing recipes, making recipes healthier, using fresh seasonal produce and local products, keeping a check on my carbon footprint and being a responsible foodie! I enjoy food styling, food photography, recipe development and product reviews. I express this through my food photographs which I style and the recipes I blog. My strength lies in 'Doing Food From Scratch'; it must taste as good as it looks, and be healthy too. Baking in India, often my biggest challenge is the non-availability of baking ingredients, and this has now become a platform to get creative on. I enjoy cooking immensely as well.
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35 thoughts on “Saffron Cheesecake … inspired baking!”
This looks nice, will be making it for the family.
BTW, the blog takes little more than usual time to load.
Hi,
This is truly amazing cake. I am a baker from Delhi, India and believe me I love your baking style. I will make this cake and let you know. Thanks Again.
I’m amazed, I must say. Seldom do I come across a blog that’s equally educative and amusing,
and without a doubt, you’ve hit the nail on the head. The issue is
something not enough people are speaking intelligently about.
Hi
deepa rajpal
i eat cheesecake from market. when i was wish to eat cake i buy this from markets its really very expensive for me. i want to learn to make it. but your saffron-cheesecake post very helpful for me to learn to make it. so i thanks to you from bottom of my heart.
Hello
I really want to try this one out. But the problem here are the eggs. My family is vegetarian. Is there any way we can substitute eggs with something else?
Thank you so much for this wonderful recipe! I’m totally in love with ur blog and food photography too ?. May I know what is Single Cream ? I’m in the US, is it the same as Light cream?
This looks nice, will be making it for the family.
BTW, the blog takes little more than usual time to load.
Thank you so much. Also, I’ve looked at the page speed and tried to fix it. Looks better already. Thank you for letting me know.
Truly beautiful !
Thanks for sharing valuable information
Hi I am from Iran..very nice..I’m bekery ramezan resipy for cheese cake saffron?tx
Thank you. Please let me know how it turned out.
It looks nice, thanks for sharing.
All your dishes are really helpful and I always try these at home. My family loves all these dishes. Keep on updating such posts.
Hi,
This is truly amazing cake. I am a baker from Delhi, India and believe me I love your baking style. I will make this cake and let you know. Thanks Again.
Warm Regards
YummyCake
Can’t believe a cake with saffron, awesome recipe to a perfect saffron cake. Thanks for sharing.
Saffron is a great ingredient in desserts. Thank you
I’m amazed, I must say. Seldom do I come across a blog that’s equally educative and amusing,
and without a doubt, you’ve hit the nail on the head. The issue is
something not enough people are speaking intelligently about.
Saffron and cheesecake ? I’m hearing of this for the first time. Thats very innovative. Keep up the good work.
You must try the flavour combination. So soothing and sublime. 🙂
oh my God ..how beautifully you made . pictures i love
http://traderngal.blogspot.com/2018/06/mussoorie.html
Thank you so much for stopping by Arpita. And for the sweet words ♥
Hi
deepa rajpal
i eat cheesecake from market. when i was wish to eat cake i buy this from markets its really very expensive for me. i want to learn to make it. but your saffron-cheesecake post very helpful for me to learn to make it. so i thanks to you from bottom of my heart.
umhhhh it looks damm tasty. i like the colour and the texture of the cake. Thanks dear for sharing your recipe with us. Will definitely try.
Thanks for sharing this exceelent recipe and making my day. Keep posting.
Thank you so much! So glad you liked it!
This cake is adorable. You have decorate this cake in such a unique way .
Nice article good information. god bless you
Visiting your website gives me a lot of ideas and I make the delectable cakes for my customers as well.
Thanks Passionate About Baking.
Warm Regards
YummyCake
Wow this cheese cake recipe is so good thank you for sharing your recipe
Hello
I really want to try this one out. But the problem here are the eggs. My family is vegetarian. Is there any way we can substitute eggs with something else?
Maybe try the eggless cheesecake recipe?
https://passionateaboutbaking.com/baking-eggless-cheesecake-mango-lime-sauce-desserts-summer/
Hi Smiti, this one cannot be made eggless. I do have a few eggless cheesecakes on my blog. Sharing a couple of links below…
https://passionateaboutbaking.com/tag/eggless-baked-cheesecake/
https://passionateaboutbaking.com/baking-eggless-cheesecake-mango-lime-sauce-desserts-summer/
This is such a great treat, really thanks for sharing this to us.
Yummy Cake recipe 🙂
Thank you so much for this wonderful recipe! I’m totally in love with ur blog and food photography too ?. May I know what is Single Cream ? I’m in the US, is it the same as Light cream?
TIA
You are most welcome. Thank you for your sweet words. Yes, single cream. We have a light 20% fat cream here.
Is there an eggless version of this. Thanks!
It’ll have to be a totally different recipe. You can search for eggless cheesecakes on the blog though.
Thanks for the recipe. We are into cake business and will try to post your recipe. If you post a video that would be more helpful to understand.
Such a useful post. Contains very useful info.