10 Mocktails and Cheesecakes, HACKED.

You recently moved out, it’s a hot day and your will to diet comes in conflict with your taste buds demanding to get pampered. The heat is already draining out all the energy you had. You walk down to the nearest shop, pack a slice of cheesecake , grab a glass of sparkling virgin mojito and the bill in the other hand. The BILL? Surely not less than Rs 350 ( approx ). This is the beginning of your pocket money to fall short for the rest of the month. To this problem, my friends, i bring to you the  ‘ULTIMATE MOCKTAIL AND CHEESECAKE CHEAT SHEET’. I present to you the simplest 10 recipes to soothe your mind and body and heart and soul and of course, your taste buds that too with easily available kitchen ingredients that are very light on your pocket. The best part? These are super easy, and super quick and low on calories. What else could you possibly ask for? Go , scroll down!

However, please note that since this is a CHEAT SHEET, you can not expect to make your food look exactly like the ones you get in the market but the flavors will not be compromised.

1. CUCUMBER DEMENTOR –  A light and tangy cooler perfect for a sip after a jog.

• juice of 2 large cucumbers
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 1/4 cup lemon juice or lemon squash
• 20 ml chilled club soda
• salt to taste

Add the juice of cucumbers, lemon juice, granulated sugar in a glass and stir well. Pour in the chilled soda and serve.

2. BLUE   LAGOON – The most popular cooler, perfect for parties.

• 30ml chilled club soda
• 30ml blue lagoon syrup
• 2 tbsp lemonade
• granulated sugar as desired

Stir up all the ingridients, add lemon wedges, you’re good to go!

3. BLACK RUSSIAN MOCKTAIL – Sleepy and don’t want to waste time heating the milk? Go for this mocktail and replace your usual coffee with this drink.

• 2 sachets of coffee
• 6-7 ice cubes
• club soda 30 ml

Give the coffee and vodka a nice stir, add the soda and pop ice cubes and serve.

4. MID SUMMER VIBES –  Recently joined the gym but your taste buds still asking for those sugary things that are not gonna be too good on your body? It’s time you give up that whole idea. This ideal drink, loaded with fruits is surely a yes for all of you.

• 20 ml rose syrup
• 30 ml chilled soda
• 1 and a 1/2 cup crushed ice
• 1 tbsp lemon juice
• chopped fruits ( apple, banana, watermelon, kiwi, black grapes etc )

In a glass, put a part of the crushed ice and add half of the chopped fruits and rose syrup. Repeat with the rest of the ingredients and fill it with chilled soda and serve.

I bet this is gonna make your mom happy! Also, the ‘diet conscious’. Fruits fruits everywhere .

5. WATERMELON MINT AGUA FRESCA – A dash of mint to your plain watermelon juice can work wonders. Go ahead, try it yourself!

• 1 cup cold water
• 1 cup watermelon, seeded and chopped
•  2 tbsp granulated sugar
• 1/2 tbsp lemon juice
• 1 tsp powdered mint toffee

Combine all the ingredients and puree till smooth. Pour mixture through a strainer forcing most of the pulp. CHILL and serve.

5  Mocktails, super easy to make does call for the latter part of my blogpost – CHEESECAKES. One thing that I would like like to bring to your notice is that I haven’t used the typical way in which cheesecakes are served only because it would look complicated and you might not wish to get up and try plus you might not have the required utensils! Why should that stop you from cooking delicious stuff? 😀

PS – Keep reading for more. 😀

6.  KOLKATA KNIGHT RIDERS – A layer of crumbled up graham crackers, layered with a tangy layer of cream cheese topped with crushed black grapes. IPL fever much ?

• 20 gm melted butter
• 20 gm black grapes
• 30 gm cream cheese
• lemon zest ( as required )
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 30 gm graham cracker crumbs ( or any other biscuit crumbs )

For the base, mix the biscuit crumbs with butter until the mixture attains the texture of wet sand. Leave it in the refrigerator for 1 hour in the utensil you want your cheesecake to be in.

For the first layer, mix 25 gm cream cheese and half cup icing sugar and lemon zest. Whip until no lumps remain. For the topmost layer, crush black grapes with the leftover cream cheese and icing sugar. ( adding lemon juice or grape juice is optional )

7. COFFEE CUDDLE CHEESECAKE – This is the simplest you can go with a cheesecake ( even if the meaning for you changes a little ), go BASELESS!

• 30 gm cream cheese
• 1 sachet coffee
• 2 tbsp granulated sugar

Simply mix the ingredients together. Refrigerate and serve.

8. CHERRY CRUSH – Strawberries heavy on your pocket? Replace it with this cherry crush cheesecake!

• 20 gm cherries
• 30 gm cream cheese
• 1 tbsp cherry crush
• 20 gm graham cracker crumbs ( or any other biscuit crumbs )
• 20 gm butter
• icing or granulated sugar as desired ( cherries are naturally very sweet )

For the base, mix the biscuit crumbs with butter until the mixture attains the texture of wet sand. Leave it in the refrigerator for 1 hour in the utensil you want your cheesecake to be in.

For the first layer, whip together cherry crush and cream cheese. Top it with sliced cherries and cherry crush. Serve in a bowl or glass.

9. MANGO CHEESECAKE – How do you value friends if you don’t have foes? How would your feet look without your toes? And, how can summers ever be complete without mangoes! Well, I intended to make this cheesecake ‘cute’ but it chose ‘creepy’ for itself. So,do try it out if you love mangoes even if it’s creepy!

• 1 cup cream cheese
• 30 gm graham cracker crumbs
• 20 gm butter
• 1/2 cup mango puree
• 1 tbsp granulated sugar
• chocolate and cherries for garnish

For the base, mix the biscuit crumbs with butter until the mixture attains the texture of wet sand. Leave it in the refrigerator for 1 hour in the utensil you want your cheesecake to be in.

Next , in a bowl take the cream cheese, mango puree and granulated sugar in a bowl and mix well. Pour into the graham cracker bedded mould and refrigerate. Top with chocolate and cherries and serve!

10. DECONSTRUCTED KOOKY CHEESECAKE – This saves the time of making the graham cracker cheesecake base and you get a blast of 3 different flavors from this beauty.

• 1 cup crumbled chocolate cake ( if you don’t have leftover cake, you could bake some or watch out for my next blog post for a 2 minute chocolate cake recipe )
• 1/2 cup whipping cream
• 1/2 cup cream cheese
• 2 small coffee sachets
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• chocolate bar ( optional )

Whip in the whipping cream and cream cheese until it doubles in volume and add in granulated sugar. Take half the mixture in another bowl and add the coffee powder and mix until smooth.

In an old fashioned glass, layer with the chocolate cake crumbs and whipping cream ( the white an the coffee mixed ) simultaneously . Top with chocolate. Dig in !

As the saying goes – ‘ ALL GOOD THINGS COME TO AN END‘, it’s time for me to say goodbye. Do try out the recipes. Like, comment and share the blogpost and follow me @Chaitali’s . Write to me your experience at chaitali.jay99@gmail.com 😀

Last but not the least, ( in case you’re unaware ) I participated in a culinary competition hosted by the INTERNATIONAL INSTITUTE OF HOTEL MANAGEMENT and placed among the TOP 10 FINALISTS FROM THE EASTERN ZONE. Catch me on NDTV GOODTIMES, 5 TH JUNE, 8 PM and vote for me at http://youngchefindia.com/contestants/chaitali-mandal/ and help me win BECAUSE 40% of the final score depends on public polling . 🙂