AMARETTO ALMOND CHEESECAKE This is one of my oldest and most requested cheesecakes. It has a wonderful, fresh flavor, freezes well, and serves beautifully. I usually offer a fresh fruit sauce to go with it – raspberry and strawberry are my favorite. Prepare a 10-inch spring form pan for baking. CRUST: 2 C. finely ground fresh graham cracker crumbs scant ½ C. sugar ½ C. (one stick) unsalted butter Melt the butter carefully in the microwave in a heatproof mixing bowl. Sprinkle the graham cracker crumbs and sugar over the melted butter and combine the ingredients with a wooden spoon, mixing well. Turn the mixture into the prepared spring form pan and level it gently with the back of a large metal spoon, spreading it slight up the sides of the pan, maybe an inch high. Using a soupspoon or pie tamper, press the crumb mixture firmly in place against the surface of the pan to an even thickness. Cover the prepared crust with plastic wrap and chill or freeze while making the filling. Preheat an oven to 350 degrees. FILLING: 4 8-oz. packages cream cheese, softened 1-pint sour cream 1 ½ C. sugar 4 eggs 1/8 tsp. salt 1 Tbls. all purpose flour 1 tsp. almond extract 1 Tbls. pure vanilla extract 1 Tbls. Amaretto liqueur ½ Tbls. lemon juice In the large mixing bowl of a stand mixer, fitted with a paddle attachment, combine the cream cheese, which has been sitting at room temperature to soften, with the sugar and mix until smooth. Add the sour cream, stopping the mixer a few times to scrap down the sides and incorporate all ingredients smoothly. Add the eggs, one at a time, mixing after each addition, until well combined. Sprinkle in the salt and flour. Then add the liquid flavorings and continue mixing and scraping down sides to make sure the cheese mixture is without lumps. Pour this mixture into the prepared and chilled crust and place in the preheated oven. (I put a pan or aluminum foil on the rack underneath the rack the cheesecake pan sits on to catch dripping butter that might slip out of the spring form pan. Saves cleaning the oven!) Bake the cheesecake for 55 – 65 minutes. The cake will still jiggle a bit when lightly moved, even at 65 minutes but will firm up after it is chilled. Look for very small (hairline) cracks around the perimeter of the cake as it rises from the sides of the pan to help judge doneness. Do not poke a knife into the cake to test doneness – it may crack the cheesecake. Remove the baked cake from the oven and cool completely on a wire rack. Wrap the entire pan in plastic wrap and refrigerate 8-12 hours before serving. You can also freeze it at this point. Make almond topping shortly before serving. Sprinkle cooled topping on chilled cake. ALMOND TOPPING: 2 Tbls. unsalted butter 1 ½ C. sliced almonds 1/2 – 1 C. sugar Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Prepare a baking sheet with sides by spraying it with non-stick cooking spray. In a heatproof mixing bowl, melt about 2 Tbls. unsalted butter in the microwave. Put 1½ C. sliced almonds into the bowl and coat thoroughly with the butter. Sprinkle ½ C. sugar over the almonds and stir again. Pour this mixture in an even layer onto a baking sheet. Sprinkle more sugar over the top of the almonds, maybe an additional ¼ C. Bake the almonds about 10 – 15 minutes…watch to make sure they brown evenly and become crispy glazed. You will need to stir them around once or twice during the baking time. When they are nicely browned, remove the pan from the oven and turn the almonds out onto a sheet of waxed paper to cool. If you find the almonds are still stick and not crunchy enough, you CAN return them to the baking sheet and bake longer.
Posted on: Wed, 26 Nov 2014 05:23:13 +0000
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