Amaretto Cheesecake with Raspberry Sauce
Crust
1/4 c Butter
2 c Almonds, chopped
2 tb Granulated sugar
Filling:
12 oz Cream cheese, softened
1/2 c Granulated sugar
3 Eggs
1 c Sour cream
2 tb Amaretto
1/2 ts Vanilla
1/2 ts Almond extract
Sauce:
3 c Raspberries, frozen, unsweetened, thawed
2 tb Amaretto
Sugar
Base:
In 9-inch microwavable quiche dish, shallow round baking dish or deep pie plate,
melt butter at high (100 per cent power) 1 to 1 1/2 minutes. Stir in almonds and
sugar until evenly coated with butter. Press into bottom and sides of dish.
Microwave at high 2 to 3 minutes or until firm. If necessary, rotate dish during
cooking.
Filling
Beat cream cheese and sugar until light. Beat in eggs one at a time. Add sour
cream, 2 tablespoons Amaretto or almond liqueur, vanilla and almond extract.
Beat until smooth. Pour into baked crust. Microwave uncovered at medium (50 per
cent power) 14 to 18 minutes or until cheesecake is almost set in center. Rotate
dish partway through cooking, if necessary.
Cool on countertop to room temperature, then cover and
refrigerate until serving time.
Sauce:
Reserve some whole raspberries for garnish. Puree remaining raspberries. Push
through sieve to remove seeds. Stir 2 tablespoons Amaretto or almond liqueur
into puree. Add sugar to taste.
To serve, spoon some sauce on to dessert plates. Place slice
of cheesecake on sauce. Garnish with reserved berries.
Makes 6 to 8 servings.
If you prefer, use 1 cup graham cracker crumbs with 1/2 cup
finely chopped almonds for the crust. Use a food processor and pulse to chop
nuts to an even consistency, rather than a fine powder. Also, you could
substitute strawberries for the raspberries. To omit liqueur, increase almond
extract in the filling to 1 teaspoon and use just a drop in the raspberry puree.
AUTHOR: Bev |