Amaretto-amaretti chocolate cheesecake

 
                   AMARETTO-AMARETTI CHOCOLATE CHEESECAKE
 
 Recipe By     : 
 Serving Size  : 16   Preparation Time :0:00
 Categories    : Desserts                         Cheesecakes
 
   Amount  Measure       Ingredient -- Preparation Method
 --------  ------------  --------------------------------
 *****  NONE  *****
 
   This is adapted from Maida Heatter's Book of Great
   Chocolate Desserts, (Knopf 1980). It won me a blue
   ribbon at the Martha's Vineyard Agricultural
   Exhibition and Fair in 1983. If you ever find yourself
   in front of a firing squad, this makes an unbeatable
   last request.
   
   INGREDIENTS (Serves 16)
   
   CRUST
         7 oz Amaretti (see note)
         2    Tbsp granulated sugar 1 oz unsweetened
   chocolate (1 square)
         5    Tbsp sweet butter
   
   FILLING
         6 oz semisweet chocolate
         7 oz Amaretti
         4 oz almond paste
       1/3    cup Amaretto liqueur 1 1/2 lb cream cheese
   at room temperature
       1/4    cup granulated sugar
         4    eggs (large or extra-large)
       1/2    cup heavy cream
   
   PROCEDURE (CRUST)
   
   Butter the sides only (not the bottom) of a 9-inch
   spring-form pan (2 1/2-3 inches deep). Grind the
   Amaretti very fine in a food processor or blender. Mix
   with sugar in a mixing bowl.
   
   Melt the chocolate and butter in the top of a double
   boiler, stirring occasionally. Add the melted mixture
   to the Amaretti crumbs and sugar and mix thoroughly.
   (Don't wash the double boiler; you'll be using it
   again in a minute.)
   
   Turn the mixture into the prepared pan. With your
   fingers, distribute it evenly over the bottom and
   press it down into a very firm, compact layer.
   Refrigerate while you prepare the filling.
   
   PROCEDURE (FILLING)
   
   Adjust rack 1/3 up from the bottom of the oven and
   preheat to 350 deg. F. Partially melt chocolate in the
   top of a double boiler, then uncover and stir until
   completely melted. Remove the top of the double boiler
   and set aside to cool. Break the Amaretti coarsely
   into a bowl and set aside.
   
   Cut the almond paste into small pieces, and beat on
   low speed with an electric mixer, while gradually
   adding the Amaretto liqueur. Beat until thoroughly
   mixed, and set aside.
   
   Beat the cream cheese with an electric mixer until
   smooth. Add the sugar and beat until smooth again. Add
   the almond paste-Amaretto mixture and beat until
   thoroughly mixed. Add the melted chocolate and beat
   well again. Add the eggs one at a time, beating at low
   speed until they are incorporated after each addition.
   Add the heavy cream and beat until smooth. Add the
   coarsely broken Amaretti and stir gently only to mix.
   
   Turn into the prepared pan, pouring the mixture over
   the bottom crust. Rotate the pan gently to level the
   batter. (Don't worry if the mixture comes almost to
   the top; it won't run over.)
   
   Bake 45 minutes. It will seem soft and not done, but
   don't bake any more; it will become firm when chilled.
   The top of the cake is supposed to look bumpy because
   of the large chunks of Amaretti.
   
   Let cool completely at room temperature, then
   carefully remove the sides of the pan and refrigerate
   the cake (still on the bottom of the pan) for 4 to 6
   hours, or overnight.
   
   NOTES Amaretti are Italian almond-flavored wafer
   cookies. They are usually sold in metal tins with the
   wafers wrapped in packages of two inside the tin. You
   can also buy Amarettini, which are the same flavor but
   much smaller and not individually wrapped. Since
   you're going to grind some of the wafers and break the
   others into chunks, it doesn't matter which size you
   start with. One brand is Amaretti di Saronna,
   Lazzaroni & Co. This is an expensive cake, both in
   terms of the cost of the ingredients ($15-$20) and the
   number of calories.
   
   RATING Difficulty: moderate to hard. Time: 30 minutes
   preparation, 45minutes baking, overnight cooling.
   Precision: measure ingredients carefully.
   
   USENET Cookbook 6 Feb 87 -- CONTRIBUTOR: Jan Wolitzky
   AT&T Bell Laboratories, Murray Hill, New Jersey, USA
  
 
 
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