Amaretto-Amaretti Chocolate Cheesecake

* Exported from MasterCook *

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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