Chocolate Cherry Almond Cheesecake

By á-639

Ingredients

• CHOCOLATE COOKIE CRUST
• 11 chocolate sandwich cream cookies, crushed
• 3 tablespoons chopped almonds, toasted
• 3 tablespoons butter, melted
• CHOCOLATE CHERRY ALMOND FILLING
• 24 ounces cream cheese
• 2/3 cup sugar
• 5 taspoons cornstarch
• 3 eggs
• 1 egg yolk
• 1 1/4 teaspoons vanilla
• 5 teaspoons unsweetened cocoa powder
• 2 1/2 tablespoons sugar
• 1/2 cup cherry schnapps
• 1 1/2 teaspoons almond extract
• 2/3 cup bing cherries, pitted, chopped, and drained

Details

Servings 12

Preparation

Step 1

CHOCOLATE COOKIE CRUST
in a small bowl stir together crushed cookies and almonds. Stir in melted butter till well combined. Press crumb mixture evenly onto the bottom of a greased 9-inch springform pan.

CHOCOLATE CHERRY ALMOND FILLING
In a large bowl combine cream cheese, 2/3 cup sugar, and cornstarch. Beat with an electric mixer till smooth. Add eggs and egg yolk, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in vanilla.
Remove 3/4 cup of the mixture and put into a small bowl, Stir in cocoa powder and 2 1/2 tablespoons sugar. Set aside. Stir cherry schapps and almond extract into the remaining cream cheese mixture. Fold in cherries.
Pour half of the cherry mixture over the crust. Spoon 2/3 cup of the cocoa mixture over the cherry mixture. Pour the remaing cherry mixture over the cocoa mixture. Top with remaining cocoa mixture. Without disturbing the crust, swirl the blade of a knife through the cake to create a marble effect.
Bake at 325 for 15 minutes. Lower temperature to 225 and bake for 1 hour 10 minutes or till the center no longer looks wet or shiny.Remove the cake from the oven and run a knife around the inside edge of the pan. Turn the oven off; return the cake to the oven for an additional 1 hour. Chill, uncovered, overnight.