Luscious Black Forest Cheesecake Recipe

By carol gorman

Ingredients

• 1-1/4 cups chocolate wafer crumbs
• 1/4 cup butter, melted
• 2 envelopes unflavored gelatin
• 1 cup cold water
• 1 can (21 ounces) cherry pie filling
• 1/2 teaspoon almond extract
• 2 packages (8 ounces each) cream cheese, softened
• 1/3 cup sugar
• 2 ounces semisweet chocolate, melted and cooled
• 1 teaspoon brandy extract or vanilla extract
• 1 cup heavy whipping cream, whipped
• Maraschino cherries and additional whipped cream and melted chocolate for garnish, optional

Details

Servings 12
Preparation time 40mins
Cooking time 40mins
Adapted from tasteofhome.com

Preparation

Step 1

Combine crumbs and butter; press into the bottom and up the sides of a 9-in. springform pan. Chill for 15 minutes.

In a small saucepan, sprinkle gelatin over cold water; let stand for 1 minute. Heat over low heat, stirring until gelatin is completely dissolved. Combine 1/3 cup gelatin mixture with pie filling and almond extract; pour into crust and chill until set.

In a large bowl, beat cream cheese and sugar until smooth. Beat in the melted chocolate, brandy extract and remaining gelatin mixture. Fold in whipped cream; spread over cherry layer. Chill at least 3 hours.

Remove from pan. Garnish with the whipped cream, cherries and chocolate if desired.
Yield: 12-16 servings.