Amaretto Cheesecake with Almond Crust and Amaretto Caramel Sauce

By Texaschef11

Ingredients

• Almond Crust
• 115 g (1 cup) finely ground almonds
• 120 g (1 cup) finely ground graham wafers
• 28 g (2 tablespoons) caster (superfine granules) sugar
• 56 g (4 tablespoons) unsalted butter, melted

Preparation

Step 1

Place oven rack in centre position. Preheat oven to 180° C (350° F).
In a small-sized bowl, mix together almonds, graham wafers, and sugar.
Add melted butter; stir until mixture is evenly moistened.
Press crumb mixture, coating evenly, onto bottom (not sides) of springform pan.
Bake crust until golden brown and almonds are toasted, 10 to 12 minutes.
Transfer crust to a wire rack to cool.
Reduce oven temperature to 160° C (325° F).

Amaretto Cheesecake Filling

340 g (12 ounces) Philadelphia-brand cream cheese, room temperature
453 g (16 ounces) mascarpone cheese, room temperature
24 g (3 tablespoons) plain (all-purpose) flour, sifted
300 g (1 1/3 cup) caster (superfine granules) sugar
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
44 ml (3 tablespoons or 1½ ounces) Talea Italian Amaretto Cream liqueur (preferred) or Disaronno Amaretto liqueur
4 large eggs

Using heavy-duty aluminum foil, make three 40-cm (16-inch) squares. Layer aluminum squares and place springform pan in centre of square; tightly mould foil around and up the sides of the pan, set-aside. (Wrapping the pan in aluminum foil helps to prevent water from seeping into the pan when baking cheesecake in a water bath). Bring a teakettle of water to a boil.
In the bowl of an electric stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat cream cheese on medium-high speed until smooth and creamy.
Add the mascarpone and flour; beat on medium speed until smooth, scraping down sides and bottom of bowl as needed.
Gradually add sugar and beat on medium speed until smooth.
Add the vanilla and liqueur; beat on medium speed to just combine.
Add eggs, one-at-a-time, beating just to combine after each addition (about 30 seconds). Scrape sides and bottom of bowl after each egg addition.
Pour cheesecake filling over almond crust in pan.
Place springform pan into the centre of a large roasting pan. Pull out the middle oven rack slightly; place roasting pan on rack. Carefully pour the boiling water from the teakettle into the large roasting pan (making sure not to let any water get into the cheesecake filling) about one-half way up the sides of the springform pan.
Carefully push the roasting pan into the centre of the oven rack and then ever so carefully push the oven rack back into the oven.
Bake cheesecake in preheated 160° C (325° F) oven until set around the edges and the centre of the cheesecake slightly jiggles (cheesecake will continue to set when cooling) when gently shaken, about 1 hour and 15 minutes.
Remove roasting pan from oven. Transfer springform pan to a wire rack and allow to cool on rack for 1 hour. Remove aluminum foil; chill cheesecake in springform pan uncovered or loosely covered for 6 hours, preferably overnight or up to 2 days.

Amaretto-Caramel Sauce

(Recipe adapted from Not So Humble Pie via Ray’s Boathouse: Seafood Secrets of the Pacific Northwest)

**Cook’s Note – The Italian Amaretto Cream has a milder alcohol content than the Disaronno Amaretto. It is best to add the liqueur 1-tablespoon at-a-time, taste after each addition and then add more to suit your preference.

As a precautionary measure when preparing the caramel I prefer to use a 6-litre (6.3-quart) heavy-bottomed stockpot. When the cream is added the sugar mixture boils ferociously and comes up the sides. Another couple of tips I’ve picked up along the way, bring heavy cream to room temperature, and prepare and measure all of your ingredients before beginning the caramel making process.

338 g (1½ cups) caster (superfine granules) sugar
10 ml (2 teaspoons) freshly squeezed lemon juice
473 ml (2 cups or 16 ounces) heavy cream, 35%
15 ml to 44 ml (1 to 3 tablespoons or ½ to 1½ ounces) Talea Italian Amaretto Cream liqueur or Disarrono Amaretto liqueur
57 g (4 tablespoons or ¼ cup), unsalted butter, cut into 4 equal pieces, room temperature

In a heavy-bottomed, 6-litre (6.3-quart) stockpot over medium heat, combine the sugar and lemon juice. Stir with a large, flexible rubber spatula until most of the sugar has dissolved. At this point set aside the spatula and swirl the pan over the heat to keep the colour of the caramel even throughout.
Cook until the sugar-juice mixture turns a medium amber colour. (Whatever you do, don’t walk away, not even for a second, because the sugar can quickly darken and you run the risk of burning the sugar and the taste will be quite bitter – not at all what you want in a caramel sauce.)
Gradually add the cream, whisking constantly (don’t be concerned if the caramel hardens at this stage just continue to add the cream while whisking).
Bring the mixture back to a boil over medium heat; boil for 5 minutes, whisking constantly (any hardened caramel should have melted by this point).
Remove from heat; add the liqueur according to your taste beginning by adding 1-tablespoon at-a-time (be cautious when tasting the caramel will be quite hot).
Whisk in the butter.
Pour caramel sauce into a heatproof bowl. Cover and chill in the refrigerator until thickened.

Assembling Amaretto Cheesecake with Almond Crust and Amaretto-Caramel Sauce

Remove cheesecake from refrigerator. Hold the springform pan tightly and pull back the latch all the way to release the sides. Carefully pull the sides of the pan straight up off the cheesecake.
Pour caramel sauce onto centre of cheesecake and using an offset spatula spread caramel to edges, leaving a .64-cm (¼-inch) border.
Place cheesecake on a cake plate or cake stand.
To serve, pour caramel sauce onto a dessert dish, using both hands push the dish forwards and backwards to spread out the caramel. Slice cheesecake with a knife dipped in hot water and wiped clean with a clean cloth. Place cheesecake slice in centre of caramel pool. Or place cheesecake slice on a dessert dish and serve extra caramel on the side.
Enjoy!