1990s Recipes + Menus
Cherry Cheesecake with Chocolate Almond Crust
Makes1 cake
July 1997
For chocolate-almond crust
- 3/4 cup blanched whole almonds, toasted lightly
- 20 thin chocolate wafer cookies
- 1/2 stick (1/4 cup) unsalted butter, softened
- 1/3 cup sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon almond extract
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
For cherry topping
- 3/4 teaspoon unflavored gelatin
- 1 tablespoon water
- 3 cups pitted picked-over fresh tart cherries (about 2 pints)
- 1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar
- 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
- 1/4 teaspoon almond extract
For cheese filling
- two 8-ounce packages cream cheese, softened
- 1 cup sugar
- 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 3 large eggs
- an 8-ounce container sour cream
- 2 teaspoons vanilla
- 1/2 cup cherry juice reserved from making topping
Make crust:
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Preheat oven to 350° F.
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In a food processor pulse almonds until ground. Add chocolate wafer cookies and grind fine. Add butter, sugar, almond extract, and salt and pulse until combined well. Transfer mixture to a 9-inch springform pan and press evenly onto bottom and 1 inch up side. Bake crust in middle of oven 10 minutes and transfer to a rack to cool. Crust may be made 3 days ahead and kept, covered, at room temperature.
Make topping:
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In a very small bowl sprinkle gelatin over water and let stand about 1 minute to soften. In a heavy saucepan bring cherries, sugar, and lemon juice to a boil, stirring. Remove pan from heat and reserve 1/2 cup juice for filling. To mixture remaining in pan add gelatin mixture and almond extract and stir until gelatin is dissolved.
Make filling:
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In a bowl with an electric mixer beat cream cheese with sugar until smooth. Beat in flour and add eggs 1 at a time, beating after each addition. Beat in sour cream, vanilla, and reserved cherry juice until combined well.
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Pour filling into crust and bake in middle of oven 50 minutes. (Cake will not be set in center but will set as it cools.) Transfer cake in pan to a rack to cool completely. Chill cake, loosely covered, 1 hour. Remove side of pan and transfer cake to a plate. Spread topping evenly over cake. Chill cake, loosely covered, at least 2 hours and up to 3 days.
- Keywords
- dessert,
- cheesecake,
- chocolate,
- cherry,
- summer