I was asked to bake a special Cheesecake with Peanut butter and Almond Liquor (I used De Sorona)
–Amareto~ it’s an almond Liquor that I thought was good.
They requested a Graham wafer crust.
For the crust :
2 1/2 Cups Ground Graham Wafers
1/2 Cup Ground Almonds
1/2 Cup Butter, melted
1/4 Cup Sugar (or less)
then I pressed it into a 8″or 9 inch spring~form pan.
I like it a lot up the sides, but it really doesn’t matter…just make sure the crust is evenly pressed into the pan).and baked it in a 350 oven for 35 minutes.
cool
For the filling:
500 grams of fresh cream cheese.*
1/2 Cup White Sugar**
1/4 teaspoon Vanilla
3 Large Eggs
* about 2 packages of cream cheese..or make your own…https://slott717.wordpress.com/
** ( I reduced the sugar…if you like add another 1/2 cup)
3/4 Cups of Sour Cream
simple ingredients….But you know how I am!
..IT’S ALL ABOUT:
Always have your ingredients at room temperature. That includes the Eggs and sour cream..
(I never forget but if you do, put the eggs into a warm water bath..)
…blend the cheese very well..it must start at room temperature. Add the sour cream, sugar, vanilla and salt. Blend well. Once everything is blended, ……sometimes I whip it for 20-30 minutes, scraping the sides often.
It’s all about incorporating as much air into it as you can so it will ‘puff’ a bit once you bake it later.
- That’s a cheesecake…basically..
- but to add a ‘swirl of Peanut butter I added put about 2/3 of the cheese into the crust,
- then added about 1 cup of Peanut Butter to the remaining mix. Beat until smooth, then scrape it into the Cake pan.
- Using a spatula I just carefully swirl the peanut butter into the cheese mixture
A cheese cake is like a good steak!…it needs to be ‘massaged, coddled and served’…
It’s a lot about baking at a cool temperature (around 235-240 or so). I always put a large pan of boiling water on the lower rack of the oven. This helps regulate the temperature of the oven so it doesn’t get too hot.
Bake for about 20 minutes at 300, then reduce the temp to 220 and bake for another hour or 2.. until the cake shows done on a thermometer at 185 or has a good ‘firm ‘shake to the centre… Allow the cake to sit, undisturbed after you turn the oven off for about 2 hours.
.I added a Caramel Sauce after the cake was baked and chilled.
scott mercer 