1 no ingredients
Directions
This is adapted from Maida Heatter's Book of Great Chocolate Desserts,
(Knopf 1980). It won me a blue ribbon at the Martha's Vineyard
Agricultural Exhibition and Fair in 1983. If you ever find yourself
in front of a firing squad, this makes an unbeatable last request.
INGREDIENTS (Serves 16)
CRUST
7 oz Amaretti (see note)
2 Tbsp granulated sugar 1 oz unsweetened chocolate (1 square)
5 Tbsp sweet butter
FILLING
6 oz semisweet chocolate
7 oz Amaretti
4 oz almond paste
1/3 cup Amaretto liqueur 1 1/2 lb cream cheese at room
temperature
1/4 cup granulated sugar
4 eggs (large or extra-large)
1/2 cup heavy cream
PROCEDURE (CRUST)
Butter the sides only (not the bottom) of a 9-inch spring-form pan (2
1/2-3 inches deep). Grind the Amaretti very fine in a food processor
or blender. Mix with sugar in a mixing bowl.
Melt the chocolate and butter in the top of a double boiler, stirring
occasionally. Add the melted mixture to the Amaretti crumbs and sugar
and mix thoroughly. (Don't wash the double boiler; you'll be using it
again in a minute.)
Turn the mixture into the prepared pan. With your fingers, distribute
it evenly over the bottom and press it down into a very firm, compact
layer. Refrigerate while you prepare the filling.
PROCEDURE (FILLING)
Adjust rack 1/3 up from the bottom of the oven and preheat to 350
deg. F. Partially melt chocolate in the top of a double boiler, then
uncover and stir until completely melted. Remove the top of the
double boiler and set aside to cool. Break the Amaretti coarsely into
a bowl and set aside.
Cut the almond paste into small pieces, and beat on low speed with an
electric mixer, while gradually adding the Amaretto liqueur. Beat
until thoroughly mixed, and set aside.
Beat the cream cheese with an electric mixer until smooth. Add the
sugar and beat until smooth again. Add the almond paste-Amaretto
mixture and beat until thoroughly mixed. Add the melted chocolate and
beat well again. Add the eggs one at a time, beating at low speed
until they are incorporated after each addition. Add the heavy cream
and beat until smooth. Add the coarsely broken Amaretti and stir
gently only to mix.
Turn into the prepared pan, pouring the mixture over the bottom crust.
Rotate the pan gently to level the batter. (Don't worry if the mixture
comes almost to the top; it won't run over.)
Bake 45 minutes. It will seem soft and not done, but don't bake any
more; it will become firm when chilled. The top of the cake is
supposed to look bumpy because of the large chunks of Amaretti.
Let cool completely at room temperature, then carefully remove the
sides of the pan and refrigerate the cake (still on the bottom of the
pan) for 4 to 6 hours, or overnight.
NOTES Amaretti are Italian almond-flavored wafer cookies. They are
usually sold in metal tins with the wafers wrapped in packages of two
inside the tin. You can also buy Amarettini, which are the same
flavor but much smaller and not individually wrapped. Since you're
going to grind some of the wafers and break the others into chunks,
it doesn't matter which size you start with. One brand is Amaretti di
Saronna, Lazzaroni & Co. This is an expensive cake, both in terms of
the cost of the ingredients ($15-$20) and the number of calories.
RATING Difficulty: moderate to hard. Time: 30 minutes preparation,
45minutes baking, overnight cooling. Precision: measure ingredients
carefully.
USENET Cookbook 6 Feb 87 -- CONTRIBUTOR: Jan Wolitzky AT&T Bell
Laboratories, Murray Hill, New Jersey, USA
Servings: 16 servings
Amaretto-Amaretti Chocolate Cheesecake Recipe brought to you by Recipe Ideas
Categories: Alcohol; Cheesecake; Chocolate; Chocolate Cake; Dessert
The History of Recipes
Experts have traced the existence of recipes back into history, certainly as far into history as the Egypt of the Pharoahs, and quite possibly further than that. In practice though, these, old records were just simple hieroglyphic instructions for preparing food.
Fascinatingly, the oldest recipe discovered so far, according to academics are some clay tablets in ancient Sumerian which show the baking of bread which is then used to make a drink, quite possibly a form of beer as it is recorded as having made anyone who tried it feel exhilarated and blissful. During the time of the Roman Empire a man called Apicius compiled a number of scripts describing recipes cooked by wealthy roman citizens. In his publication, he tells us how the meals of wealthy Romans were separated into hors d`oeuvres, entrees and desserts, something we still use today. Aspicius tells us how the ancient cooks made use of many different aromatic flavours, including many that are still in use today like basil, rue and parsley. Continuing our culinary historical journey, we find some recipe books published in the 1300s : a cookery book entitled `Forme of Cury`, and another, similary called `Curye on Inglish`. Although the titles sound familiar, these are not about the indian curry that is familiar to us all today, but instead accounts of the types of meals prepared by the cooks of the rich and powerful of that period. Later on, in the 15th century, people returning from the crusades brought back many foods and spices from Arab cuisine, including spices such as parsley, basil and rosemary. The introduction of these new herbs and spices prompted an increase in books on cookery, most of which are now in private cookery archives. When we get to the twentieth century, cook books are in great demand, as a result of higher levels of literacy, increased leisure time and having more money to spend. The TV revolution gave us TV cookery programs and the demand for the spin-off recipe books. And that pretty much brings us to the present day and the invention of computers and the internet, allowing us all to search through thousands of recipes just like those on this site. |
We hope you enjoy this Amaretto Amaretti Chocolate Cheesecake recipe.
