I usually make a cheesecake when we’re heading anywhere that needs desert, so for the last potluck I went to I decided to try something new. I thought raspberries sounded good, and I needed an unleavened crust so I settled on a modified version of this Scottish shortbread. Then I thought almonds might be a good idea, so I threw some of those in as well. It tasted good, but as you can see from the photos it cracked while baking. I have an idea that just might take care of that problem, so I’ll probably be posting a “take two” after my next baking attempt.
Almond Raspberry Cheesecake
Crust
1/2 cup butter, softened
1/4 cup packed brown sugar
1/4 cup ground almonds
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
Preheat oven to 325° F. Line a 9-inch spring-form pan with aluminum foil. Cream butter and sugar. Add ground almonds and 1/2 cup of flour, and mix well. Turn out onto a lightly floured surface and knead for 5 minutes, adding flour to make a soft dough. Press into the spring-form pan, and bake for 12 to 15 minutes.
Filling
3 (8-oz.) packages cream cheese, softened
3/4 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1/4 teaspoon almond flavoring
3 eggs
1/4 cup, plus 2 tablespoons, raspberry preserves
Beat cream cheese, sugar, and vanilla at medium speed with electric mixer until well blended. Add eggs, one at a time, mixing at low speed after each addition.
Mix 3/4 cup of batter with 1/4 cup raspberry preserves. Spoon 1/3 of the raspberry mixture over the crust.
Pour the remainder of the cheesecake batter into the pan. Drop the remaining raspberry/cream cheese mixture by spoon fulls over the top of the cheesecake and smooth into the batter. Dot the top of the cheesecake with extra raspberry preserves, then use a knife to swirl the batter.
Bake cheesecake for 1 hour at 325° F or until center is almost set. Run a knife along the inside edge of the pan ring when it comes out of the oven. Cool before removing rim of pan. Refrigerate 4 hours or overnight.
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