AMARETTO CHOCOLATE CHEESECAKE

      Title: AMARETTO CHOCOLATE CHEESECAKE
  Categories: Cheesecakes
       Yield: 16 Servings
  
 MMMMM---------------------------CRUST--------------------------------
       7 oz Amaretti (see note)
       2 tb Granulated sugar
       5 tb Sweet butter
       1 oz Chocolate, unsweetened
            -(1 square)
 
 MMMMM--------------------------FILLING-------------------------------
       6 oz Chocolate, semisweet
       7 oz Amaretti
       4 oz Almond paste
     1/3 c  Amaretto liqueur
     1/4 c  Sugar, granulated
   1 1/2 lb Cream cheese
            -(room temperature)
       4 lg Eggs
     1/2 c  Heavy cream
  
   MAKE CRUST:  Butter the sides only (not the bottom) of a 9-inch
   spring-form pan (about 2 1/2 to 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.
   
   MAKE FILLING:  Adjust rack 1/3 up from the bottom of the oven and
   preheat to 350 degrees 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:
   
   *  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.
   
   *  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.
   
   : Difficulty:  moderate to hard.
   : Time:  30 minutes preparation, 45 minutes baking, overnight cooling.
   : Precision:  measure ingredients carefully.
   
   : Jan Wolitzky
   : AT&T Bell Laboratories, Murray Hill, New Jersey, USA
   : ihnp4!mhuxd!wolit
   
   : Copyright (C) 1986 USENET Community Trust
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