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Thursday, September 1, 2011

Cherry & Amaretto Cheesecake



Before cherry season is gone for another year I wanted to make one more thing and this cheesecake is a favourite in our house so I thought it the perfect way to say goodbye to this years delicious cherry crop! The combination of cherry and amaretto is truly delicious and a perfect treat for adults, especially served with a glass of Amaretto!

This cheesecake is the perfect Summer cheesecake as it's a version that isn't baked in the oven. All that is required is a little bashing, beating, mixing and chilling and you have the most delicious, creamy cheesecake that won't leave you hot and bothered on a sunny day!

200g Amaretti Biscuits*
50g Digestive biscuits (or Graham crackers)
100g butter

500g cream cheese (such as Philadelphia), softened
1 vanilla pod, seeds removed**
100g icing sugar
4 tbsp amaretto liqueur
500ml double or whipping cream

500g cherries
30g icing sugar

Butter and line a 23cm loose-bottomed cake tin. Using either a food processor or a plastic sandwich bag and rolling pin, crush the biscuits until they are fine crumbs. Melt the butter in a medium sized pan, then once completely melted and the biscuit crumbs. Mix well then put into the cake tin, pressing down evenly to form a nice base. Chill in the fridge for 1 hour.

While the base is chilling make the filling. Put the cream cheese and the seeds from the vanilla pod into a large bowl then sift in the icing sugar. Beat well so the filling is soft and well mixed then add the amaretto liqueur and continue to mix well. In a separate bowl whisk the cream until it has soft peaks – be careful not to over whip it. Add the cream to the cheese mixture and fold it in until everything is well combined then pour it into the cake tin on top of the chilled biscuit base. Smooth the top with a spatula and return the cheesecake to the fridge until just before serving. Ideally it needs a good few hours to chill and set – overnight is best – but definitely a minimum of 3 hours.

To make the cherry topping, stone the cherries (I don't yet have a cherry pitter so I just cut them in half, twist to separate the two halves then remove the stone, but if you do own a pitter I definitely recommend using it!), then put the cherries into a medium sized pan. Sift in the icing sugar and mix well. Add a tablespoon of water then simmer gently for roughly 10 minutes until they have softened slightly and have a bit of a syrupy sauce. Leave to cool completely.

To serve the cheesecake carefully remove from the cake tin and put onto a serving plate. Just before serving spoon the cherries on top – you might not need all of the juice, but I like to drizzle it on top of the cherries.

* If you prefer you can use 250g of Amaretti biscuits – I only had 200g so I made the rest up with ordinary biscuits.

**To remove the seeds from a vanilla pod all you have to do is cut the pod in half lengthwise then using the back of a small knife simply scrape the seeds out of the pod.


23 comments:

  1. This is a beautiful cheesecake. I'd love a slice of this right now. Yummy!

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  2. I'm amazed that that cheesecake isn't baked! You've absolutely made my day. I love the use of the vanilla seeds instead of extract as well. I can taste the flavor already. Many thanks for the recipe!

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  3. I have seen so many cheesecakes lately. This looks great! I love the amaretto in it!

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  4. Just the idea of having a bite of cold amaretto cream cheese and cherries is making my mouth water. This is a winner-Buzz Buzz

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  5. Amaretto and cherry is an amazing combination. The cake looks delicious, what an elegant dessert!

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  6. Thank you all for your wonderful comments! It was a great way to end cherry season....that being said you could use tinned or jarred cherries during the months fresh cherries aren't available and I'm sure it would still be delicious!

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  7. Fabulous. Love Amaretto, will have to try it with cherries.

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  8. Yum, this is absolutely fabulous! Love the combo of amaretto and cherries.

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  9. Great way to end cherry season. This looks so good. I am hoping to get one more batch tomorrow. We'll see how they look. Totally buzzing ya.

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  10. Such a beautiful cheesecake! I love the flavors!

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  11. I can see why this is a favorite. I need a slice of this to make my day perfect. :)

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  12. This looks like such a fabulous cheesecake. It feels like fall is coming, but since the end of summer brings all these delicious stone fruits, I can't complain too much!

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  13. Lynds, I love this, particularly as it is no-bake. Cherry just shouts SUMMER!!!!! and I'm liking the idea of sipping a glass of amaretto with this.

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  14. What a wonderful summery cheesecake and love the amaretto in and out of it ;-) The fact that it's also no bake is definitely a winner, Lyndsey. Beautiful creamy flavours.

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  15. This looks fantatic! Great job. No bake sounds wonderful. I will have to try this soon.

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  16. Thank you all for your comments. I really appreciate each and every one : )

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  17. Your cheesecake looks awesome! I will have to try it when cherry season rolls into Israel.

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  18. Cherries and Amaretto pare well together, great pictures.

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  19. What a delicious combination! I'll have to be on the lookout for amaretti biscuits. The texture looks amazing!

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  20. Love the cherry and amaretto combo! It looks beautiful!

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  21. Thanks Ladies!

    Beth Michelle - When is cherry season for you? If you give it a go I hope you enjoy it!

    Cassie - Im actually able to get them from my local supermarkets. They are normally just with other Italian biscuits/cookies such as Biscotti. I hope you manage to find some - they are really good!

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