Do you ever have one of those days, where nothing goes right in the kitchen? No? Well, Saturday was that day for me. As I sat in my smoke-filled house, wishing the day’s baking had turned out differently, I decided to go forward and share this post. (And when I said smoke-filled house, I meant the WHOLE house. We have a very open floor plan…no room was safe here.)
I don’t believe the fault was in the recipe, rather the preparer of it. I guess I was just having an “off” day. I hate those days. Those days make you feel like a failure, even though you know it’s not you. It probably didn’t help matters that my dear, sweet hubby made the comment that the cheesecake would probably have a funny taste since it was in the smoke-filled oven. Really? Did you not think that thought had not already entered my mind?!!? His next comment was he thought he needed to go back down to the shop to finish working on the mower. (I really think it might have been the look I gave him. No words were necessary, just the look.) Funny how men sense when they’ve said the wrong thing at the wrong time. 😉
Needless to say, after I moved the cheesecake to the other oven to finish baking, in hopes of preventing the smoke smell from penetrating what I had hoped to be a delicious dessert, I set my oven to clean and again, dealt with the plume of smoke billowing out for the second time in one evening. I also lit some candles to try and cover the smell. And opened 9 windows. Yes, I said 9 windows. You can never have too many windows open when your house is filled with smoke. 🙁
Anyway, the cheesecake finished baking and the oven kept cleaning, and I took a shower, anxious to wash away the smoke smell. And yesterday, I removed the cheesecake from the fridge to find it had set up just fine. Ah, a new day.
So, for this week’s Monday’s Mystery Recipe, I’m sharing Chocolate Truffle Cheesecake, from Diane Mott Davidson’s, The Last Suppers. I had a little trouble with the crust, but that was my own doing, not the author’s. And, I saw the perfect opportunity to use some of the Amaretto soaked cherries I canned back in September to make a simple Amaretto cherry glaze. (The recipe for the soaked cherries is from Jen at My Kitchen Addiction.)
Monday's Mystery Recipe Episode 11: Chocolate Truffle Cheesecake with Amaretto Cherry Glaze
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Author: Amy
Serves: 16
Ingredients
- For the Crust:
- 12 oz. chocolate cookie crumbs
- 1 stick unsalted butter, melted
- For the Filling:
- 8 oz. unsweetened chocolate
- 24 oz. cream cheese, softened
- 3 large eggs
- 1 cup sugar
- ¼ cup Amaretto liqueur
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- ½ cup heavy whipping cream
- For the Amaretto Cherry Glaze:
- 1 pint jar Amaretto Soaked Cherries
- 1 Tbsp cornstarch
Instructions
- Place your chocolate cookies in a food processor and mix until fine crumbs form. Add the melted butter and press into a greased 10-inch springform pan.
- Refrigerate for 20-30 minutes or until you are ready to use.
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. Melt the chocolate over low heat, either in the microwave or using a double-boiler. Allow to cool.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer, cream the cream cheese until smooth. Add the eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each addition.
- Add in the sugar and mix well.
- Slowly add in a small amount of the cream cheese mixture to the melted chocolate to help prepare it for mixing. Then add that chocolate mixture into the mixing bowl with the remaining cream cheese mixture and mix until combined.
- Add in the Amaretto, vanilla, and heavy whipping cream. Mix well.
- Remove crust from the refrigerator and pour batter into the prepared pan.
- Bake for 50 to 55 minutes or until the cheesecake is puffed in the middle and no longer jiggles.
- Cool completely, then refrigerate until chilled, preferably overnight.
- Remove cheesecake from the refrigerator about 30 minutes prior to serving.
- Remove the springform pan and cut into slices. Serve with Amaretto Soaked Cherry Glaze.
- Directions for the Glaze:
- Pour 1 pint jar of Amaretto Soaked Cherries into a 2-3 quart sauce pan. Add 1 tablespoon of cornstarch and stir to dissolve.
- Heat until cherries begin to thicken. (Think store-bought canned pie filling.) Once thickened, remove from heat and allow to cool.
- Serve over Chocolate Truffle Cheesecake or refrigerate until ready to use.
