Amaretto chocolate cheesecake

This is a recipe for amaretto chocolate cheesecake. I give it complete credit for being married to Iris; I made it for her and she couldn’t resist. I got it from the net.cooks newsgroup back in August of 1983. Yeah, that’s years before the web, back when pretty much all you had was email and newsgroups.

It’s freaking amazing.

I’ll mention a few tips that I learned while making this recipe:

• This is a thick, rich cheesecake. It will crack while you’re baking it. If you can’t stand cracks, don’t even try to make it.
• Remember that this is a thick, rich cheesecake? A thin slice is all you need. Trust me.
• When the recipe refers to “Amaretti di Saronna“, it’s talking about marzipan cookies, not the Amaretto liquor. Buy the tin; it’s pretty cool all by itself, but it also has enough cookies in it to make the recipe and still have some to nibble on.
• Do not start making this recipe unless you have an afternoon to do it. It’s going to take you around three hours from start to finish. I think Jan said in later posts that it should take about 30 minutes of prep time, but it took me a lot longer than that. Maybe I’m just slow.

So, without further ado, here it is…

parsec:net.cooks / rabbit!wolit / 10:50 pm  Aug 17, 1983

In response to the request for cheesecake recipes, this is undoubtedly not only the best cheesecake in the world (though, as a cheesecake purist, I *DO* feel somewhat hesitant about assigning that honor to a *CHOCOLATE* cheesecake), but the best food of any kind in the known universe, bar none.  The recipe is from “Maida Heatter’s Book of Great Chocolate Desserts” (why it never won a Pulitzer at least is beyond me), (C)1980, by Maida Heatter; Alfred A. Knopf, Inc.  It is not even slightly dietetic.

Jan Wolitzky, BTL Murray Hill

Crust:

• 7 oz. (~15 pkgs with 2 1.5-in macaroons in each) Amaretti di Saronna, Lazzaroni & Co.
• 2 Tbs. granulated sugar
• 1 oz. (1 square) unsweetened chocolate
• 2.5 oz. (5 Tbs.) sweet butter

Butter the sides only (not the bottom) of a 9-in. spring-form pan (2.5 to 3 in. 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. 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.

Filling:

• 6 oz. semisweet chocolate (use Baker’s 1-oz. squares)
• 7 oz. (~15 pkgs with 2 1.5-in macaroons in each) Amaretti di Saronna, Lazzaroni & Co.
• 4 oz. almond paste
• 1/3 cup Amaretto di Saronno liqueur
• 24 oz. (3 8-oz. pkgs) cream cheese, at room temperature
• 1/4 cup granulated sugar
• 4 eggs (large or extra-large)
• 1/2 cup heavy cream

Adjust rack 1/3 up from the bottom of the oven and preheat to 350 degrees. 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 (still in their wrappers) coarsely with a hammer or cleaver (not hard enough to tear the paper).  Unwrap the macaroons 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 macaroons 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 longer;  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.

Yield: 16 or more portions.