Cheesecake with amaretti and caramel sauce

A lot of people think that it’s very complicated to make a cheesecake and they hesitate to try themselves. However, I think that if you follow the recipe and use good quality ingredients, there’s hardly any chance for failure.

This recipe is just a twist on a classical plain cheesecake. I added some amaretti extract (almond would work as well) and grated orange zest – a combination which works amazingly well together. I also added some crushed amaretti cookies and ground almonds to the crust. And to finish it off, I served it with homemade caramel sauce.

Amaretti Cheesecake with Caramel Sauce

For the crust:
100 grams crushed amaretti cookies
50 grams ground almonds
85 grams melted unsalted butter

For the cheesecake:
600 grams cream cheese, at room temperature
170 grams brown sugar
2 eggs, at room temperature
few drops amaretto essence
3 tablespoons flour
1 tablespoon orange zest
180 grams sour cream

For the caramel sauce:
100 grams sugar
50 grams unsalted butter
100ml double cream

Preheat the oven to 170°C.
To make the crust combine the crushed amaretti cookies and the ground almonds in a bowl. Pour the melted butter and stir until the mixture resembles “wet sand”. Butter a 18cm springform pan and put the crust mixture in it. Press down the crumbs evenly on the bottom of the pan.
Bake the crust for 10 minutes and then cool completely.

Meanwhile, prepare the cheesecake batter.
Put the cream cheese in a bowl and beat until light and fluffy. Add the sugar and combine. Then add the eggs, one at a time, until thoroughly combined. Add few drops of amaretto essence and then mix in the flour and orange zestBeat just until incorporated and then stir in the sour cream.

Cover the bottom and sides of the pan with two or three layers of aluminum foil. This prevents the batter from getting soaked in the water while baking.

Pour the cheesecake mixture over the crust and place the pan in a larger pan. Fill it half way with water and bake the cheesecake for 50-55 minutes, or until the top is set but the center is slightly wobbly when the pan is gently shaken. Let it cool completely in the oven, then chill in the fridge for at least 6 hours.

Just before serving, pour on top of it with some caramel sauce and decorate with amaretti cookies.

Making the caramel sauce:
Put the sugar in a small saucepan and let it caramelize. When it turns golden brown, take it off the heat and add the butter. Mix well until it’s melted and then slowly pour the heavy cream. Stir until everything is smooth and let it cool completely before using.