In all truth, I think this is my new favorite dessert... I have a hard time picking favorites... but this one... it has won the title! Sweet, creamy, not too heavy, a little chocolate, almond paste and amaretto... *drooool* oh yeah baby.

The original recipe came from The Gourmet Chocolate Club. It's a very very HEAVY hitter, obviously I lightened it up a bunch, still not healthy by any means haha but I think the full on version would have been too rich for me. This version makes me happy to think about... seriously just thinking about it makes me happy... is there something wrong with me?? :D Plus no one had a clue it was a lightened up version... again not to say it's by any means healthy... just healthier then the original.


Amaretto-amaretti chocolate cheesecake
Lightened up by me, original from The Gourmet Chocolate Club

The Crust
1/2 of the batch of Amaretti (or 7oz store bought)
1 oz of unsweetened chocolate (1 square.)
3 Tbsps. butter


The Filling
6 oz of semisweet chocolate
1/2 of the batch of Amaretti (or 7oz store bought)
4 oz of almond paste
1/3 cup of Amaretto liqueur
1 1/2 lb of 1/3 less fat cream cheese at room temperature (next time I'll try subbing 1/2 lb of fat free cream cheese in there)
2 Tbs Splenda (or 1/4 cup of granulated sugar)
3 eggs (large) (next time I'm going to use egg white only and whip them up a bit first)
1/2 cup of heavy/thick cream (maybe try 1/2 and 1/2 next time)

Crust: Butter only the sides of a 9-inch spring-form pan (2.5 to 3 inches deep). Then grind the Amaretti very fine, in a food processor or blender. Then melt chocolate & butter in the top of a double boiler, stir occasionally (I used a pyrex bowl in the microwave). Then add the melted mixture to the Amaretti crumbs & mix thoroughly. (Do not wash the double boiler; you'll be using it again in a min.) Turn the mixture into the prepared pan. With your fingers, distribute it evenly on the bottom and press down into a very firm/compact layer. Refrigerate while you prepare the filling.

Filling: Adjust the rack 1/3 up from the bottom of the oven and preheat to 350 degrees. F.

Partially melt the chocolate in the top of a double boiler (microwave for me), then uncover and stir it, until completely melted. Remove the top of the double boiler & set aside to cool. Break the Amaretti coarsely into bowl and set aside. Cut almond paste into small pieces, and beat on low speed with an electric mixer, gradually adding the Amaretto liqueur. Beat until it is thoroughly mixed, and set aside.
Beat the cream cheese with an electric mixer until it is very smooth. Then add the sugar and once again beat until smooth.
Add the almond paste_Amaretto mixture & 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.
Then add the coarsely broken Amaretti & stir gently only to mix. Turn it into the prepared pan, now pouring the mixture over the bottom crust. Then proceed to rotate pan gently to level the batter. [Do not worry if the mixture comes close to the top; it will not go over.] Bake for 45 min. 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. Cool completely at room temp., 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.

I made this at John's with an old school hand mixer that was not happy when I tried to use it on the almond paste haha... So be prepared for some elbow greece if you don't have a stand mixer, it would take much less time with a kitchenaid.

I seriously already want to make this again, I need an excuse to make it again??? Hmmm it's Thursday... maybe I should make cheesecake!

Most people know Amaretti cookies by their very distinguishable tin.

Growing up, we always saved the tins and used them for storage of all types of things. My sister has a ton of them as accents in her kitchen and they look fantastic! For those who don't know about Amaretti cookies, they are a crunchy almond paste based cookie... very sugary sweet, and delicious. Check out the site where the picture came from for the story behind the cookies.

Anyway, I love these tins, however the grocery store here in Rochester doesn't sell them in the cool (16 oz) tins, they only sell them in small (2.3 oz.) little boxes... This became a problem when I decided to make an Amaretti-Amaretto Chocolate Cheesecake... yeah you heard me right *drool* The cheesecake calls for 14 oz of the cookies.... yeahhh I wasn't about to spend a good $50 on small cookie boxes so I could smash them all to pieces and put in a cake... so what's a girl to do? To the internet to find an Amaretti cookie recipe!!!


I found the recipe over at Joy of Baking. It's incredibly simple... just one thing... USE THE PARCHMENT PAPER! I didn't have any on hand and my silicon mats were over at Johns so I said whatever they can't stick too bad... wrong... they stuck bad... well most of them. But it really didn't matter since I was just baking these to smash them up anyway :) So if you are making these to eat and serve... use the parchment paper!

Amaretti Cookies
process adapted from Joy of Baking
8 ounces (225 grams) canned almond paste (NOT marzipan)
1 cup (200 grams) superfine or castor sugar
2 large (60 grams) egg whites

Extra granulated white sugar for dusting cookies

Using KitchenAid Mixer: Break the almond paste into small pieces and place in bowl of electric mixer along with the sugar. Mix on low speed until very fine. Lightly beat egg whites until foamy in separate bowl. Add the egg whites in three additions, mixing well after each addition. Continue mixing the dough until very smooth, about 3 to 4 minutes.

Drop teaspoon-fulls of dough onto cookie sheets lined with parchment paper (seriously do it!! otherwise you'll have a big mess). Bake at 375 for 10 minutes, then lower tempurature to 325 and continue baking for 10 more minutes, or until the cookies have risen, are a deep golden color and have tiny cracks. Remove from the oven and place baking pan on a rack to cool. When cool gently peel cookies from parchment. If they stick to parchment, turn the paper over, take a damp paper towel and gently wipe the bottom of the parchment paper to loosen the cookie.

These cookies are a little chewy when still warm, and become nice and crunchy after they cool.


Come back tomorrow to see and drool over the cheesecake that... quote from a coworker "that cheesecake has ruined me to any other cheesecake, it was amazing!"

Chow!

Happy Earth Day everyone! It's absolutely beautiful here. AMAZING weather for april. It's been in the 70's and even 80's (normally it's in the 50's this time of year here).... yeahhhh so wonderful but kind of makes you stop and think... global warming much???? Ohh the irony of my earth day theme cupcakes!

Yes it's that time again cupcake hero time!! This is my third time competing and I must say it's wicked fun. The first month theme ingredient was liquor, the second marshmallow, and now... EARTH DAY!!! So immediately my mind went to dirt cupcakes with gummy worms (compost cupcakes love it!), then something vegan and all locally grown ingredients(excuse to hit the farmers market) Pistacio cupcakes (get it they are green haha)... perhaps a no bake to save on oven energy use??? I thought and thought and really wanted something different that hopefully no one else would think of.

Then my mind wandered to the cute pictures of penguins and polar bears on the reseeding ice caps... poor cute fluffy things sitting on a tiny little ice cube thinking "where'd all the ice go?" With that image in mind I decided to plead the case of the polar bears! So people stop global warming and save the polar bears!!


I also decided since my earth day was more about decorating I'd pay homage to my last two months of cupcake hero and make new versions of the theme ingredients... so we have a liquor based Amaretto cupcake, with a marshmallow seven minute frosting on top! See it's all about brining it full circle. Hope you guys love this one or at least get a laugh. I left the above image with sign in the refrigerator for my roommate (also named stephanie) and her boyfriend (also named John) to find. They were rolling hehe. And yes I know only I would live with someone with the same name who is also dating someone of the same name.. makes it super interesting when we are all there and someone is trying to call someone else ha!



Amaretto cupcakes

1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
1/4 cup splenda blend for baking
1/4 cup finely chopped sliced almonds, toasted (about 1 ounce)
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup fat-free milk
2 Tbs butter or stick margarine, melted
1/4 cup amaretto (almond-flavored liqueur)
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
Cooking spray

Preheat oven to 350°.

Lightly spoon the flour into dry measuring cups, and level with a knife. Combine flour, sugar, almonds, baking powder, and salt in a large bowl; stir well with a whisk. Combine milk, butter, amaretto, and eggs; add to flour mixture, stirring just until moist.

Spoon batter into 6 lightly greased and floured muffin tins and 10 mini muffin tins (we aren't using paper holders, come on we are being green!).

Bake mini's for 10 minutes, regular size cupcakes for 16-17 minutes, or until a skewer inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean. Let cool a few minutes then transfer to a wire rack to cool fully.

Marshmallow, or Seven Minute Frosting

2 large egg whites
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup light corn syrup
2 tablespoons water
1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

Combine frosting ingredients with a pinch of salt in a metal bowl set over a saucepan of simmering water and beat with a handheld electric mixer at high speed until frosting is thick and fluffy, 6 to 7 minutes. Remove bowl from heat and continue to beat until slightly cooled.

Assemble the polar bear cuBcakes
6 regular + 10 small cooled cupcakes
batch of frosting
coconut (amount will depend on how heavily you coat your bears! I used half a small bag)
11 large white gumdrops 5 small white gumdrops
chocolate chips (regular and mini) (I just cut a normal chip in half for the mini ones)
6 m&m

First, frost the top, sides, and bottoms of both a regular-size cupcake and a mini cupcake with white frosting. For each cupcake, frost the bottom first; then use a fork stuck into the bottom to hold the cupcake while you frost the rest of it.

Roll the cupcakes in shredded coconut; then, working on waxed paper, set the cupcakes on their sides with the top of the smaller cupcake stuck to the bottom of the larger one (use the icing like glue) to form the bear's head.

Add 2 horizontal slices from a large white gumdrop for ears, a m&m for a nose, and 2 chocolate chips for eyes. For each cub, frost a mini cupcake and a large gumdrop, then roll them in coconut and arrange them on their sides as shown. Add 2 horizontal slices from a small white gumdrop for ears, a chocolate chip nose, and 2 mini chocolate chip eyes.

seriously how freakin cute are these cupcakes!

Bring on the amaretto! Wendy came over to join in the cupcake making fun :) I had everything laid out and ready to go for my double chocolate cupcakes with amaretto sauce.

Here is the recipe for the cupcakes.


Double chocolate cupcakes

Ingredients

1 cup whole wheat flour
1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup granulated splenda mix for baking
1/4 cup unsweetened apple sauce
1/2 cup egg substitute or 4 egg whites
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 tablespoons skim milk
2 tablespoons half and half
2 ounces dark (70 percent cocoa) chocolate, finely chopped plus a little extra for shaving


Preheat oven to 350°.

Lightly spoon flour into a dry measuring cup, and level with a knife. Combine flour, cocoa, baking soda, and salt; stir with a whisk.

Place splenda and apple sauce in a large bowl; beat with a mixer at medium speed until well combined. Add egg substitute and vanilla, beating well. Add flour mixture and milks alternately to granulated sugar mixture, beginning and ending with flour mixture. Fold in chocolate. Spoon batter into 12 muffin cups lined with muffin cup liners. Bake at 350° for 18 minutes tooth pick inserted in center comes out clean.


While the cupcakes are cooking it's time to make the amaretto sauce!

Amaretto chocolate sauce

Ingredients

1/3 cup half and half
2/3 cup milk chocolate chips
1/3 cup amaretto

Bring half and half to a boil in a saucepan, add chocolate chips and stir constantly until melted. Remove from heat and pour in amaretto, stir until incorporated. Place in the refrigerator to let it cool (about 20 minutes).


Once the cupcakes are cool enough so you don't burn yourself trying to eat one :) Poke a few holes in the center of them (I use a skewer) and pour the amaretto sauce into the holes letting it overflow and cover the cupcakes. Take some leftover dark chocolate squares and using a vegetable peeler shave some chocolate on top of the cupcakes.

Sit back and enjoy!


oh so tasty!!


the aftermath!