I must admit this is the best cheesecake I've ever made to date. I hadn't made it since April, and this is my fave dessert for parties! This was the perfect treat for everyone to enjoy at our family party. My uncle who has had my cheesecake before thought I did something different. I was like no, what are you talking about??? He was like it's sooooo creamy, and I thought about it because I contemplated what I had done differently. I worked on getting that perfect almond crust, it wasn't mushy as I had made in the past. I used pure vanilla extract from Williams-Sonoma, and I picked lemons from our backyard....and I used my Kitchen Aid Mixer!! A-ha...all those factors, have made the best cheesecake ever!!! Seriously, the creaminess of the cream cheese & mascarpone, and the hint of lemon...truly melt in your mouth. I hope I can duplicate recipe for next time!! The water bath for the cheesecake is the best way to cook it as well. Thank you Giada for showing me your family's favorites!! The only item I omitted was the chocolate topping, but you can add that if you like, but the cheesecake is perfect either way!
Mascarpone Cheesecake with Almond Crust
Ingredients
Crust:
1 cup slivered almonds, lightly toasted
2/3 cup graham cracker crumbs
3 tablespoons sugar
3 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted**I always add extra butter*
Filling:
2 (8 oz) packages cream cheese, room temperature
2 (8 oz) containers mascarpone cheese, room temperature
1 1/4 cups sugar
2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
4 large eggs, room temperature
Topping: **I omitted this process, but feel free to add - I have done this before, and it's delicious*
1/2 cup chocolate-hazelnut spread aka NUTELLA
1/4 cup whipping cream
Preparation:
For the crust, preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
1. Tightly wrap the outside of a 9-inch diameter springform pan with 2 3/4-inch-high sides with 3 layers of heavy-duty foil. *Make sure it's heavy-duty, the water will get into your pan if you don't do this.* Finely grind the almonds, cracker crumbs, and sugar in a food processor. Add the butter and prcoess until moist crumbs form. Press the almond mixture onto the bottom of the prepared pan (not on the sides of the pan). Bake the crust until it is set and beginning to brown, about 12 to 15 minutes. Cool. Decrease the oven temperature to 325 degrees F.
2. For the filling, Using my kitchen aid mixer, beat the cream cheese, mascarpone cheese, and sugar in a large bowl until smooth, occasionall scraping down the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula. Beat in the lemon juice and vanilla. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating until just blended after each addition.
3. Pour the cheese mixture over the crust in the pan. Place the springform pain in a large roasting pan. Pour enough hot water into the roasting pan to come halfway up the sides of the springform pan. Bake until the center of the cheesecake moves slightly when the pan is gently shaken, about 1 hour 5 minutes (the cake will become firm when its cold). Transfer the cake to a cooling rack, cool for 1 hour. Refrigerate until the cheesecake is cold, at least 8 hours and up to 2 days.
*For the topping, combine the nutella and cream in a small bowl. Heat in the microwave until warm, stirring every 20 seconds to blend, about 1 minute. Cut the cake into wedges, and drizzle the chocolate sauce over the wedges and serve!*
Enjoy, because I know my family & I sure did!!!!!
