L C Chocolate Almond Crust L C F Recipes

Steps:

• Pour the almond meal, cocoa powder and splenda in a bowl and mix well with a fork.
• Add 4 Tbs of butter and mix well -- if it seems too dry, add another 1-2 Tbs and mix.
• Press it into the bottom of your pan and bake at 350ºF for 10-15 minutes.
• Let it cool completely before adding in the cheesecake batter.

Steps:

• Make crust:
• Preheat oven to 350° F.
• In a food processor pulse almonds until ground. Add chocolate wafer cookies and grind fine. Add butter, sugar, almond extract, and salt and pulse until combined well. Transfer mixture to a 9-inch springform pan and press evenly onto bottom and 1 inch up side. Bake crust in middle of oven 10 minutes and transfer to a rack to cool. Crust may be made 3 days ahead and kept, covered, at room temperature.
• Make topping:
• In a very small bowl sprinkle gelatin over water and let stand about 1 minute to soften. In a heavy saucepan bring cherries, sugar, and lemon juice to a boil, stirring. Remove pan from heat and reserve 1/2 cup juice for filling. To mixture remaining in pan add gelatin mixture and almond extract and stir until gelatin is dissolved.
• Make filling:
• In a bowl with an electric mixer beat cream cheese with sugar until smooth. Beat in flour and add eggs 1 at a time, beating after each addition. Beat in sour cream, vanilla, and reserved cherry juice until combined well.
• Pour filling into crust and bake in middle of oven 50 minutes. (Cake will not be set in center but will set as it cools.) Transfer cake in pan to a rack to cool completely. Chill cake, loosely covered, 1 hour. Remove side of pan and transfer cake to a plate. Spread topping evenly over cake. Chill cake, loosely covered, at least 2 hours and up to 3 days.

Steps:

• Process almonds and wafers in a processor until fine crumbs form.
• Add in all remaining ingredients and process until combined.
• Press into 8 or 9-inch pie plate, or a 9-inch springform baking pan.
• Bake in a 350 degree oven (second-lowest rack) for 10 minutes.