Lemon and Almond Cheesecake

Photo: flickr user Togood2b4gotton

Ingredients

1/2 cup Flour

1/2 cup Ground almonds

2 tablespoons Sugar

1 pch Salt

3 tablespoons Unsalted butter

1 Egg yolk

1 teaspoon Vanilla extract

2 tablespoons White rum

2 tablespoons Lemon juice

1 env unflavored gelatin

1 1/2 pounds Cream cheese, without vegetable gum, softened

1/2 cup Cream

4 Egg whites

2/3 cup Sugar

1 cup Blanched sliced almonds

1 tablespoon Egg white

1/2 cup Sugar

2 tablespoons Lemon juice

cup Water

1 env gelatin

2/3 cup Apple jelly

1 dsh Yellow food coloring

Preparation

For the dough, mix dry ingredients in a bowl and rub in butter with fingertips until very fine, but still cool and powdery. Whisk egg and vanilla and stir into dough with a fork. Press dough

Together in bowl and turn into a buttered 9-inch spring form pan. With floured fingertips, press

Dough evenly into pan bottom. Dock dough with a fork and bake at 350 degrees about 15 minutes, until golden. Cool the base in the pan.

For the filling, combine the rum and lemon juice in a bowl and sprinkle the gelatin on the surface. Allow to soak for 5 minutes, then place the bowl over a small pan of gently simmering water to melt the gelatin, about 4 to 5 minutes. Remove the bowl from the pan and cool the gelatin slightly.

Beat the cream cheese by machine until it is soft and light, scraping the bowl and beaters often. Beat in the cream smoothly. Set aside the cream cheese mixture. Combine the egg whites and sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer and heat over simmering water, whisking constantly until the egg whites are hot and the sugar is dissolved. Beat on mixer with whip until cold and firm. Beat 1/4 of the cream cheese mixture into the dissolve

Fold in the meringue. Pour the filling into the prepared pan and refrigerate to set, about 6 hours or overnight.

For the almonds, combine almonds and egg white in a roasting pan and rub between palms of hands to coat evenly. Add sugar and stir in. Bake at 325 degrees about 20 minutes, stirring often, until well toasted and sugar has caramelized slightly. Cool and store in a tin or jar at room temperature.

For glaze, combine juice, water and gelatin and allow to soak. Bring jelly to a boil and add gelatin mixture; bring to a boil and remove from heat.

Cool and pour onto chilled cheesecake. Unmold cheesecake and press sugared almonds around side.

Yield: one 9-inch cheesecake