Amaretto Cheesecake with Raspberry Sauce

       Base:
1/4 c  Butter
  2 c  Almonds; chopped
  2 tb Granulated sugar
       Filling:
 12 oz Cream cheese (375 g); softened
1/2 c  Granulated sugar
  3    Eggs
  1 c  Sour cream
  2 tb Amaretto or other almond liqueur
1/2 ts Vanilla
1/2 ts Almond extract
       Sauce:
  3 c  Frozen unsweetened raspberries;
       - thawed
  2 tb Amaretto or other almond liqueur
       Sugar

Base:

In 9" microwavable quiche dish, shallow round baking dish or deep pie
plate, melt butter at high (100% power) 1 to 1-1/2 minutes. Stir in
almonds and sugar until evenly coated with butter. Press into bottom
and sides of dish. Microwave at high 2 to 3 minutes or until firm. If
necessary, rotate dish during cooking.

Filling:

Beat cream cheese and sugar until light. Beat in eggs one at a time.
Add sour cream, 2 tb Amaretto or almond liqueur, vanilla, and almond
extract. Beat until smooth. Pour into baked crust.

Microwave uncovered at medium (50% power) 14 to 18 minutes or until
cheesecake is almost set in centre. Rotate dish partway through
cooking, if necessary.

Cool on countertop to room temperature, then cover and refrigerate
until serving time.

Sauce:

Reserve some whole raspberries for garnish. Puree remaining
raspberries. Push through sieve to remove seeds. Stir 2 tb Amaretto
or almond liqueur into puree. Add sugar to taste.

To serve, spoon some sauce on to dessert plates. Place slice of
cheesecake on sauce. Garnish with reserved berries.

Yield: 8 Servings

Notes:

If you prefer, use 1 cup graham cracker crumbs with 1/2 cup finely
chopped almonds for the crust. Use a food processor and pulse to chop
nuts to an even consistency, rather than a fine powder. Also, you
could substitute strawberries for the raspberries. To omit liqueur,
increase almond extract in the filling to 1 ts and use just a drop in
the raspberry puree.

Recipe FROM: The Toronto Star, Feb 3, 1993