Lemon cheesecakes are perhaps my favourite cheesecakes because the acidity beautifully cuts through the rich creaminess of the cheese, but a simple lemon cheesecake is not enough, I had to jazz it up a little more.
Amaretti biscuits seemed to me the perfect addition to a lemon cheesecake. Amaretti is Italian for ‘little bitter things’ as they are small round biscuits made from almonds, egg and sugar, with a texture not dissimilar to macaroons and have a bitter taste. It was this bitterness that I believed would give a well rounded flavour to the cheesecake.
Once crushed and combined with the butter they turn the base of a cheesecake from something that’s just there for a bit of texture into the star of the dish! Many of my guests hadn’t tried amaretti biscuits before so couldn’t quite put their finger on what the added ingredient was, but they all absolutely loved it and said the cheesecake stood out from the rest of the desserts. (A few of my guests who knew the liquer Amaretto quite well had suspicions I'd spiked the dessert!)
By using amaretti biscuits you can turn a nice cheesecake into an exciting, luxurious cheesecake that your guests won’t be able to stop talking about! Enjoy!
The recipe
Lemon and Amaretti Cheesecake
Ingredients
- 75 g butter melted
- 200 g amaretti biscuits crushed
- 500 g mascarpone
- 250 ml double cream
- 100 g caster sugar
- 1 lemon
- 150 grams lemon curd
Instructions
- First of all grease the bottom of a large spring form tin.
- Mix the melted butter and crushed biscuits in a large bowl then press firmly into the base of the tin. It should form a layer about 1inch thick.
- Place this into the fridge to set for 5mins while preparing the cheesecake mix.
- In another bowl mix the mascarpone, cream, sugar and the juice of the lemon.
- Once fully combined spread a thin layer over the biscuit base; next spread a thick layer of lemon curd over the cheesecake layer, leaving a centimetre around the edge free.
- Finally, add the rest of the cheesecake mix to the tin, covering the lemon curd – this way there will be a lovely lemony surprise at the bottom!
- To decorate, pipe rings of the lemon curd on to the flat top of the cheesecake then, using a skewer, score the top of the cheesecake starting from the centre working outwards to form an almost spider web like patter.
- Place back in the fridge for at least 5 minutes, until you are ready to serve.
Nutrition
Xinmei @ Pudding Pie Lane says
Yumm this looks delicious! I really like lemon flavour and I agree that I think it goes perfectly with the cheese. And amaretti biscuits add that luxury finishing touch 😀
herbivoresheaven says
This sounds incredible! I love amaretti in the base of a cheesecake. In fact, the base is always my favourite part because I'm so crazy about biscuits, but the lemon part looks pretty amazing too!
Emmyw says
I'm glad you guys liked it! Whenever I make this herbivorseheaven I end up finishing therest of the biscuits all by myself...in a matter of hours hahaha
Karen says
Hi,
What size cake tin do you use for this cheesecake?
Karen
Karen says
Hi,
what size tin did you use for this cheesecake?
Karen
Emma Walton says
Hi Karen a 7 inch tin. Hope that helps x
Janice garrod says
What size cake tin please
Emma Walton says
Hi Janice. I used an 8 inch tin enjoy!