Here is a recipe for amarena cheesecake I put together last year around Christmas time. It combines the fantastic amarena cherries with a classic cheesecake. Inspiration is taken from Nigella Lawson’s recipe for Cherry Cheesecake.
Ingredients (for a springform pan):
Serves about 6-7 people, but it is very filling.
CRUST
250 g digestive biscuits
65 g butter
CHEESE FILLING
400 g cream cheese
65 g icing sugar
250 ml whipping cream
½-1 tsp lemon juice
1 tsp vanilla sugar
TOPPING
1 jar amarena cherries
2-3 sheets gelatine
Water
Method
Start by placing the digestive biscuits in a thick freezer bag and crush them (alternatively, use a chopper) and stop when there are only small lumps left.
Melt the butter and pour it over the crushed biscuits, then mix thoroughly and distribute evenly in the bottom of the pan. Bake the crust for ten minutes at about 200 degrees until it is porous and let it cool completely.
For the cheese filling, beat the cream cheese together with icing sugar, lemon juice, and vanilla sugar. The reason I use lemon juice is that the mixture becomes quite rich and benefits from a little acidity – you can omit it if you’re afraid it will taste too lemony. The vanilla sugar also adds a slight flavor, but it can be left out if desired.
In another bowl, whip the cream until stiff and fold it into the cheese mixture without beating or stirring too much.
Spread the cheese filling over the crust, being careful not to disturb the crust too much. It doesn’t look nice with pieces of biscuit in the cheese filling. It looks cheesy… ha ha. Once you’ve finished laughing, put the cake in the fridge so it can set.
I usually wait 4-5 hours before adding the topping, it’s important that the filling has set well, so wait until the next day if you can.
When it’s time to make the topping, take the jar of cherries and drain the syrup with a sieve. Be careful with the cherries if you want to use them as decoration. The syrup is very flavorful, so you can dilute it slightly with water to taste it as you like.
Soak the gelatine sheets in cold water for ten minutes. Heat a small amount of the syrup and add the gelatine, stirring until dissolved. Add the rest of the syrup.
I pressed the cherries lightly into the cheese filling before gently pouring the syrup over, but you can decorate as you wish. If you just place the cherries on top, they will set in place, but since they are not all perfectly round, you will be able to see where they are cut and pitted.
Back in the fridge until the cake is ready to be served. The topping should ideally be allowed to set completely so it stands firm, but it’s not a requirement for serving.
Enjoy.