Amaretto Cheesecake With Raspberry Sauce

Directions

1. Base: In 9-inch microwavable quiche dish, shallow round baking dish or possibly deep pie plate, heat butter at high (100 per cent power) 1 to 1 1/2 min. Stir in almonds and sugar till proportionately coated with butter. Press into bottom and sides of dish. Microwave at high 2 to 3 min or possibly till hard. If necessary, rotate dish during cooking.
2. Filling: Beat cream cheese and sugar till light. Beat in Large eggs one at a time. Add in lowfat sour cream, 2 Tbsp. Amaretto or possibly almond liqueur, vanilla and almond extract. Beat till smooth. Pour into baked crust.
3. Microwave uncovered at medium (50 per cent power) 14 to 18 min or possibly till cheesecake is almost set in center. Rotate dish partway through cooking, if necessary.
4. Cold on countertop to room temperature, then cover and chill till serving time.
5. Sauce: Reserve some whole raspberries for garnish. Puree remaining raspberries. Push through sieve to remove seeds. Stir 2 Tbsp. Amaretto or possibly almond liqueur into puree. Add in sugar to taste.
6. To serve, spoon some sauce on to dessert plates. Place slice of cheesecake on sauce. Garnish with reserved berries.
7. Makes 6 to 8 servings.
8. If you prefer, use 1 c. graham cracker crumbs with 1/2 c. finely minced almonds for the crust. Use a food processor and pulse to chop nuts to an even consistency, rather than a fine pwdr. Also, you could substitute strawberries for the raspberries. To omit liqueur, increase almond extract in the filling to 1 tsp. and use just a drop in the raspberry puree.