Amaretto Chocolate Cheesecake

Directions

1. MAKE CRUST: Butter the sides only (not the bottom) of a 9-inch spring-form pan (about 2 1/2 to 3 inches deep). Grind the Amaretti very fine in a food processor or possibly blender. Mix with sugar in a mixing bowl.
2. Heat the chocolate and butter in the top of a double boiler, stirring occasionally. Add in the melted mix to the Amaretti crumbs and sugar and mix thoroughly. (Do not wash the double boiler; you'll be using it again in a minute.) Turn the mix into the prepared pan. With your fingers, distribute it proportionately over the bottom and press it down into a very hard, compact layer.
3. Chill while you prepare the filling.
4. MAKE FILLING: Adjust rack 1/3 up from the bottom of the oven and preheat to 350F. Partially heat chocolate in the top of a double boiler, then uncover and stir till completely melted. Remove the top of the double boiler and set aside to cold.
5. Break the Amaretti coarsely into a bowl and set aside. Cut the almond paste into small pcs, and beat on low speed with an electric mixer, while gradually adding the Amaretto liqueur. Beat till thoroughly mixed and set aside.
6. Beat the cream cheese with an electric mixer till smooth. Add in the sugar and beat till smooth again. Add in the almond paste-Amaretto mix and beat till thoroughly mixed. Add in the melted chocolate and beat well again. Add in the Large eggs one at a time, beating at low speed till they are incorporated after each addition. Add in the heavy cream and beat till smooth. Add in the coarsely broken Amaretti and stir gently only to mix.
7. Turn into the prepared pan, pouring the mix over the bottom crust. Rotate the pan gently to level the batter. (Do not worry if the mix comes almost to the top; it will not run over.) Bake 45 min. It will seem soft and not done, but do not bake any more; it will become hard when chilled. The top of the cake is supposed to look bumpy because of the large chunks of Amaretti.
8. Let cold completely at room temperature, then carefully remove the sides of the pan and chill the cake (still on the bottom of the pan) for 4 to 6 hrs, or possibly overnight.
9. Desserts," (Knopf 1980). It won me a blue ribbon at the Martha's Vineyard Agricultural Exhibition and Fair in 1983. If you ever find yourself in front of a firing squad, this makes an unbeatable last request.
10. * Amaretti are Italian almond-flavored wafer cookies. They are usually sold in metal tins with the wafers wrapped in pkgs. of two inside the tin. You can also buy Amarettini, that are the same flavor but much smaller and not individually wrapped. Since you're going to grind some of the wafers and break the others into chunks, it doesn't matter that size you start with. One brand is Amaretti di Saronna, Lazzaroni and Co.
11. * This is an expensive cake, both in terms of the cost of the ingredients