Ahhh…sitting here enjoying the beautfiul sunshine. A glass of Hoegaarden by my side and ready for the next post. As you can see from my previous desserts, I’ve been on a mascarpone kick. Well, it’s still kicking.

You’ll see that this recipe doesn’t use as much sugar as traditional recipes. Mascarpone, the Italian version of cream cheese, is on the sweeter side.

Serves: 10 to 14, depends on who your guests are

Ingredients

Crust
8 1/2 oz. to 9 oz. of butter cookies - people like to use vanilla wafers and that’s ok but I’ve been snacking on these butter leaf cookies that would make a wonderful crust.
1 1/4 sticks of unsalted butter, melted and then cooled.

Mascarpone filling
20 oz. of softened cream cheese. About 2 1/2 8 oz. packages
8 oz. mascarpone cheese at room temperature
3/4 cup of sugar
3 large eggs
1 tsp. of vanilla
1 tsp. of fresh lemon juice
1/4 tsp. of salt

topping
1 cup sour cream
1/4 cup of sugar
1 tsp of vanilla
1 tsp of fresh lemon juice
1/8 tsp. of salt

roasted macadamia nuts
2 cups of raw macadamia nuts

6 strawberries - I like to long stems for their uniform size

Preparation

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F and place the rack in the middle of the oven.
2. Butter a 9″ springform pan. To get into the corners, get great coverage and keep your hands clean, I use a sandwich bag to apply the butter.
3. Grind the butter cookies in a food processor and place into a bowl, add the melted and cooled butter. I melt the butter in a small pan. Don’t use the microwave, it changes the structure of the butter and does some funky stuff…that’s a longer explanation.
4. Place the crumbs into the buttered formpan and cover the bottom and 1 1/2 inches up the side. I use a drinking glass the tap the crust in place. Helps in the corners.
5. Place the pan on a baking sheet and bake until the crust has a nice golden color, about 10 minutes. Remove from oven and cool on a cooling rack for 25 mins. or so.
6. Leave the oven on.
7. Place the cream cheese, mascarpone, sugar into a large bowl or mixer bowl. Whip everything on a medium to high speed until things get fluffy, about 3-5 minutes. Make sure to use a rubber spatula to wipe down the side of the bowl and things fully blended.
8. Begin adding one egg at a time and mix thoroughly.
9. Add the vanilla, salt and lemon juice at a low speed until blended.
10. Pour the goodness into the cooled crust and bake for 25-30 minutes. I like to add some water into another baking pan and place it below the cheesecake. The common term for this is water bath. It helps prevents cracking of the cake. What you’re looking for is puffy edges and a center that still jiggles when you wiggle the pan.
11. Remove from the oven and cool on rack for 25 mins. or so.
12. Stir together the sour cream, vanilla, sugar, lemon juice and salt into a small bowl. Poor onto the slightly cooled cheesecake and spread to over the cheesecake. It’s helpful to use an offset spatula. A side-note story on the spatula below.
13. Bake the cheesecake for 10-12 mins. until the topping sets.
14. Remove from the oven and let cool on a rack completely. Don’t put the cake in while it’s still warm. You’ll get mush.
15. Chill the cake for at least 8 hours but before you do that, let’s get the nuts on there.
16. Set the oven temperature to 250°
17. Place the raw macadamia nuts on a baking pan
18. Roast in oven for approximately 50 mins. You’ll want to give them a toss about 25 mins. to get even roated.
19. Cool the nuts, pulse in a food processor. Be careful not to over grind those guys. Leave good sized chunks of goodness.
20. Spread the roasted, chopped macadamia nuts on top of the cake.
21. Cut the stem strawberries in half and garnish.

NOTES:
One year, my sister asked my what I wanted for Christmas…here’s how the phone conversation went.
Sister, “Hey, I am at the mall. You think of anything you’d like for Christmas?”
Me, “Hmmm, I’d like an off-set spatula.”
Sister, “What the hell is that?”
Me, “It’s an off-set spatula. The spatula is off-set from…”
Sister, “Where can i find it?”
Me, “Williams Sonoma.”
10 mins. later, ring, ring.
Sister, “The people here don’t even know what it is.”
Me, “Are you kidding?”
Sister, “Ah, we found it. $29 dollars for this thing? You’re never going to use this thing?”
Me, “Yes. I will”

She’s still incredulous to my stories of its use, so I have to periodically give proof.

Here are the pics. Still trying to figure out the camera.

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