RASPBERRY CHEESECAKE WITH PEACH MELBA TOPPING

CRUST:*
1 1/2 cups crushed or ground nuts (almond, walnut, hazelnut, etc)
1 egg white, beaten
3 Tbsp sugar
touch of cinnamon.
FILLING:
4 pkg (8 oz each) Philadelphia cream cheese, softened
1 cup sugar
1 (10 oz) package frozen, sweetened raspberries*, thawed and pureed in food processor
3 Tbsp Chambord (raspberry liqueur)
1 to 2 tsp fresh lemon zest
5 large eggs, room temperature
TOPPING:
1 (10 oz) package frozen raspberries
1 pint fresh raspberries
2 ripe sweet peaches, sliced
2 Tbsp Chambord
sugar
lemon zest (optional)
cornstarch thickener (1 tsp cornstarch to 1 Tbsp water)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

CRUST:
Mix together ingredients for crust until the nuts are sticky. Press into base of 9-inch springform pan.

Bake briefly, about 10 minutes.

FILLING:
Beat cream cheese with sugar at medium speed until sugar is dissolved and a touch feels smooth between you fingers. Add, pureed raspberries liqueur, and lemon zest. Mix until well blended; be sure to scrape the sides of the bowl. Add eggs one at a time; minimize beating. Pour into crust.

Bake anywhere from 50 minutes to 1 hour and 15 minutes, depending on your oven and the temperature of the ingredients. Here's what I look for: the top should appear dry EXCEPT for a 2-inch diameter in the center of the cake, which should still be shiny. This will result in a creamy cheesecake. If you continue to cook it until the entire top of the cake is dry, the cake will be drier.

Chill overnight. This needs to develop the flavor.

TOPPING:
Puree another package of frozen raspberries. Add the fresh raspberries and sliced peaches. Add Chambord and then enough regular sugar to sweeten to taste. There is purely subjective depending on how sweet the basic fruit is. I also like to add some lemon zest, but again, that is a personal preference. I prefer it without being thickened, but it can be lightly thickened by heating and adding a cornstarch thickener (1 tsp added to 1 Tbsp water) to the pureed raspberry liquid. Serve this on the side as some people don't like a moist topping.

*You can use any basic crust such as graham cracker, crushed cookie, crushed shortbread or a rolled flour-based one. I like a bit of crunch, so this one is simple:

** I haven't made this for a while and my notes have both 1 and 2 (10-oz) packages of frozen raspberries for the batter. I know I've made it with both, but I would start out with one. However, if you decide to strain the seeds out, you may want to use 2 packages.

NOTE: DO NOT add ADDITIONAL cream cheese AFTER the raspberries have been added. You will NEVER get a smooth batter again and the cake will have little blobulettes of white cheese floating throughout the beautiful raspberry coloring.

Adapted from: Epicurious; Marilyn in FL