Recipe....
Ingredients:
Crust:
1 ½ Cups graham cracker crumbs
½ cup sliced almonds finely chopped
½ cup Heath* English toffee pieces finely chopped
2 tablespoons (well packed) dark brown sugar
¼ teaspoon salt
7 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
Filling:
4 8-ounce packages cream cheese softened
1 cup (well packed) dark brown sugar
4 large eggs
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
¼ teaspoon almond extract
8 ounces Heath* English toffee pieces
Topping:
1 16 ounce container sour cream
½ cup granulated sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Assorted candies and sprinkles (M&M’s, gumdrops etc.)
*I found these Heath Bar bits in the baking section and they were perfect.
Directions:
Crust:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees (F). Mix the dry ingredients for the crust well and add the melted butter mixing until all are moistened. Press mixture into a ten inch spring form pan lined on the bottom with parchment paper leaving a small fold (my idea and will explain later) on bottom and 1 inch up the sides. Prepare the pan for a water-bath by wrapping in one large heavy-duty wide sheet of aluminum foil taking care not to tear any holes in it. Bake for about seven minutes and set aside.
Filling:
Reduce oven temperature to 325. Beat cream cheese and sugar until blended. Add eggs one at a time blending well with each addition and finally beat in both extracts. Pour about a third of the mixture over the crust then sprinkle toffee bits, cover with more filling, bits, and finally filling. The bits will stay suspended in the filling (which surprised me). Place the spring form pan within the foil into a large roasting pan filled with HOT water half-way up the sides of the spring form pan. Bake for approx. one hour (*however, mine didn’t set quite the way I like it to and I went about an hour and ten minutes…and I think it could have used another 7-8 minutes). You want the center barely set and the edges puffed. The recipe I have doesn’t call for a water bath but I find they tend to split when done dry.
While the filling is baking prepare the topping: Mix sour cream, sugar and vanilla until smooth. Set aside. When the cake is just minutes away from being completely set, spread topping over hot cheesecake and continue baking another 5-7 minutes or just until topping is set and starting to “color”.
Transfer to cooling rack and cool ten minutes then refrigerate overnight.
Now, time to get that cake out of the pan. I leave a little “finger-grip” amount of parchment paper outside of the pan (assemble pan over it). Then, place a knife between cake and pan loosening it from the sides. Remove the sides of the pan, and with a long spatula, loosen the cake from the paper. (You get the idea…) Carefully then, slide the cake from the paper into position onto your cake plate gripping the “handle” of the paper. This way you are not leaving the pan bottom on the display plate or damaging it with a sharp knife/server!
Arrange the candy pieces around the outer edge or decorate however you want – or don’t use any at all.
Enjoy!
