Recipe - Butterscotch Almond Cheesecake

CRUST
1 cup Unbleached flour
1/3 cup Sugar
One fourth cup Almonds; toasted
One fourth teaspoon Salt
7 tablespoon Unsalted butter; chilled and
Cut into pieces
1 Egg yolk
One fourth teaspoon Almond extract

FILLING
4 8oz packages cream cheese;
At room temperature
1 One half cup Sugar
One fourth cup Scotch whisky
1 tablespoon Vanilla extract
4 lg Eggs
2 cup Sour cream

BUTTERSCOTCH TOPPING
2 cup Sugar
2/3 cup Plus 1 T scotch whisky
2/3 cup Whipping cream
One fourth cup Unsalted butter
Three fourths cup Toasted almonds; very
Coarsely chopped
Sweetened whipped cream

Crust: Preheat oven to 350F. Line the bottom of a 9inch springform, pan
with 3inch high sides, with foil. Butter and flour foil. Blend first 4
ingredients in processor until nuts are finely chopped. Add butter, yolk
and extract and blend until mixture begins to gather together. Press onto
bottom (not sides) of prepared pan. Bake until golden, about 25 minutes.
Transfer to rack, cool 10 minutes. Release cake pan sides from crust.
Gently turn out crust onto rack, peel off foil and cool. Place crust back
into pan and reattach pan sides. Maintain oven temperature.

Filling: Using electric mixer, beat cream cheese, 1 One fourth cups sugar, Scotch
and vanilla in a large bowl until well blended. Add eggs, one at a time,
beating just until combined. Pour into crustlined pan. Bake cheesecake
until set at edges, but centre 3inch area still moves slightly when pan is
shaken, about 50 minutes. Place on rack and cool 10 minutes.

Mix sour cream with remaining One fourth cup sugar. Spoon sour cream mixture over
cheesecake. Bake 10 minutes. Transfer cheesecake to rack and cool 10
minutes. Run small sharp knife around top edge of pan to loosen cake.
Chill overnight. (Can be made 2 days ahead)

Topping: Stir sugar and 2/3 cup Scotch in heavy large saucepan over medium
heat until sugar dissolves. Increase heat and boil without stirring until
syrup turns golden, occasionally brushing down sides of pan with pastry
brush dipped in water and swirling pan. Add 2/3 cup cream and butter
(mixture will bubble) and stir until smooth. Cool 10 minutes. Stir in 1
tablespoon Scotch. Let stand until cool, but still pourable, about 2
hours. Mix in One half cup almonds

Spoon all but One half cup butterscotch topping over cheesecake (remove
remainder for another use) Sprinkle with remaining One fourth cup chopped almonds.
Refrigerate up to 1 hour.

Run sharp knife around pan sides to loosen cake. Release pan sides. Spoon
cream into pastry bag fitted with star tip. Pipe cream over top edge of
cake. Bon Appetit Magazine May 1993