DESSERTS: CAKES
TESTER’S COMMENTS
This is a great dessert option for people with gluten allergies. It’s very easy to make. What’s more, it looks wonderful. Although the almond extract succumbs to the vanilla, the taste is pleasing—at least one taster compared it to rich ice cream. To add pizzazz, put fresh seasonal berries on top or serve with each slice.
–D.T.
3 |
packages (8 ounces each) cream cheese, softened |
5 |
eggs |
1 |
cup plus 4 tablespoons sugar, divided |
¼ |
teaspoon almond extract |
2 |
cups sour cream |
1 |
teaspoon vanilla extract |
Preheat oven to 325°F. Grease a 10-inch pie plate.
In a bowl, beat cream cheese until light and creamy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating after each. Add 1 cup sugar and almond extract. Beat for 5 minutes, or until smooth, thick, and lemon-color.
Pour into prepared plate. Bake for 50 minutes. Cool for 20 minutes.
In a bowl, beat together sour cream, remaining 4 tablespoons sugar, and vanilla. Drop by spoonfuls onto cheesecake and spread smooth. Bake for 15 minutes more. Cool, then refrigerate for 24 to 48 hours before cutting.
Makes 8 to 12 servings.
When I got out of nurses’ training in Peoria, Illinois, in 1963, my girlfriend and I flew out to Long Beach, California, to work at the Veterans’ Administration Hospital for a couple of years. We lived at an apartment complex that had lots of young people from many different areas. One of the girls out there gave me this recipe. I think it is like New York cheesecake. It is so easy to make. You don’t have to use a springform pan—just a glass pie plate. And you don’t have to worry about a crust; the filling forms its own crust. I have taken this cheesecake to work and to many family meals, and all of my sisters now have the recipe. They call it Nancy’s Cheesecake.
Nancy Reed, Elmwood, Illinois