Raspberry Almond Cheesecake with Marzipan Cookie Crust

Almond Raspberry Cheesecake
Crust
1/3 cup almond meal
1 tblsp + 1 tsp marzipan, crumbled
3 tblsp sugar
~1/2 cup crushed sugar or shortbread cookies
3 tblsp butter, melted

Using a food processor or a mallet (I went with the mallet), crush the cookies and combine with the remainder of the dry ingredients. Add enough melted butter (should be approximately 3 tblsp) an mix by hand until it resembles wet sand. Press this mixture into the bottom of a springform pan and bake at 325 F for approximately 15 minutes.

Filling (I never said this was good for you! ☺)
2 pounds (4 packages) cream cheese – you can use light and it won’t change the flavor too much
1 ¼ cups sugar
4 large eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 tsp almond extract
½ cup heavy cream
raspberry jam, 1/3 to ½ cup, for swirling.

Beat cream cheese until smooth. Wipe down beaters mid way through and scrape sides of bowl a few times too, because any lumps will change the texture of the finished cheesecake. Add the sugar gradually and beat until smooth and dissolved, also scraping sides of bowl at least once. Add the eggs one and a time, beat until each egg is incorporated and scrape down the sides of the bowl after each egg addition. The first time I made cheesecake I didn’t do a great job with this and surprisingly it really does make a difference. Add ~ 1/3 cheesecake mixture to the baked crust pan. Drizzle with raspberry jam or sauceand swirl with a toothpick or knife. Add 1/3 more of the cheese mixture, and repeat. Add the last 1/3 of the cheese and do the same to the top of the cake. Bake approximately 1 hour and 10 minutes at 325 in a water bath. Then, after the baking time is up (it will still be a little jiggly), open the over door a few inches and turn the oven off, and let it sit in the oven for one hour more. Take the cheesecake out of the oven and let sit at room temperature until cooled. Place in the fridge for at least four hours, until chilled.