"Almond Joy" Cheesecake - by Lisa

Wow! The second-to-last recipe for me! This definitely was a good one to save for the end too! I got a little cheesecake practice in a few recipes ago, so I pretty much had the hang of it for making this one. Altho, I still had a mishap with overcooking the top of it, despite checking it 15 minutes before the recommended baking time was up! It must be the oven here.

This crust had a little twist on the traditional graham cracker crust with the addition of some sliced almonds.

 While the crust was baking in the oven, I mixed up the filling. Since this cheesecake is meant to be reminiscent of an Almond Joy candy bar, it also has coconut in it. Luckily Summer warned me ahead of time that one of the main ingredients of this recipe was cream of coconut which is not to be confused with coconut milk!

It was not where I expected it to be in the grocery aisle (by the Asian foods), instead a store employee showed me to the Mexican food aisle where I found exactly what I needed! Once the filling was done, I poured it into the crust and then set up the water bath. This time around, I used the roasting pan that is attached to the door of my oven. I wish I had thought to do that last time! This worked much better, and I used boiling water and added plenty of it.

I checked on it after 45 minutes and discovered the aforementioned browning. I put a piece of tin foil over it and baked it for another 5-6 minutes because I felt it wasn't quite set. I think that did the trick. I left it to cool for an hour and then stuck it in the fridge for the night.

The following afternoon, I made the topping. Once upon a time, I would have cursed cutting 12 oz of chocolate, but now that I know to use my serrated chef's knife, it was a piece of (cheese) cake! (heh)

I warmed up the cream of coconut with the heavy cream and then added it to the chopped chocolate.

 That got whisked together, but the chocolate didn't melt all the way, so I actually had to microwave it a little.

Meanwhile, I toasted the coconut and the almonds.

Once everything was cooled, I spread the chocolate on the cheesecake and then topped it with the coconut and almonds. I couldn't believe my eyes when I discovered the cake actually looked just like the picture in the cookbook! Woo Hoo!!! That doesn't happen often, and I am particularly thrilled when it does. :)

We had a neighborhood get together, so I brought this for the dessert. It was perfect for sharing and everyone loved it! It is rich and decadent and oh so yummy. I really loved the flavor of the toasted coconut and almonds on top. It gave the cake a lovely crunch and sweet flavor. I am happy to feel like I am getting the hang of making cheesecakes! I might like to try some others and see how they turn out. :)