Lemon Mascarpone Cheesecake

You have GOT to try this!  I made this for dinner at my friends house last weekend and it was so yummy!  Perfect lemony creamy cheesecake and topped with some reconstituted apricots and orange marmalade with a drizzle of white chocolate.

I found the recipe in one of my Taste of Home magazines and knew it would be perfect for dessert.  My friend Amanda is great at telling me exactly how she feels about my new recipe attempts and she loved this! Makes me happy when there's nothing anyone would change about something I made.

This cake isn't difficult to assemble and  it has that show stopper look to it so I would recommend it for entertaining.

Crush up some Biscotti cookies.

Mix with some melted butter and press into a 9 inch springform pan. Bake.

Pour the yummy cream cheese/Mascarpone mixture into the baked shell.

While the cheesecake is baking, reconstitute the dried apricots. There is another step after this one that I didn't photograph.  You're going to drain the water out of this step, then add more water into a pan with some sugar and the apricots and cook until all the water is absorbed.

Mine cracked slightly around the edges, but that's OK since we're going to cover it up. :)

Mix the marmalade into the reconstituted apricot mixture.

Spread over the cheesecake and refrigerate (preferably overnight).

When ready to serve, drizzle some melted white chocolate over the top. YUM!

Recipe found in "Taste of Home Celebrations" from March 7, 2011 page 89.

Crust:
1 1/2 cups biscotti crumbs (I used 12 Stella Dora Biscotti)
1/3 cup butter, melted

Filling:
2 pkg.'s (8 oz) cream cheese, softened
2 cartons (8 oz) Mascarpone cheese
3/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup lemon juice
3 Tbsp all-purpose flour
1 Tbsp grated lemon peel
2 tsp vanilla extract
4 eggs, lightly beaten

Topping:
3/4 cup coarsely chopped dried apricots
1/2 cup boiling water
3/4 cup cold water
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup orange marmalade
2 ounces white baking chocolate


In a small bowl, mix together the biscotti crumbs and melted butter.  Mix well until the mixture looks like wet sand.  Press into the bottom and sides of a greased 9 inch springform pan.

Place the springform pan on a cookie sheet and bake in a 350 degree oven for 8-10 minutes.  The crust will be a light golden brown.

In the bowl of your stand mixer, add the cheeses and sugar and mix until smooth. Add the lemon juice, flour, lemon peel and vanilla and mix.  Add the eggs, beat on low speed just until combined.  Pour into the crust.

Cook the cheesecake on the same cookies sheet at 350 for 45-55 minutes. The cheesecake is ready when the center is almost set (still slightly wiggly).  Cool on a wire rack for 10 minutes. Carefully run a knife around the edges of the pan to loosen.  Cool for 30 minutes.

Meanwhile, soak the apricots in boiling water for 10 minutes.  Drain and discard the liquid.  Use a small saucepan to bring the apricots, cold water and sugar to a boil.  Reduce the heat to simmer, uncovered for 12-14 minutes or until all the water is absorbed.  Mine took much longer than 14 minutes for the water to absorb, more like 30 minutes.  Remove from the heat, stir in the marmalade.  Cool to room temperature.

Carefully spread the topping over the cheesecake; cool for 30 minutes longer.  Refrigerate overnight.

In a microwave, melt the white chocolate, stir until smooth.  Drizzle over the cheesecake and let stand for 15 minutes.

Refrigerate leftovers.