Amaretto Cheesecake With Raspberry Sauce

In 9-inch microwavable quiche dish, shallow round baking dish or deep
pie plate, melt butter at high (100 per cent power) 1 to 1 1/2
minutes. Stir in almonds and sugar until evenly coated with butter.
Press into bottom and sides of dish. Microwave at high 2 to 3 minutes
or until firm. If necessary, rotate dish during cooking.

Beat cream cheese and sugar until light. Beat in eggs one at a time.
Add sour cream, 2 tablespoons Amaretto or almond liqueur, vanilla and
almond extract. Beat until smooth. Pour into baked crust.

Microwave uncovered at medium (50 per cent power) 14 to 18 minutes or
until cheesecake is almost set in centre. Rotate dish partway through
cooking, if necessary. Cool on countertop to room temperature, then
cover and refrigerate until serving time.

Reserve some whole raspberries for garnish. Puree remaining
raspberries. Push through sieve to remove seeds. Stir 2 tablespoons
Amaretto or almond liqueur into puree. Add sugar to taste.

To serve, spoon some sauce on to dessert plates. Place slice of
cheesecake on sauce. Garnish with reserved berries.

If you prefer, use 1 cup graham cracker crumbs with 1/2 cup finely
chopped almonds for the crust. Use a food processor and pulse to chop
nuts to an even consistency, rather than a fine powder. Also, you
could substitute strawberries for the raspberries. To omit liqueur,
increase almond extract in the filling to 1 teaspoon and use just a
drop in the raspberry puree.