Crust:
1 10 oz. bag sliced almonds (about 2 cups)
¼ cup butter, melted
¼ cup brown sugar

Filling:
2 lbs. cream cheese, softened (I used half regular cream cheese and ½ low-fat cream cheese)
1-1/2 cups sugar
Juice of 2 limes
Pinch of salt
4 eggs

Raspberry Swirl:
6 oz. frozen whole raspberries
1Tbsp. cornstarch
½ cup sugar

Butter a 10-inch springform pan. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In food processor, process almonds until they are a fine meal. Dust bottom and sides of springform pan with almond meal. Add melted butter to remaining almonds and mix in brown sugar. Press onto the bottom of the springform pan.

In a large bowl, beat cream cheese and sugar with electric mixer until well blended, 1-2 minutes. Add limejuice and salt and beat another minute. Add eggs one at a time, beating after each addition.

Pour cheesecake filling into prepared springform pan. Place on a cookie sheet.

Reserve a handful of raspberries for garnish. Place rest of raspberries and sugar in a small saucepot and bring to a boil, stirring. Add a tablespoon or two of water if this mixture needs a little more juice. Mix cornstarch with 2 tablespoons of water and blend into raspberries after they reach a boil. Lower heat, stir, and cook for about 5 minutes or until thickened.

Swirl in raspberry puree into cheesecake, working rapidly so as to avoid turning the entire cheesecake pink. I found that working clockwise and making eight small swirls on the outer edge and one central swirl worked well.

Bake cheesecake at 350 degrees in center rack of oven for 50-60 minutes. Let cool on a rack until room temperature. Then cover and refrigerate overnight.

Garnish cheesecake with reserved raspberries.

Makes 8-10 servings.

For the genoise:

16 tablespoons unsalted butter, preferably uncultured
6 tablespoons chestnut flour
4 tablespoons cornstarch
6 tablespoons tapioca flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
3 teaspoons guar gum
8 eggs
1 cup and 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
2 ½ teaspoons vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350°F and line a half-jellyroll sheet with parchment and liberally grease the parchment with unsalted butter. Set aside.
In a heavy bottomed saucepan, melt the butter over a low flame. Be sure to remove the butter from the heat the moment the last bit of butter has become liquid. Allow butter to cool while you prepare the eggs.
In a stand up mixer with the whisk attachment, whip the eggs until they begin to froth and then add the granulated sugar and the vanilla and whisk on the highest setting for five minutes. The eggs should be engorged with air at this point and at least double in size.
Sift together the dry ingredients. Fold in the dry ingredients and then fold in the cool, melted butter. Only mix the batter until all the ingredients are incorporated.
Pour the batter onto your prepared jellyroll sheet pan and bake at 350°F for 15-20 minutes. The cake should pull slightly away from the sides of the pan and should feel like a very delicate sponge when gently pressed with your finger. Allow to cool in the pan before cutting out your heart shaped little cakes. While cake is cooling, make the vanilla buttercream.

For the buttercream:

4 large egg yolks
¾ cup granulated sugar
6 tablespoons water
250 grams unsalted butter
1 ½ teaspoons quality vanilla

In a heavy bottomed saucepan, melt the sugar in the water and boil until it reaches 239ºF (soft-ball stage on candy thermometer).

While your simple syrup comes to temperature, whip egg yolks in standup mixer with the whisk attachment until combined. When the sugar reaches soft-ball stage, immediately pour all of the syrup into the egg yolks and whip on the highest setting until the yolks for uniform, thick mousse. Add the vanilla and whip just enough to combine.

In a separate bowl, whip the butter until light and smooth. Pour the cooled egg yolk mixture into the butter and whip until smooth.

Using a firm spatula, transfer the buttercream to a piping bag fitted with a #808 tip and set aside until you have cut out hearts.

Take a heart-shaped cookie cutter of your choosing, and cut out hearts from cooled genoise.

Carefully pipe the buttercream over the tops of the hearts, keeping in mind that the pattern you choose will be seen through the glacee.

For the glacee:

2 cups confectioner’s sugar
6 tablespoons water
1 ½ teaspoons chestnut extract

Sift all the confectioner’s sugar in a large bowl. Whisk in chestnut extract and water until smooth.

After you have piped the buttercream over the tops of hearts, flood the tops of each cake until the entire cake has a uniform coating of icing.

Refrigerate until ready to serve.
Makes 7-8 hearts.

Ingredients:

• 1 can Eagle-brand sweetened condensed milk*
• Pinch salt
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1 pound of flaked coconut

Directions:

1. Combine all ingredients.
2. Let coconut mixture stand to soak up condensed milk.
3. Make into balls with a small scoop. Drop cookies onto a greased cookie sheet.
4. Start with cold oven, bake 23 minutes at 275 degrees, until barely brown.

*For colored cookies, add 3 drops of food coloring to condensed milk before mixing in other ingredients.

Chocolate Cupcake Batter
4 ounces fine-quality bittersweet chocolate (not unsweetened) in bar or chip form
1 stick (1/2 cup) unsalted butter
¾ cup sugar
3 large eggs
½ cup unsweetened cocoa powder

Cream Cheese Filling
8 ounces. cream cheese
1 unbeaten egg
1/3 cup sugar
1/8 teaspoon of salt

¾ of a cup of chocolate chips

Prepare batter bychopping chocolate into small pieces. In a double boiler set over a saucepan of barely simmering water melt chocolate with butter, stirring, until smooth.

Remove top of double boiler or bowl from heat and whisk sugar into chocolate mixture. Add eggs and whisk well.

Sift ½ cup cocoa powder over chocolate mixture and whisk until just combined.

To prepare cream cheese filling, cream together cream cheese, egg, sugar and salt.

Fold in chocolate chips.

To assemble and bake, preheat oven to 350°F.

Put paper in muffin tins. Fill 1/3 full with flourless chocolate batter.

Top with cream cheese filling.

Bake at 350°F for 25 minutes.