Nutty Halvah Cheesecake

By The Canadian Living Test Kitchen

16 people added this to their Recipe Box

This recipe makes 12 servings

Nutritional Info
Per serving: about	-
cal	437437 cal
pro	10 g10g pro
total fat	31 g31g total fat
sat. fat	16 g16g sat. fat
carb	31 g31g carb
fibre	2 g2g fibre
chol	119 mg119mg chol
sodium	248 mg248mg sodium
% RDI:	-
calcium	88 calcium
iron	1111 iron
vit A	2727 vit A
folate	99 folate

Halvah is candy made in blocks from ground sesame seeds and honey and can contain chopped pistachios and dried fruit. It even comes in a marble form and covered with chocolate. Add chunks of this sweet, with its toasty sesame flavour, to a creamy cheesecake.

Ingredients

2 2pkg (each 8 oz/250g) pkg (each 8 oz/250g)cream cheese, softened
3/4 cup granulated sugar 3/4 3/4cup cupgranulated sugar
3 eggs 3 3eggeggs
1-1/2 cups sour cream 1-1/2 1-1/2cups cupssour cream
1 cup chopped halvah 1 1cup cupchopped halvahhalvah
2 tbsp all-purpose flour 2 2tbsp tbspall-purpose flour
1-1/2 tsp vanilla 1-1/2 1-1/2tsp tspvanilla
Base:
1 cup graham wafer crumbs 1 1cup cupgraham wafer crumbs
1/3 cup ground almonds 1/3 1/3cup cupground almonds
3 tbsp butter , melted3 3tbsp tbspbutter, melted
Garnish:
1 tbsp corn syrup 1 1tbsp tbspcorn syrup
1/4 cup toasted sesame seeds 1/4 1/4cup cuptoasted sesame seeds
1/4 cup toasted sliced almonds 1/4 1/4cup cuptoasted sliced almonds

Preparation

Grease 8-1/2-inch (2.25 L) springform pan. Place on large square of heavy-duty foil; press foil up against side of pan.

Base: In bowl, stir together crumbs, ground almonds and butter until moistened. Press onto bottom of prepared pan. Bake in centre of 325°F (160°C) oven for 10 minutes or until firm. Let cool.

Meanwhile, in large bowl, beat cream cheese until fluffy. Gradually beat in sugar until smooth. Beat in eggs, 1 at a time, beating well after each and scraping down side of bowl often. Stir in sour cream, halvah, flour and vanilla; pour over base. Place pan in larger pan; pour in enough hot water to come 1 inch (2.5 cm) up side.

Bake in centre of 325°F (160°C) oven until edge is set but centre still jiggles slightly, about 1-1/4 hours. Turn off oven. Quickly run knife around edge of cake. Let cool in oven for 1 hour. Transfer to rack; remove foil and let cool completely. Cover and refrigerate for 12 hours or until set. (Make-ahead: Refrigerate for up to 2 days.)

Garnish: In small saucepan, heat corn syrup; brush over side of cake. Press sesame seeds onto side of cake. Sprinkle sliced almonds around top edge.