Ambrosia Cheesecake
Submitted by bea
Tropical cheesecake with a coconut-almond crust, creamy pineapple filling, and fresh fruit on top drizzled with chocolate. A showstopping dessert worth the overnight chill.
YIELD
12 servingsPREP
60 minCOOK
90 minREADY
150 minThis is cheesecake dressed up for a vacation, loaded with all the tropical flavors of classic ambrosia salad.
A golden coconut and almond crust provides the perfect toasted base for a lush filling that’s infused with apricot nectar, cream of coconut, orange zest, and crushed pineapple. After a slow bake and an overnight rest in the fridge, you crown it with a rainbow of fresh fruit (think strawberries, kiwi, grapes, mandarin oranges) and finish with an elegant drizzle of melted dark and white chocolate.
It’s a stunner that tastes as good as it looks, and the make-ahead nature means you can relax when company arrives.
Pro Tips
- Bake the crust first until golden to ensure it stays crisp under the creamy filling
- Room temperature ingredients blend smoother and prevent lumps in the filling
- Chill overnight for the cleanest slices and fullest flavor development
- Pipe the chocolate in zigzags or swirls for a professional bakery finish
Ingredients
Directions
*Note: Suggested fruits: bananas, seedless green and red grapes, kiwifruit, canned mandarin-orange slices, strawberries, etc.)
Day before serving: Preheat oven to 350℉ (180℃). In medium bowl, combine coconut, almonds and butter; mix well. Press mixture into bottom of 9-inch springform pan. Bake until golden, about 15 minutes. Cool.
In large bowl of electric mixer, at high speed, beat cream cheese, sugar, flour, orange peel and vanilla until fluffy. Beat in apricot nectar and cream of coconut. Beat in eggs, one at a time, until blended. Stir in pineapple; pour into prepared crust.
Bake 1 hour and 10 minutes, or until set. Cool in pan on wire rack; refrigerate overnight.
Just before serving, arrange fruit over top of cake. Stir one teaspoon melted shortening into each of melted semisweet and white chocolates until blended. Place each mixture in a separate small pastry bag fitted with small plain tip; pipe over fruit.
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