ANU CAKES N BAKES: Marble Mango Cheesecake with Almond Crust

Cooking is always a learning curve, especially when it comes to baking. This year and last year I didn't do much cheesecakes/pies. I always used to make pies with berries and sometimes cheesecake. But some how I didn't feel like making it...maybe because I had it too much. :) I had cheesecake on friday from one of neighbor friends house and wow I could not think about anything else other than cheesecake after that. She made a vanilla cheesecake, but I wanted to try mango cheesecake as I bought the mango puree just two days before thinking about making something with mango.

Ingredients:
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Almond Crust:
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2 cups Whole Almonds/Sliced
Note: you an use with skin or without skin, I like to used whole Almonds with skin
1 pinch Salt
2 tbsp Butter
3 tbsp Sugar

Method:
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1. Chop the almonds roughly with a knife, if using whole almonds. If using pan to toast, keep stirring until they turn golden brown on medium low flame. If using oven to toast, preheat to 350F and toast it for about 7-8 mins.

2. Cool them completely and then grind it to a coarse powder.
3. Melt butter and add to the almonds along with sugar, mix and place it in a spring foam pan or a pie plate, apply some butter. Add the almond powder, press it slightly and flatten it and slant the pan a bit to get the crust on the sides as well. Keep it aside.

Mango Cheese Filling:
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2 1/2 pkg (8 oz) Cream Cheese (room temperature)
1 cup Sugar
2 tbsp Flour
1 tsp Vanilla extract
1 1/4 cup + 2-3 tbsp Mango Puree (fresh/frozen/can)
Note: I used sweetened mango puree
3 Eggs, separated
1/2 tsp Lime Zest (Optional)

Method:
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1. Preheat oven to 325 F.
2. In a stand mixer add the cream cheese, in a low speed so that it gets soften.

3. Now add mango puree,vanilla extract, flour and mix in medium speed. Scrape the edges, so that all the cream cheese is well mixed.
4. Now add egg yolk one at a time while the stand mixer is running.

5. In a different bowl, add egg whites and with a hand mixer in medium to high speed, whisk it to almost stiff peaks.
6. Fold in the egg whites gently into the mango cheese mixture.

7. Pour this mixture to the prepared spring foam pan with almond crust.
8. With a spoon sprinkle or spoon the mango puree on top of the cheese mixture and with the help of a knife run slightly to make marble effect on the top.

9. Bake this for about 35-45 mins or until the top is slightly golden brown, and when you wiggle, the cheese mixture should wiggle a little bit but not more and also a tooth pick inserted should almost come out clean.
10. Remove the cheese cake from oven and cool it for about half an hour. Then run a plastic knife through the edges and remove the spring foam.