Once upon a time there was... Passover Cheesecake w/ Fruit Sauces

It' always difficult to find good Passover desserts with all the ingredients you are not allowed to use. There are only so many macaroons you can eat...

(...but an unlimited amount you can play basketball with...)

(...and slam dunk!)

That's why we were so excited when we discovered the Passover Cheesecake recipe - every bit as delicious as regular cheesecake because all that changes is the crust. This recipe comes from Philadelphia Cream Cheese (which is really the only kind of cream cheese we use because the other cream cheeses are stupid and come from inferior places - go phillies!)

CHEESECAKE

ingredients

2 c soft coconut macaroon cookie crumbs (about 15 cookies)

3 Tbsp unsalted butter, melted

4 pkg (8 oz each) Philadelphia cream cheese, softened

1 c sugar

2 Tbsp orange zest

4 eggs

need: 9" springform pan

instructions

1. preheat oven to 325 for a silver springform (or 300 for a dark nonstick pan). Lightly grease pan.

2. Mix cookie crumbs and butter. Press firmly into the bottom of the pan and 1" up the sides.
Cal's tip: For more detail about cheesecake crusts see our regular cheesecake recipe.

3. Beat cream cheese and sugar with electric mixer until well blended. Add zest. Add eggs, one at a time, mixing until just blended.
Cal's tip: If your cream cheese is resisting, add an egg to coax it along.

4. Pour into crust.

5. Bake 55 minutes or until center is almost set. Remove from oven.

6. Run a knife or spatula along the rim of the pan to loosen cake. Cool before removing rim. Refrigerate at least 4 hours before eating.

STRAWBERRY SAUCE

source: Emeril

ingredients

2 pints fresh strawberries

1/2 c sugar

1 c water

1 tsp lemon zest

2 Tbsp kirsch or brandy

this is how we knew the recipe would be good

instructions

1.  Chop (or not) berries to desired size.

strawberry fields forever

2. Combine berries, sugar, water, and zest and cook until berries are soft and the liquid is thick (about 10 min).

3. Stir in the kirsch or brandy and cook another minute.

4. Remove from heat and let cool.

we hoped this would be thicker, but it will still be delicious!

MANGO SAUCE

source: AZCentral.com

ingredients

1/4 c sugar

1/4 c lime juice

1 c water

2 large mangoes, peeled and sliced

instructions

1. Combine sugar, lime juice, and water in a saucepan and bring to a boil. Let boil just long enough to dissolve sugar.

2. Put sugar liquid and mango in a blender and puree to desired consistency.

3. Let cool and serve.

We'll post finished pictures after the seder.  We wanted to get this up quickly so you would have time to make it, too!

Moo!