Homemade Lychee cheesecake

I was watching TV and it was talking about the famous Junior's cheesecake. They were talking about having a contest for the people to create the next Junior's cheesecake. So I decided to try to experiment to see if I could enter. I asked a friend about it and we were thinking of ideas--green tea, chia tea, and early grey tea. Then she said how about lychee and I was like sounds good. aI also said to do almond cookie crust instead of the traditional graham cracker crust. She thought it might be overpowering but I wanted to test it out. So I decided to make a lychee cheesecake with chopped lychees in the cheesecake base, an almond cookie crust, and a lychee puree gelatin on top. I baked the cheesecake then let it cook and then put the lychee puree gelatin on top. The result was a smooth and light flavored cheesecake. The almond cookie crust did not overpower the cheesecake and complimented the whole cheesecake. It was yummy (even my 5 year old nephew loved it). Below is the recipe I came up with and made. Next time I will try to experiment with puree lychees in the cheesecake base. I will definitely enter this into the contest.


Baked Lychee Cheesecake

Crust:

7 almond cookies

2 tablespoons butter, melted

Filling:

2-8 oz package cream cheese

½ cup sugar

3 eggs

1 can lychee, chopped

½ cup lychee syrup from can

Topping:

lychee puree from 1/2 can of lychees

1 tablespoon gelatin

½ cup boiling water

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Wrap aluminum foil on bottom of springform pan and up the sides of the pan. Butter bottom and sides of a springform pan.
2. In food processor, pulse almond cookies until finely grounded. Slowly add the melted butter until it just comes together. Press cookie crumbs onto the bottom of springform pan. Place in oven and bake for 5-7 minutes. Let cool.
3. In electric mixer, add cream cheese, lychee syrup and sugar. Beat until smooth and creamy. Add eggs one at a time. Add the chopped lychees and mix until incorporated and smooth.
4. Pour cheesecake mixture into the prepared pan with crust. Put springform pan in a baking pan. Pour hot water in the pan just enough to go halfway up the springform pan.
5. Bake cheesecake for 1 hour 15 minutes or until set. Take out oven and let cool then chill in fridge while making topping.
6. Cut 2 lychees in half and put in center in a circle on top of cheesecake.
7. Mix the gelatin and boiling water in a bowl. Set aside for gelatin to dissolve. Puree 1 can of lychee in food processor. Strain into a bowl. Add the gelatin and mix. Pour on top of the cheesecake and chill for at least 2 hours until firm. Serve.