Guava Swirl Cheesecake

Hey everyone, I'm still alive! I've just been letting work and life take precedence these days. But that also means that I've build up a good pile of recipes to share with you.

This dessert popped into my head one day when I was thinking about a way to combine the flavors of guava and cream cheese. My husband loves these super sweet Cuban pastries filled with guava and cream cheese, but trying to make a starch free version of the real pastry just wouldn't come close enough to the real thing. I had to get a little more creative with the flavor combination. And so the guava swirl cheesecake was born! (And depending on your flavor preferences, you can change the guava to any type of jam or jelly and this cheesecake would still be delicious. I think strawberry, blueberry and blackberry would all be amazing.)

The crust is the same recipe that we used in our Key Lime Mousse Pie and makes a good starch free substitute for any pie or dessert recipe requiring a crust.

Guava Swirl Cheesecake
makes one 10-inch cheesecake
for the crust:
3 cups almond meal/flour
4 ounces (1 stick) unsalted butter
(scant) 1/4 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
(scant) 1/8 cup water
for the cheesecake:
two 8-ounce packages cream cheese, at room temp.
2/3 cup sugar (you can use a little less depending on how much jelly your adding in)
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 eggs, at room temp.
2/3 cup heavy cream
1/4-1/2 cup guava jelly, depending on your taste - I used Goya, in the international food section

for the crust:
--> Combine the almond meal with the baking soda, salt and sugar. Add the butter and some water, but don't add too much water! You just need enough to moisten the dough so that you can mix it. Knead to combine, and don't worry if some of the butter still shows through the dough. Form the dough into a flat disk, cover completely with saran wrap and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.

--> Preheat oven to 300 degrees F and lightly butter or spray a 9 inch or 10 inch springform pan. Remove the dough  from the fridge and place between 2 sheets of parchment paper. Roll the dough out to a round disk a little larger than the springform pan. Remove the top sheet and invert the shell onto the pie dish. (Sometimes, if the dough feels a little bit on the sticky side, I just put the dough directly on my pan and press it in piece by piece with my fingers instead of rolling it out. When it's too sticky, it can just stick to the paper.) With your hands, mold the dough to fit your springform pan, making the edges a little thicker than the bottom.

--> Put into the oven and bake for 30-35 minutes or until the crust has very lightly browned and is firm. Remove from the oven and cool completely while you make your filling.
 
for the cheesecake:
--> Increase the oven temperature to 325 degrees F. With a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat cream cheese at medium speed until very soft and smooth, about 4 minutes. Add sugar and salt, and continue to beat at medium speed for another 4 minutes or so, until cream cheese is light. Beat in vanilla. Add eggs one by one, beating for a full minute after each addition so that your batter will be well aerated. Reduce to low speed and mix in heavy cream.

--> Stir bowl with rubber spatula, scraping the sides, and pour into your cooled crust. In a small bowl, stir your guava jelly until softened and uniform in texture. Pour jelly onto cheesecake mixture by the spoonful and marble gently into the cheesecake with a knife. 

--> Bake for 30-40 minutes, or until slightly browned and puffed a little. A thermometer should read 150 degrees F when inserted into the center of the cheesecake. Let cool, then place into the fridge. If you'd like, serve with whipped cream on top. But it's amazingly delicious either way.