Apricot Cheesecake - cooking recipe

Ingredients

200 g butter
340 g Amarettini biscuits
1 kg ricotta
1.5 kg cottage cheese
175 g caster sugar
2 tsp vanilla extract
2 x 420 g cans apricot halves, drained, 300ml juice reserved
15 leaves gelatine
250 g double cream

Preparation

Grease and line a 13 x 14 inch baking pan. Mix the melted butter with the cookies crumbles. Place into the prepared pan and press down firmly with the back of a spoon. Chill.
Meanwhile, mix together the ricotta, cottage cheese, sugar, 1 tsp of vanilla extract and apricot juice. Combine 2 tbsp of the cheese mixture with the bloomed gelatin and melt the gelatin gently over low heat, let cool slightly then mix back into the main cheese mixture. Spread over the chilled cookie base, even out the top then decorate with the apricot halves. Chill for at least 2 hours.
Whip the cream with the remaining vanilla extract to stiff peaks. Place in a piping bag fitted with a star-shaped tip and pipe little rosettes over the cheesecake. Top with the whole Amaretti cookies. Cut into 20 slices and serve.