Hi LeeAnn, Here's a tried and true chocolate cheesecake that we like - I don't know if your friend would mind the addition of almond, but I thought I'd post it anyway. Cindy Crust: 1 1/4 cups graham cracker crumbs 1/3 cup sugar 1/4 cup cocoa 1/3 cup butter, melted Mix together, press into bottom of a 9" springform pan. Filling: 1 1/4 cups sugar 1/3 cup cocoa 2 T flour 3 (8oz) pkgs cream cheese, softened 1/2 cup sour cream 2 tsp almond extract 1 tsp vanilla 3 eggs Mix together sugar, cocoa and flour with whisk. Combine cream cheese, sugar mixture and sour cream, beat until smooth. Beat in eggs and extracts on low speed just until combined. Pour over crust. Bake 425 for 10 minutes, reduce heat to 250, bake 55 minutes more. Cool on rack, refrigerate. Garnish with toasted sliced almonds.

Here's the best I ever made or tasted....you can do it in a graham cracker crust, but the pastry crust is better. and if you really want to go over the top, top it with lemon curd....the recipe is at the enc of the cheese cake recipe. I wish someone would make me a cheese cake on my birthday!! Linda C Secret Lindy's-Style New York Cheesecake Cookie Pastry Crust 1/4 lb. (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature 1/4 c. sugar 1 egg 1 1/2 c. flour Beat the butter and sugar in a medium mixing bowl with electric mixer on medium speed until light and fluffy, about 2 mins. Add the egg and flour and mix until a smooth dough is formed. With your hands, shape it into a ball and flatten it into a disc. Wrap it in plastic wrap and refrigerate it until it's firm. Remove the sides from the springform pan and press one third of the pastry evenly over the bottom. Place on baking sheet and bake in 400F oven for 6 mins. or until golden. Remove from the oven and cool. Increase oven temperature to 500F. Butter the sides of the springform pan and attach it to the bottom. Press the remaining pastry about two thirds up the sides. Filling 5 8-oz. pkgs. cream cheese, room temperature 1 3/4 c. sugar 3 T. flour 2 t. lemon peel 1 1/2 t. orange peel 1/4 t. salt 1/4 t. vanilla 5 eggs plus 2 egg yolks, room temperature 1/4 c. sour cream Beat the cream cheese in a large mixing bowl with an electric mixer on medium speed until smooth and fluffy, stopping to scrape down the sides of the bowl occasionally. Gradually add the sugar, flour, lemon and orange peel, salt and vanilla, beating constantly. Add eggs and yolks one at a time, beating well after each egg. Scrape the bowl one or two more times. Add in the sour cream; the mixture will be thin. Pour it into the pastry-lined springform pan. Put it together Place the pan on a baking sheet. Bake it in the oven at 500F for 8 mins. or until the top is golden. Reduce the oven temperature to 200F (don't open the oven!) and continue to bake it for 1 hour or until the center jiggles slightly. When finished cooking, shut off the open, prop the door open, and let the cheesecake sit in the oven for about 3 or 4 hrs. Once it's finished cooling, wrap it with plastic wrap and refrigerate it several hours or overnight. Serve it up! Remove the sides of the springform pan. Now you can add whatever glaze, ganache, or other spread you desire over the top of the cheesecake. Keep it refrigerated until serving time! Lemon curd 1/2 cup fresh lemon juice 2 teaspoons finely grated fresh lemon zest 1/2 cup sugar 3 large eggs 1 stick butter cut into bits Preparation Whisk together juice, zest, sugar, and eggs in a 2-quart heavy saucepan. Stir in butter and cook over moderately low heat, whisking frequently, until curd is thick enough to hold marks of whisk and first bubble appears on surface, about 6 minutes.

Jude, the Hot Milk Cake was what I used for my wedding cake, I love the stuff. Here's the recipe I used, both for cake and frosting. The frosting does not contain powdered sugar. Hot Milk Cake - Pixistix Old fashioned, simple, melts in your mouth! 4 eggs 2 cups sugar 2 1/4 cups flour 2 1/4 tsp. baking powder 1 tsp. vanilla 1 1/4 cups milk 1/2 cup (1 stick) butter Beat eggs and sugar well. Combine flour with bk. powder and add to egg mixture along with vanilla. Heat milk and butter together until butter melts; gradually add to batter, beating until well blended. Pour batter into a greased 9x13 pan. Bake at 350 for 30 to 35 minutes. Topping fom the daughter of Cindy NY Brown Sugar Topping 1 cup packed light brown sugar 1/4 cup whipping cream 1 T unsalted butter 3/4 tsp vanilla 1/2 cup chopped pecans Combine the brown sugar, whipping cream & butter in a saucepan. Bring to a boil, whisking constantly until smooth. Remove from heat. Stir in the vanilla. Let stand 10 minutes. Whisk until of spreading consistency. Stir in the pecans. Spread over the brownies or cake. Let stand 1 hour or until set. Serve cold or at room temperature. Makes enough for an 8x8 pan. Just a note, the topping seems pretty runny when you put it on the cake, but it sets right up when cool, so don't worry. Annie

Update: I made this tonight and decided to try putting in a maple syrup "ribbon" in it before it baked, using a squeeze bottle with a nozzle tip. It baked at 350º for 10 minutes (oven was preheated), then I reduced the temp to 200º for the next 35 minutes. It came out with a slight jiggle in the middle. I'll know more tomorrow when we eat it, but I think I could have maybe done 200º for 30 minutes instead of 35 minutes, and it still would have been fine! Hopefully tomorrow there will be a photo! Meanwhile, there is anticipatory salivating.