Limoncello cheesecake

So I have this open bottle of limoncello that's been sitting in my fridge for awhile. It's too strong to drink straight, so of course the only other way to use it up is to bake with it. Of course.

I went around looking on the Internet for recipes that used the most amount of limoncello at one time, and this recipe stood out among the rest.

The creator of this lovely cheesecake is a guy named Dr. Robert Jantzen (or "Dr. Bob"), a math whiz whose side passion is cooking and creating recipes that he has very comprehensively posted on an online cookbook of sorts.

The cheesecake itself was creamy and smooth and tasted distinctly of lemon. I added lemon curd on top rather than the sour cream topping originally in the recipe, but that was mostly because I didn't have sour cream. The hazelnuts in the crust added toasty crunchiness that stood out and complemented the lemon flavor very well. All in all, we really enjoyed the cheesecake, especially with a little fruit sauce on top.

Limoncello cheesecake--half-recipe (adapted from Dr. Bob, posted with permission)

Ingredients:
1/2 stick (4 tablespoons) melted butter
3/4-1 cup graham cracker crumbs
1/2 cup hazelnut crumbs (toast the hazelnuts first for 10 min in 350 degree oven, take off skins, then process into crumbs)
2 tablespoons sugar

2 eight-ounce packages of cream cheese (I used low-fat)
3/4 cup sugar
2 tablespoons flour
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/2 tablespoon lemon zest (optional; I used a splash of lemon extract instead)
2 eggs
1/4 cup limoncello

Sour cream topping: 2 cups sour cream, 1/4 cup sugar, 1 teaspoon limoncello
or 1/2 cup lemon curd

Instructions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

For crust: Toss graham cracker crumbs, ground hazelnuts, sugar, and melted butter together until crumbs moistened. Press in an even layer on the bottom of a 9.5 inch springform pan that is lined on the bottom with parchment paper. (The recipe says to have the bottom of the pan inverted so the "rim" of the bottom is pointing down. I think this makes the seam between the sides and bottom a little tighter and less prone to leakage, but I wrap the outside with foil just in case too.)

For batter: With an electric mixer, beat together the cream cheese and sugar until light and fluffy. Then add eggs in one at a time, mixing each one in fully before adding the next. Then add in the flour, salt, lemon zest (if using), and limoncello and mix until smooth. Pour batter into pan and place pan on a cookie sheet to catch any accidental leakage (most likely butter leakage from crust). Bake at 350 degrees for ~1 hour or until a jiggle of the pan only slightly perturbs the cheesecake center and a toothpick inserted comes out clean. Remove from oven.

For topping: If doing topping, let cake cool down for 10-15 minutes. Meanwhile, mix together the sour cream, sugar, and limoncello. Spread the mixture evenly over the top of the cheesecake and sprinkle with some more toasted hazelnut crumbs, if desired. Bake another 10-15 minutes at 350 degrees. Remove from oven and cool completely.

Refrigerate cheesecake for several hours to overnight (if possible) before serving.