Frosted Coconut Cheesecake

Total Time: 1 hr 5 mins Cook Time: 1 hr 5 mins

Ingredients

• Servings: 12
• 3/4 cup toasted pecans or 3/4 cup sliced almonds
• 2/3 cup toasted coconut
• 2/3 cup granulated sugar
• 1/4 cup crisco shortening, melted
• 3 (250 g) packages cream cheese, softened
• 3/4 cup granulated sugar
• 3 eggs
• 1 tablespoon lemon zest
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 3/4 cup toasted coconut

Recipe

• 1 preheat oven to 350°f grease a 9-inch springform pan. line the bottom with parchment paper. wrap bottom of pan with foil or place pan on baking sheet.
• 2 crust: pulse nuts, coconut and sugar in a food processor until finely ground. transfer mixture to a bowl and stir in melted shortening. press onto bottom of prepared pan. bake in preheated oven for 15 minutes. cool completely in pan.
• 3 cheesecake: reduce heat to 300°f.
• 4 beat together cream cheese and sugar in a bowl with an electric mixer at medium speed until smooth, about 2 minutes. reduce speed to low and add eggs one at a time, mixing until incorporated. beat in zest and vanilla. fold in toasted coconut. pour filling into cooled crust.
• 5 bake in 300f oven until filling is set around the edges but center is wobbly 45=50 minutes. ( the filling will continue to set as it cools). cool on a wire rack. place in refrigerator to cool completely, about 2-3 hours.
• 6 tips: cheesecake can be made 2 days ahead of time and kept in refrigerator.
• 7 to toast coconut, place on a baking sheet and bake 8-10 minutes at 350°f stir the coconut a few times as the outside bakes faster than the middle.