Raspberry Almond Breakfast Cheesecake

Raspberry Almond Breakfast Cheesecake

For the cake:

{2} packages crescent rolls

{2} 8 ounce packages of cream cheese

3/4 cup sugar

1 tsp vanilla extract or vanilla bean paste

1 tsp almond extract

1/2 tsp cinnamon

zest of one lemon

{1} egg yolk

1 small pint of raspberries

For the topping:

egg white

1/4 cup sugar

small package of sliced almonds

To begin, preheat your oven to 350 degrees.  Add the cream cheese, vanilla, almond, sugar, lemon zest, cinnamon, and egg yolk to a mixer and beat until smooth and fluffy, about 3 minutes.  {If you don't have a stand mixer, I would allow the cream cheese to soften just a bit before using a hand mixer.}

Unravel one package of crescent rolls and begin covering the bottom of your pan.  I used a round cheesecake pan here, but Emily uses a regular rectangular cake pan when she makes her version, just drop the cooking time to 25-30 minutes if you do.

Spoon the cream cheese mixture onto the crescent rolls... try to avoid licking the leftover batter, then say raw eggs be damned and lick it anyway.

Add most of the package of raspberries to the batter by lightly squishing them and pressing them into the pan.  Reserve a few berries for garnish. 

Top with remaining package of crescent rolls.  Now, if you'd like it to look a bit fancy, lay them around the pan piece by piece with the point toward the middle, then curl the point in just a bit leaving a vent hole in the center.  Then give the whole top layer a good brushing with egg white.

Finally, top with the remaining 1/4 cup of sugar, then sprinkle the almonds along the outside edge of the pan.  Pop it in the oven for 40-50 minutes {about 30 minutes if you use a rectangle pan because the layers won't be as thick} and allow to cool on a wire cake rack to room temp.

You can then pop it in the fridge until you are ready to serve!  It holds up really well to making it the night before which means getting to sleep in.  My idea of a great morning!

Then, add a few raspberries on the plate, a sprig of mint and serve!

Enjoy!!

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