Apple Cheesecake

1/3 recipe Sablée Dough 1 ¾ (800g) pounds apples Juice of half lemon 2 Tbs butter 4 Tbs sugar 2 Tbs rum 21 oz. (600g) cream cheese, at room tº ¾ cup sugar 3 eggs, at room tº 2 Tbs lemon juice (half a lemon) Zest of half a lemon 1 teaspoon vanilla Caramelized apples, for decoration For cheesecake base: On a lightly floured surface roll sablée dough. Using the bottom of a 9 inch springform pan as a guide, cut a circle. Press it over bottom of springform pan. Prick with a fork and refrigerate for 1 hour. For apples: Peel, core and slice apples into fourths. Slice each fourth in half. You will have 8 pieces per apple. Toss in a bowl with the lemon juice. Melt butter on a large skillet over high heat. When it begins to foam add apples and cook for 3 or 4 minutes, until they begin to soften. Add sugar and continue to bake until they start to caramelize, about 5 minutes. Some pieces will be darker than others. Add rum, being very careful not to let any drop fall into the fire, otherwise it will ignite. Let alcohol evaporate and cook a bit longer, until the apple slices are caramelized and have lost their liquid, but don´t let them turn into mush. Transfer apples to a bowl and let cool. Preheat oven to 350º F / 180º C. Bake cheesecake base for 20 minutes, until dry and beginning to color. In the meantime, prepare the cream cheese batter. For cream cheese mixture: While dough base is baking, put cream cheese in a large bowl. Add sugar and mix well with a whisk or a handheld electric mixer. The mixture should be completely smooth. Add eggs, one at a time, mixing just to get an even batter. Add lemon juice, zest and vanilla and mix until incorporated. Distribute apples on top of baked cheesecake base. Carefully pour cheesecake mixture over apples, covering completely. Bake at 350ºF for 35 minutes, lower the tº to 300º and bake for another 45 minutes. The cake will be jiggly. Turn the oven off and, without opening the door, let the cheesecake inside for at least 1 hour. Transfer to wire rack to cool completely. Wrap in plastic and refrigerate for 4 to 6 hours or overnight. It keeps, refrigerated, for 3 days. When ready to serve, unmold onto pie dish and arrange 8 caramelized apple slices (1 apple) in a circle. Serves 8 **** Sweet dough (pate sablée): 1 ¾ cups (250g) all-purpose flour Scant 1 cup (200g) butter, cut into small pieces and slightly softened 1 cup (100g) confectioners´ sugar, sifted Pinch of salt 2 egg yolks Put flour, salt and sugar in food processor and pulse a few times to combine. Add butter and process until it is combined, it will be clumpy. Add yolks and process until it barely starts to come together. Transfer to counter and work it a few turns until it becomes a homogeneous dough. Wrap in plastic and refrigerate for 1 hour or up to 2 days. When ready to use, transfer dough to counter and, using a rolling pin and light strokes, roll out the dough, giving it a quarter turn and flipping it over from time to time. This will prevent it from sticking and helps keep it aerated. Continue until the dough fits a 9-inch (24cm) round tart pan. Prick bottom of dough with a fork, and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes. Ten minutes before baking, preheat oven to 375ºF / 190ºC. Put a big piece of aluminum foil over chilled crust so it hangs over sides and fill with pie weights or dried beans. Bake for 15 minutes, remove foil and weights and continue baking until pie is a light golden color and feels dry. Let cool completely on wire rack. Unmold onto serving plate. Caramelized apples: Wash and dry 2 green apples but don´t peel them. Cut them in quarters. In a skillet melt 2 Tbs butter, wait until it starts to foam and add the apples. Cook for a minute and add 2 Tbs sugar. Cook the apples turning once or twice so all sides are golden, about 2 more minutes. Add ¼ cup late harvest wine and cook a bit more until it almost evaporates. Source: http://vintagekitchennotes.blogspot.com.ar/