Cherry Cheesecake

I adapted this recipe from a Tyler Florence recipe on Foodnetwork.com. (He is AMAZING, which I think needed to be said.)
I used the same filling ingredients but added some almond extract, and I didn't use quite as much lemon zest as he calls for. I hope no one will judge me for using canned cherry topping instead of preparing my own cherry confit, but it's not exactly cherry season anymore and I would have paid a hefty price to use fresh ones. I added a little almond extract to the cherry topping as well; it's such a good complement.

Crust:

• 2 cups graham cracker crumbs
• 5 tablespoons sugar
  
• 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
• 6 tablespoons melted butter

Filling:

• 24 ounces cream cheese
  
• 1 cup sugar
• zest from 1/2 of a lemon
  
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1 teaspoon almond extract
  
• 5 eggs, separated
• 1/4 cup heavy cream
• 2 tablespoons sugar

Topping:

• 18 or 21 oz can cherry pie filling
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• 1 teaspoon almond extract
  

Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F

Mix the graham cracker crumbs, sugar, cinnamon, and butter together in a mixing bowl. Pour the mixture into the springform pan and using a mixing cup press the crumbs into the base. Using your fingers gently press crumbs into the sides of the pan. Bake for 6 minutes. Let cool.

For the filling:

Tyler says to use a food processor, but I did well with a hand mixer. In a large bowl, cream the cream cheese and the sugar together. Add the zest, vanilla, and almond extract. Blend until smooth. Add 5 egg yolks and heavy cream, and beat until smooth. In a separate bowl, whisk the egg whites until a soft froth forms. Add 2 tablespoons sugar slowly to the egg whites and continue to whisk until soft peaks form. [I had to switch to the whisk beater on my hand mixer to get soft peaks.] Fold the egg whites into cream cheese mixture, a little bit at a time until fully integrated. Pour into the prepared spring-form pan.

Bake between 60 and 75 minutes or until firm. Let cool for about 30 minutes, and then add the topping (the combined cherry filling, lemon juice, and almond extract). I've been told it's best to refrigerate the cheesecake overnight before serving, so that's what I plan on doing!

Tyler's original recipe can be found here.