Cookbook of the Month Recipe – Lemon Cheesecake

Don’t let this not so great photo turn you away – this was one of the best cheesecakes I have ever had!! Even looking at it right now is making my mouth water – remembering how good this cheesecake was.

The good thing about choosing cookbooks like The New Best Recipe as the cookbook of the month is that there are both sweet and savory recipes to choose from. And with 1000 recipes to choose from in this cookbook, I had to choose at least one sweet one. When I was browsing through after receiving this book, I came across this recipe for a lemon cheesecake. I couldn’t help but stop and read it – I absolutely adore cheesecake, and have eaten it many times, but I had never tried a lemon cheesecake. And I’ve been on a bit of a lemon kick lately – everything that has looked good to me this past month has been lemon flavored!!

This cheesecake does take a few hours, but the hands on time is quite minimal, and it was extremely easy. It consists of a crust made from animal crackers instead of traditional graham crackers. The crust is topped with a lemon flavored cream cheese mixture, and once it is baked and cooled, a lemon curd layer goes on top. And this was a very good lemon curd recipe – I’m surprised most of it made it on top of the cheesecake because I just wanted to eat it by the spoonful!

I wish I would have taken a picture before topping the cheesecake with the curd – I have never made such a perfect cheesecake without even a hint of a crack. I don’t know if it is the recipe, the method, or if I just had a lucky day in the kitchen, but I was so proud of it that I even made my husband come in the kitchen to admire it with me. He looked at me like I was crazy, but I had to share my moment with someone!!

Do make sure to chill this cheesecake completely. I made it the day before we ate it for dessert at my in-laws and the texture was great, but it was even better the next day. The crust did get a little soggier, but nothing that would turn me away from eating every crumb on my plate!

Lemon Cheesecake
from The New Best Recipe

CRUST
5 ounces Nabisco’s Barnum’s Animal Crackers
3 tablespoons sugar
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and kept warm

FILLING
1 1/4 cups (8 3/4 oz.) sugar
1 tablespoon grated zest and 1/4 cup juice from 1-2 lemons
1 1/2 pounds (3 8-oz. packages) cream cheese, cut into 1 inch chunks, at room temperature
4 large eggs, at room temperature
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup heavy cream

LEMON CURD
1/3 cup juice (from about 2 lemons)
2 large eggs plus 1 large egg yolk
1/2 cup (3 1/2 oz.) sugar
2 tablespoons cold butter, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
1 tablespoon heavy cream
1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
pinch of salt

FOR THE CRUST
Adjust an oven rack to the lower-middle position and preheat the oven to 325F. In a food processor, process the animal crackers until you have fine crumbs. You should have about 1 cup. Add in the sugar and pulse. In a steady stream, add the butter while pulsing, about 10 1-second pulses. Transfer the crumb mixture to a 9-inch springform pan and press evenly into the bottom. Bake until fragrant and golden brown. The instructions say 15 to 18 minutes, but mine was done at about 12 minutes, so keep an eye on it. Cool on a wire rack to room temperature. When cool, wrap the pan with 2 18-inch square pieces of foil. Set the pan in a roasting pan.

FOR THE FILLING
Process 1/4 cup of the sugar and the lemon zest in a food processor until the zest is broken down and the sugar turns yellow. Transfer to a small bowl and mix in the rest of the sugar.

In a bow of a stand mixer, beat the cream cheese to break it up and soften it slightly, about 5 seconds. With the machine is running, add the sugar mixture in a slow stream; increase the speed to medium and beat until combined, creamy and smooth – about 3 minutes. Scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed. Reduce the speed to medium low and add the eggs, 2 at a time. Beat until incorporated, about 30 seconds. Scrape the bowl before each addition. Add the lemon juice, vanilla and salt and mix to combine. Add the cream and mix until incorporated, about another 5 seconds. Give the bowl a final scrape and pour the mixture into the prepared springform pan. Fill the roasting pan with enough water to make it about halfway up the sides of the pan. Bake until the center jiggles slightly, the sides start to puff, and the surface is no longer shiny, about 55 to 60 minutes. The center should read about 150 degrees F. Turn off the oven and prop the door of the oven open with a potholder or wooden spoon. Allow the cake to cool in the water bath in the oven for about an hour. Transfer the springform pan to a wire rack and run a small paring knife around the edges of the pan to loosen the cake. Let it sit to room temperature for 2 hours.

FOR THE CURD
While the cheesecake is baking, heat the lemon juice in a small non-reactive pan on medium heat until hot, but not boiling. Whisk the eggs in a small bowl, then gradually whisk in the sugar. Whisking constantly, slowly pour the hot lemon juice into the egg/sugar mixture, then return the mixture to the saucepan and continue to heat over medium heat, stirring constantly until the mixture reaches 170 F and is thick enough to cling to the spoon, about 3 minutes. Immediately remove the pan from the heat and add in the cold butter and mix until incorporated. Stir in the cream, vanilla and salt, then pour through a strainer into a small nonreactive bowl. Cover the surface of the curd directly with plastic wrap and refrigerate until needed.

TO ASSEMBLE
When the cheesecake is cook, top it with the lemon curd while still in the springform pan. Cover tightly with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 5 hours, but 24 hours is better. To serve, remove the sides of the springform pan and cut into wedges.

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