Luscious Lemon Cheesecake
Recipe By: 
Recipe type: Dessert
Prep time: 
Cook time: 
Total time: 
Serves: 8-10
 
Ingredients

  • FOR THE CRUST
  • 5 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
  • 1.5 cups Vanilla Wafers
  • ½ cup toasted, chopped almonds (pecans are nice too)
  • ¼ cup sugar
  • ¼ teaspoon coarse salt
    FOR THE FILLING
  • 2 pounds bar cream cheese, room temperature
  • 1½ cups sugar
  • 1 tablespoon good quality vanilla (I used my homemade stuff of course and it was perfection!)
  • 4 large eggs, separated
  • ½ cup sour cream
  • zest and juice from one lemon
    FOR THE LEMON CURD
  • 8 to 10 lemons
  • 2 cups sugar
  • 8 large egg yolks
  • 2 whole eggs
  • 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, cut into pieces
Preparation Instructions
  1. Preheat oven to 300º.
  2. Place a sheet of foil on the inside of the spring form pan. Press it in so it’s as smooth as you can get it.
  3. In a food processor, pulse vanilla wafers and almonds until fine crumbs form; add melted butter, sugar, and salt, and pulse to combine, don’t make it too moist or it will come out crunchy, it should still crumble when you pick it up, it shouldn’t be sticky. Press crumb mixture into the bottom of the spring form.
  4. Set a full kettle of water to boil.
  5. Using an electric mixer, beat cream cheese and sugar on medium-high until fluffy and smooth scraping down side of bowl, add vanilla. Beat in sour cream, egg yolks, lemon rind and juice
  6. Remove the batter from the mixer bowl and wash out the bowl (unless of course you have an extra mixer bowl). Put in the egg whites and beat on high until stiff peaks form. Gently fold the egg whites into the cream cheese mixture. Pour into the crust.
  7. Wrap outside of spring form pan in foil, use the large size not the small or the water will leak into your cheesecake. Pour in filling; place in a roasting pan. Pour in boiling water to come halfway up side of spring form. Bake until just set in center, about one and a quarter hours, the middle will still be jiggly but the top will be set. Leave in oven with the door closed to cool for about an hour then remove and let cool to room temp.
  8. While the cheesecake is cooling, make the lemon curd.
  9. First prepare an ice bath by placing ice cubes and water in a large bowl and then place a slightly smaller bowl inside, make sure the small bowl is large enough to put all the lemon curd into. In a medium saucepan over medium heat combine one cup lemon juice, sugar, egg yolks, whole eggs and butter. Whisk to combine and then continuously until it begins to boil, about 7 minutes.
  10. Once it boils, pour through a fine-mesh strainer into the smaller bowl in the ice bath. Stir it periodically until cooled to room temperature, then cover with plastic wrap and place in the fridge to chill. About an hour in the fridge should do it.
  11. Cover the cheesecake and chill overnight.
  12. Before serving spread about half the lemon curd over the top of the cheesecake, slice and serve.
Recipe by Foods of Our Lives at https://www.foodsofourlives.com/2011/06/luscious-lemon-cheesecake/