Italicious

I have never been a fan of cheesecake, the consistency is too custardy and too creamy, it is far too rich, though not too sweet, which would normally fit it into desserts that I like. Honestly, I never thought that I would ever make a cheesecake, but if there is one thing in this world that makes my husband’s sweet tooth go bananas, it is cheesecake. He discovered it on his first trip to  the States, visiting his sister who lived in Seattle. He confessed that she had bought him a cheesecake and he polished it off, single-handedly, in a few days. The man cannot resist.

I am not a baker and I have never been one to make desserts, but I had to do something special for his birthday and I knew that a cheesecake would make his eyes wide and bring a greedy smile to his face. I searched through all of my cookbooks and online for a cheesecake that I could enjoy as well. My fear of making him a cheesecake was that he would eat the entire thing by himself. I didn’t want to go for the classic, which I know he loves, but I loath. Fruity was the answer, though I had to avoid most berries since he is allergic, this lemon curd cheesecake sounded like the answer to all of my saccharine prayers. It really was, I honestly never thought that I would eat cheesecake for breakfast, but there I was scraping forkfuls into my mouth and enjoying every minute of it.

Lemon Curd Marbled Cheesecake from epicurious.com

For lemon curd:

• 1 teaspoon finely grated fresh lemon zest
• 1/2 cup fresh lemon juice
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 3 large eggs
• 1/2 stick (1/4 cup) unsalted butter, cut into small pieces

For crust:

• 1 1/3 cups finely ground graham cracker crumbs (5 oz)
• 1/3 cup sugar
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• 5 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

For filling:

• 3 (8-oz) packages cream cheese, softened
• 1 cup sugar
• 3 large eggs
• 3/4 cup sour cream
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• Special equipment: a 9- to 91/2-inch (24-cm) springform pan
• Accompaniment: blueberries

Make lemon curd:
Whisk together zest, juice, sugar, and eggs in a 2-quart heavy saucepan. Add butter and cook over moderately low heat, whisking frequently, until curd is thick enough to hold marks of whisk and first bubbles appear on surface, about 6 minutes.

Force lemon curd through a fine-mesh sieve into a wide shallow dish, scraping bottom of sieve, then cover surface with wax paper. Cool completely, stirring occasionally, about 30 minutes.

Make and bake crust:
Put oven rack in middle position and preheat oven to 350°F. Invert bottom of springform pan (to make it easier to slide cake off bottom), then lock on side. 3Stir together crust ingredients in a bowl, then press onto bottom and 1 inch up side of springform pan. Place springform pan in a shallow baking pan and bake 10 minutes, then cool crust completely in springform pan on a rack.

Make filling and bake cheesecake:
Reduce oven temperature to 300°F.

Beat together cream cheese and sugar in a bowl with an electric mixer at medium speed until smooth, 1 to 2 minutes. Reduce speed to low and add eggs 1 at a time, beating until incorporated. Beat in sour cream and vanilla until combined.

Pour two thirds of cream cheese filling into crust, then spoon half of lemon curd over filling and swirl curd into filling with a small knife. (Avoid touching crust with knife to prevent crumbs getting into filling.) Repeat with remaining filling and curd.

Bake cheesecake until set 1 1/2 inches from edge but center trembles when pan is gently shaken, about 45 minutes. (Center of cake will appear very loose but will continue to set as it cools.) Transfer springform pan to a rack and immediately run a knife around top edge of cake to loosen. Cool completely, about 2 hours, then chill, uncovered, at least 4 hours. Remove side of springform pan before serving.

Cooks’ Notes: ·Lemon curd can be made 1 week ahead and chilled, covered.
·Crust (without filling) can be made 1 day ahead and kept, covered, at room temperature.
·Cheesecake can be chilled, loosely covered, up to 2 days. Cheesecake must be completely chilled before covering to prevent condensation on its surface.

Today is the one year anniversary of Italicious!!!

One year ago: Cuttlefish over Spaghetti with a Tomato-Olive Sauce

~ by italicious on October 15, 2009.

Posted in dolci, lemons
Tags: cheesecake, dolci, lemon curd