Ingredients
- Crust:
- 9 whole rectangular graham crackers or lemon filled sandwich cookies (about 1 1/2 cups crushed)
- 6 tablespoons butter, melted
- Lemon Curd:
- 1 large egg plus 1 egg yolk
- 1/4 cup sugar
- pinch salt
- 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
- 1 tablespoon butter
- 1 tablespoon heavy cream
- Filling:
- 1/4 cup fresh lemon juice, from about 2 lemons1 envelope (2 3/4 teaspoons) unflavored gelatin
- 24 oz. (3 bricks) cream cheese, softened to room temp1 1/4 cups heavy cream, room temperature
Preparation
Step 1
For crust: Preheat oven to 350 degrees and adjust oven rack to middle position.
In food processor, pulse graham crackers until they are finely ground (I used boxed graham cracker crumbs). Add butter and pulse until combined. Alternately, graham crackers can be crushed in resealable bag with rolling pin and then poured into bowl where zest and butter can be stirred in.
Press mixture onto bottom of 9-inch spring form pan. Bake crust until it is lightly golden brown, about 8 minutes. Cool crust completely on wire rack before filling.
For curd: While crust is cooling, whisk egg, egg yolk, sugar and salt together in small saucepan. Whisk in lemon juice and cook over medium-low heat, stirring constantly, until mixture is thick and pudding-like, about 3-4 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in butter and cream. Press mixture through fine mesh strainer or sieve into small bowl and refrigerate until needed.
For the filling: In small bowl, put 1/4 cup fresh lemon juice. Sprinkle gelatin over top and let it stand until gelatin softens, about 5 minutes. Microwave mixture until it is bubbling around edges and gelatin dissolves, about 30 seconds. Set aside.
In large bowl with handheld mixer or in bowl of stand mixer, beat cream cheese, lemon zest, sugar, and salt until smooth and creamy, scraping down sides of bowl, about 2 minutes. Slowly add cream and beat until mixture is light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Add gelatin mixture and 1/4 cup refrigerated lemon curd. Beat until mixture is smooth and airy, about 3 minutes. Pour filling into cooled crust and smooth top.
For decorative topping: Using teaspoon, dollop remaining curd on top of cheesecake and lightly drag pairing knife or skewer through lines to create marble appearance. Alternately, you could pipe curd (I put curd into Ziploc bag, snipped corner and piped) into lines or swirls and drag skewer through it to make other decorative patterns.
Refrigerate cheesecake until set, at least 6 hours. Remove sides of pan, cut into slices and serve.
NOTES: The cheesecake can be made ahead and refrigerated for up to 3 days. To create a clean slice of cheesecake, dip your knife in a glass of hot water, dry it, then slice cheesecake. Do this for each slice.
*Do NOT substitute heavy cream for half 'n half or milk. You need fat in cream to whip up and provide body and texture to cheesecake. Milk will just thin out your batter and it won't set properly.