Marbled Lemon Cheesecake

YUM! Went home this weekend for Dad's 51st birthday. It was so nice to have the whole family together to celebrate. Corey came home from Canada on Sunday and we all went to get crepes for brunch. Then, Mom, Corey, Maddy and I went out shopping, picked up a hand-cranking pasta machine, and swung by the grocery store. For dinner, we made steak with marsala sauce, homemade whole wheat pasta with alfredo sauce, the broccoli and cheese stuffed chicken, and some veggies. For dessert, this glorious lemon marble cheesecake I found on pinterest. I normally don't like lemon desserts, but this was the perfect amount of tart mixed with cream cheese. The crust was amazing!

Recipe from Foodess:

Lemon curd is very simple to make – lemon zest and juice whisked with sugar and egg yolks over low heat till thickened. That’s all. It has the consistency of custard when it’s done. It should coat the back of a spoon, and you should be able to make a trail with your finger. If the trail immediately fills back in, it’s not ready yet.

Anything thickened with eggs may curdle if cooked over too high heat, or if cooked too long. And I find people generally don’t enjoy scrambled eggs in their lemon curd. Thankfully, all you need is a fine mesh seive to rescue a curdled curd. Just force the it through the seive with a wooden spoon, and you’ll have a smooth custard.

This recipe uses whole eggs instead of just the yolks. I was skeptical. I hesitated. I almost used another recipe. But it was perfect!

Start by making the lemon curd so that it has time to chill in the fridge while you bake the crust and make the cheesecake batter. I believe cooling the curd completely had an important part in keeping the curd distinct in the finished cheesecake.

It took an outstanding amount of willpower to not eat this by the spoonful before it was baked.

Marbled Lemon Cheesecake

Adapted 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

•               1/4 cup butter, cut into small pieces

For crust:

•               1 1/3 cups crushed graham cracker crumbs

•               1/3 cup sugar

•               1/8 teaspoon salt

•               5 tablespoons melted butter

For filling:

•               3 (8-oz) packages cream cheese, softened

•               1 cup sugar

•               3 large eggs

•               3/4 cup sour cream

•               1 teaspoon vanilla

To make Lemon Curd:

In a small saucepan over medium-low heat, whisk together lemon zest, juice, and eggs. Stir in butter and cook, stirring constantly, until curd thickens, about 5 minutes. Strain through fine mesh sieve and refrigerate, stirring occasionally, until completely cooled.

To make crust:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Stir together graham cracker crumbs, sugar, salt, and melted butter. Press into a 9-inch springform pan. Bake for 10 minutes; cool on wire rack.

To make cheesecake:

1. Reduce oven temperature to 300 degrees F. In the large bowl of a standing mixer, beat together cream cheese and sugar until light and fluffy. Reduce speed to low and beat in eggs, one at a time, until incorporated. Beat in sour cream and vanilla.

2. Pour two-thirds of the cheesecake batter into the crust, and top with half of the lemon curd. Swirl gently with a knife. Top with remaining cheesecake batter and lemon curd, and repeat swirling. Bake in centre of oven for 45-55 minutes, until set (centre may still jiggle a bit, it will firm up). Cool completely before serving.