Lemon curd cheesecake

I made this recipe for my boyfriend’s birthday. He doesn’t even like sweet food, but his family devoured the whole thing. It was pretty good.Adding berries on to the top just makes it look fancy, but it was quite delicious on its own as well.

Lemon curd

2 tspn lemon zest

½ cup lemon juice

½ cup sugar

3 eggs

125g butter, cut into pieces

For crust

2 cups gingernuts (or basic biscuits if preferred)

1/3 cup sugar

125g butter, melted

1 tspn mixed spice

Filling

3 x 250g packets of cream cheese

1 cup sugar

3 eggs

½ cup sour cream

1 tspn vanilla

Curd:

Make the lemon curd by mixing everything together in a saucepan. Bring it to boil over a low heat until the first bubbles appear, whisking frequently. The whisk should leave a slight mark on the thickened curd. Push it through a sieve, then place in a container in the fridge until cool.

Crust:

Line a springform cake tin. Preheat oven to 180C.

In a food processor, crush the biscuits first, then add the dry ingredient, then slowly add in the melted butter. You  might not need it all, just check on the consistency of the crust, you want it to be firm when pressed, but not overly greasy.

Push it into the tin, and bake it in the oven for about 10 minutes. Leave it to cool completely in the tin.

Filling:

Beat the cream cheese and sugar in a bowl until smooth. Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Then add in the sour cream and vanilla.

Putting it all together:

Reduce oven temperature to about 160C

Pour half of the filling into the baking tin over the crust. Pour over half the lemon curd, then repeat with remaining filling and top with the lemon curd.  

Bake the cheesecake for about 40-45 minutes. To test when it’s ready, gently shake the tin. The centre should still wobble (it will set later) but the outside filling should be a bit more solid. 

Decorations: Just about anything fresh. I used blueberries and raspberries with white chocolate. You could candy some lemon slices, or just serve with cream or icecream. It’s also great on its own.