Heavenly Lemony Cheesecake

Let's be honest. I'm not the most homemakery person the planet. The Internet has been both my friend and my enemy as far as this subject is concerned. I see the creative, wonderful things that other women come up with and blog about. These MacGyvers of the arts and crafts world can take 5 inches of pipe cleaner, a 10-year-old Cricut machine, 2 pieces of paper and an egg carton and from them make Young Women handouts, a table centerpiece, and a couple of matching hairbows that leave you stunned with their awesomeness.

I don't know if it makes it better or worse that many of these women are my relatives. Even as I happily use their ideas, I'm torn between admiration and envy. I'm as grateful to them for sharing their gifts as I am discouraged by the knowledge that I will never be a member of their talented club.

The same goes with cooking. No way can I make up my very own recipe from scratch. (Not an edible one, at any rate.) I do, however, love looking for good-sounding recipes that I happily modify to suit my tastes. I did it with Heart Attack Mac 'n Cheese and I did it again for Sunday dinner yesterday. Ben and Marika came over with their family and for dessert I made lemon cheesecake that was absolutely scrumptious. Maybe the best cheesecake I've ever had. Period. Mike declared it to be his new favorite cheesecake--better than Cheesecake Factory. I would have thought that he was just being an exaggeratedly nice husband, but when he single-handedly downed 1/3 of it in less than 24 hours, I guess I have to take what he says at face value.

This cheesecake turned out perfectly. No cracks in the top. No sticking to the pan. No dryness. It was smooth without being too runny, lemony without being overpowering, sweet with the right touch of sour. I simply can't do justice to the yumminess of this cheesecake. The recipe is originally from "The New Best Recipe Cookbook."

CRUST
8 ounces Nabisco's Barnum's Animal Crackers
4 1/2 tablespoons sugar
5 tablespoons melted unsalted butter

(Note: The original recipe called for 5 oz of animal crackers but I like a thicker crust so I adjusted it accordingly. And put in less butter. Not that it matters in this recipe.) Preheat the oven to 325 degrees. In a blender, process the crackers until you have fine crumbs. Add the sugar and pulse. Add the melted butter a little at a time while pulsing. Transfer the mixture to a 9" springform pan and press evenly into the bottom. The recipe says to bake 15-18 minutes but mine was done at 12. Refrigerate until cool (about the length of time it takes to make the filling) then wrap the pan with 2 sheets of foil along the bottom and up the outside. Set it in a roasting pan.

FILLING
1 1/4 cups sugar
1 1/4 tablespoon grated zest (original recipe: 1 Tbsp. What can I say? I like lemon.)
1/4 cup juice from 1-2 lemons
24 oz cream cheese, cut into 1 inch chunks, at room temperature
4 large eggs, at room temperature
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup heavy cream

Process 1/4 cup of the sugar and the lemon zest in a blender until the sugar turns yellow and the zest is incorporated. Transfer to a small bowl and mix in the rest of the sugar. In medium-sized bowl, beat the softened cream cheese until somewhat smooth. Add the sugar a little at a time, scraping down the bowl in between additions. With mixer speed at medium, add the eggs, 2 at a time. Beat until incorporated. Add the lemon juice, vanilla, and salt. Mix to combine. Add the cream and beat well. Remember to scrape the bowl between each addition. Pour the mixture into the prepared ungreased springform pan. Fill the roasting pan about half full with water. Bake at 325 until the center jiggles slightly, the sides start to puff, and the surface is no longer shiny. The recipe says this should happen in 55 to 60 minutes.

(Note: It took almost an hour and 45 minutes for the cheesecake I made to get to that point, and that was after I increased the temperature at 1 hour to 350! I'm not sure why it took so long. Maybe it was the fact that I made do with a 9 x 13 pan because I didn't have a roasting pan. Whatever. I went by how it looked and it turned out OK.) Turn off the oven and prop the door of the oven open with a potholder or wooden spoon. Allow the cake to cool in the water bath in the oven for about an hour. Transfer the springform pan to a wire rack and run a small paring knife around the edges of the pan to loosen the cake. Let it sit to room temperature for 2 hours.

LEMON CURD

Lemon juice from 2 lemons (1/3 cup or more)

2 large eggs plus 1 egg yolk

1/2 cup sugar

2 Tbsp cold butter

2 Tbsp heavy cream

1/4 tsp vanilla extract

Pinch of salt

While the cheesecake bakes, heat the lemon juice in a glass bowl set in a pan of simmering water (like you're melting chocolate) until it his hot but not boiling. Whisk the eggs in a small bowl, then gradually add the sugar. Whisking constantly, slowly pour the hot lemon juice through a strainer into the egg/sugar mixture. Unless you have 3 hands, I suggest getting a helper for this. Return the mixture to the bowl over the pan and heat over medium heat, stirring constantly until it's thick enough to cling to the spoon. Immediately remove the pan from the heat and add the cold butter and mix until incorporated. Stir in the cream, vanilla, and salt. Cover the surface of the curd directly with plastic wrap and refrigerate until needed.

This cheesecake ages well. I'd make it at least 24 hours before you want to eat it. Just before serving, pour the curd over the top. This made a lot more curd than I ended up using, but having lemon curd leftovers isn't the worst thing in the world.

Take THAT, MacGyver!