Luscious Lemon Cheesecake

Note: the cheesecake should set in the fridge overnight, so you should prepare this ahead of time.

Preheat oven to 300ºF.

Place a sheet of foil on the inside of the spring form pan. Press it in so it’s as smooth as you can get it.

In a food processor, pulse vanilla wafers and almonds until fine crumbs form; add melted butter, sugar, and salt, and pulse to combine. Don’t make it too moist. It should still crumble when you pick it up and shouldn’t be sticky. Press crumb mixture into the bottom of the spring form.

Set a full kettle of water on the stovetop to boil.

Using an electric mixer, beat cream cheese and sugar on medium-high until fluffy and smooth, then add vanilla. Make sure to scrape down sides of the bowl as it’s mixing. Beat in sour cream, egg yolks, lemon zest and juice.

Remove the batter from the mixer bowl and into another bowl. Wash out the bowl (unless of course you have an extra mixer bowl). Put the egg whites into the mixer bowl and beat on high until stiff peaks form. Gently fold the egg whites into the cream cheese mixture. Pour the mixture into the crust.

Wrap the outside of the spring form pan in foil, use the large size sheets not the small, or the water will leak into your cheesecake. Place your cheesecake into a roasting pan. Pour the kettle of boiling water into the roasting pan, to come halfway up sides of the spring form pan. Carefully move the roasting pan to the oven and bake the cheesecake until just set in center, about one and a quarter hours. When it’s done, the middle will still be jiggly but the top will be set. At that point, turn the oven off and leave the cheesecake in the oven with the door closed to cool for about an hour longer. Then remove it from the oven and let cool to room temperature.

While the cheesecake is cooling, make the lemon curd.

First prepare an ice bath by placing ice cubes and water in a large bowl and then place a slightly smaller bowl inside, make sure the small bowl is large enough to put all the lemon curd into.

In a medium saucepan over medium heat combine one cup of freshly squeezed lemon juice, sugar, egg yolks, whole eggs and butter. Whisk to combine and then stir continuously until it begins to boil, about 7 minutes.

Once it boils, remove the pan from the heat and pour the mixture through a fine-mesh strainer into the smaller bowl that you have waiting in the ice bath. Stir the curd mixture periodically until it’s cooled to room temperature. Then, cover the bowl of curd with plastic wrap and place in the fridge to chill. About an hour in the fridge should do it, or overnight is fine too.

Cover the cheesecake and chill overnight.

Before serving spread about half the lemon curd over the top of the cheesecake, slice and serve.