Lemon Curd Glazed Cheesecake

I need to make this so I can eat the entire thing I need to make this so I have a picture of it. I was on Leftover Queen’s foodie forum and someone had asked about cheesecake. Let me just say..I know cheesecake.

WAIT! Not that kind…
Anyway…This is an awesome base recipe. By that I mean that you can change the flavorings, glazes and crust to make a designer cheesecake that would make Cheesecake Factory go out of business. Trust me. I am also pretty sure that if I could bake it in the stove (#2) on Jennifer’s list here at Offbeat Homes  that I would definitely get my own PBS cooking show. Who could resist a lemon curd topped cheesecake cooked in an orange stove? It would be so Peewee Herman meets Julia Child.

Lemon Curd:

5 egg yolks
1 cup sugar
4 lemons, zested and juiced
1 stick butter, cut into pats and chilled

Add enough water to a medium saucepan to come about 1-inch up the side. Bring to a simmer over medium-high heat. Meanwhile, combine egg yolks and sugar in a medium size metal bowl and whisk until smooth, about 1 minute. Measure citrus juice and if needed, add enough cold water to reach 1/3 cup. Add juice and zest to egg mixture and whisk smooth. Once water reaches a simmer, reduce heat to low and place bowl on top of saucepan. (Bowl should be large enough to fit on top of saucepan without touching the water.) Whisk until thickened, approximately 8 minutes, or until mixture is light yellow and coats the back of a spoon. Remove promptly from heat and stir in butter a piece at a time, allowing each addition to melt before adding the next.cool

Gingersnap crust:
2 cups ground gingersnap cookies
6 tablespoons (3/4 stick) unsalted butter, melted
Mix butter and crumbs. to prepare pan. Butter bottom and up 3 inches of the sides. press in crumb mixture of choice on bottom and press a little up sides. Cover bottom of pan (exterior ) with aluminum foil so water can not seep in from the bain marie.

Cheesecake:

32 oz cream cheese- room temp
2 c sugar
6 large eggs
2 tsp vanilla
16 oz sour cream

Beat cream cheese and sugar until mixed well at slowest speed. You do not want to incorporate air or the cake will lose the rich density you are looking for.Add eggs one at a time.fold in vanilla and sour cream by hand. Pour into a prepared crumb crust (your choice) in a 9″ springform pan.
Place in a bain marie at 375 for 45 minutes. Turn off oven and let set for one hour. remove from oven, cool and refrigerate covered. Placing paper towel on top of cake will soak up any condensation.

Just before serving run a knife around cake and remove from pan. Spread lemon curd carefully over top of cake, smoothing it so it is like glass. Garnish with lemon twists and candied ginger.
Serves 12.