Lemon Curd Marbled Cheese Cake

I really wish I could take credit for this thing of beauty, yet alas, the credit for this marvelous cheesecake goes to another friend of mine. My only regret is that I didn't get a picture of the whole thing, it's so pretty.

I like cheesecake, but I don't love it. Usually it's too thick, or it's too rich and I can't eat much of it. But I could honestly eat this cheesecake all day and then dream about it at night. It has the perfect consistency, it's rich, but not overwhelming, and don't even get me started on how much I love the lemon/berry combination.

This recipe comes from Epicurious.com, and my friend clued me in on a few changes. She didn't add salt to the crust, to keep it from tasting like a pretzel (as some reviewers claimed it did). She also changed the baking time to a full hour, turned off her oven and let it sit for 20-30 minutes. She said to bake until the outer edge is firm and the center is wobbly. She also said that it's very important to run your lemon curd through a sieve to get out any lumps or rogue pieces of zest. Thanks again lady, it was to die for!

Lemon Curd Marbled Cheese Cake

Epicurious

Ingredients

For lemon curd
1 teaspoon finely grated fresh lemon zest
1/2 cup fresh lemon juice
1/2 cup sugar
3 large eggs
1/2 stick (1/4 cup) unsalted butter, cut into small pieces

For crust
1 1/3 cups finely ground graham cracker crumbs (5 oz)
1/3 cup sugar
3/4 teaspoon salt
5 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

For filling
3 (8-oz) packages cream cheese, softened
1 cup sugar
3 large eggs
3/4 cup sour cream
1 teaspoon vanilla
Special equipment: a 9- to 91/2-inch (24-cm) springform pan
Accompaniment: blueberries (or any berry you prefer)

Directions

Make lemon curd:
Whisk together zest, juice, sugar, and eggs in a 2-quart heavy saucepan. Add butter and cook over moderately low heat, whisking frequently, until curd is thick enough to hold marks of whisk and first bubbles appear on surface, about 6 minutes.

Force lemon curd through a fine-mesh sieve into a wide shallow dish, scraping bottom of sieve, then cover surface with wax paper. Cool completely, stirring occasionally, about 30 minutes.

Make and bake crust:
Put oven rack in middle position and preheat oven to 350°F. Invert bottom of springform pan (to make it easier to slide cake off bottom), then lock on side. 3Stir together crust ingredients in a bowl, then press onto bottom and 1 inch up side of springform pan. Place springform pan in a shallow baking pan and bake 10 minutes, then cool crust completely in springform pan on a rack.

Make filling and bake cheesecake:
Reduce oven temperature to 300°F.

Beat together cream cheese and sugar in a bowl with an electric mixer at medium speed until smooth, 1 to 2 minutes. Reduce speed to low and add eggs 1 at a time, beating until incorporated. Beat in sour cream and vanilla until combined.

Pour two thirds of cream cheese filling into crust, then spoon half of lemon curd over filling and swirl curd into filling with a small knife. (Avoid touching crust with knife to prevent crumbs getting into filling.) Repeat with remaining filling and curd.

Bake cheesecake until set 1 1/2 inches from edge but center trembles when pan is gently shaken, about 45 minutes. (Center of cake will appear very loose but will continue to set as it cools.) Transfer springform pan to a rack and immediately run a knife around top edge of cake to loosen. Cool completely, about 2 hours, then chill, uncovered, at least 4 hours. Remove side of springform pan before serving.