Lemon Cheesecake with Lemon Curd

Hi friends! My first task on my 50 Things to Do When I am 50 is to try a new recipe once a week (or 4x in a month). Well last week I made TWO new recipes. One is the MOST AMAZING dessert recipe below and the other was a delicious soup from my teaching buddy Carmen. I will share the soup recipe in a separate post.

So I am working on #1 on my list and am excited to try some new things to get out of my cooking rut. So let me introduce you to the most amazing lemon cheesecake EVER. Seriously, if you are a lemon fan, this is for you!

Now ‘imagine’ as my plate says this is calorie free, hahaha! It is not but it is worth every single calorie!

I made this delicious lemon cheesecake with homemade lemon curd for some stamping friends who were coming to a regular event I host called ‘Scrapbook the Day Away’. It is an awesome group and I frequently try out new recipes on them.

To make this lemon cheesecake you will need a springform pan (I use a 9 1/2 inch size, that belonged to my mom), a double boiler for the lemon curd and the following ingredients:

Graham Cracker Crust:

1 3/4 cup graham cracker crumbs

5 tablespoons butter, melted

1/4 cup of granulated sugar

To make the crust you will mix the crumbs and sugar and then stir in the melted butter. Mix and press firmly into the bottom of your springform pan. Bake at 350 for 10 minutes.

Lemon Cheesecake Filling:

1 1/4 cup granulated sugar

1 tbsp lemon zest

3 blocks of cream cheese (do not get light, who are you?) softened to room temp

1/2 cup of fresh lemon juice

1/3 cup plain greek yogurt or sour cream, room temperature

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

3 large eggs, at room temperature

To make the batter you will need a stand mixer with a paddle attachment. Mix the cream cheese, lemon zest and sugar together on high speed (make sure to scrape the sides down) until creamy—about 2 min. Add the lemon juice, yogurt/sour cream, and vanilla extract. Mix at medium-high speed until fully combined. The eggs will be added one at a time and mix until just blended between each egg. After the last egg is mixed in quit mixing. Your cheesecake will have less a chance of deflating and cracking as it cools if you avoid over mixing the batter.

Add the filling to the graham cracker crumb base and bake at 350 for 55-70 minutes. When it is done (use the toothpick test—the middle may be slightly wobbly) you can turn off the heat but leave the cheesecake in the oven to cool for 1 hour. Leave the oven door slightly open. After you remove it from the oven, allow it to cool completely to room temperature.

Lemon Curd (the most delicious topping or just eat it on its own. Trust me):

1 whole egg

2 egg yolks

2/3 cup granulated sugar

1 tbsp lemon zest

1/3 cup fresh lemon juice

1/8 tsp salt

6 tablespoons butter, soften to room temperature

Get your double boiler going (once it starts steaming, turn heat to low simmer). Add the egg, yolks, sugar, lemon zest, lemon juice and salt into the top of the double boiler. Using a silicone whisk, whisk until blended and continue to whisk while the curd is forming. Constant whisking prevents the egg yolks from curdling. Mix until mixture becomes thick like hollandaise sauce (approx 10 min).

Remove the pot from the heat and whisk in the butter. The butter will melt from the heat of the curd. Pour curd into a glass container, let sit until slightly cool (it will continue to thicken) and then seal and refrigerate until ready to serve your cheesecake.

Add the curd on top and if you want to be extra fancy you can add some whip cream as well.

This was probably one of the top 3 cheesecakes I have ever made. I am ready planning on when I can make it again.

Garlicky Tomato Tortellini Soup

Years ago I went for lunch at my friend Jeanette’s and she made this amazing soup from SCRATCH in just a few minutes! It was #lifechanging and she was kind enough to share the recipe with me. There are not too many recipes I know from heart but this is definitely one of them. It is a family favourite that has been made for 30 of my family members at our yearly Greenwater trips, at scrapbook retreats and day events. It is perfect when you have had a long day but are short on time to make a healthy meal for your family. I recently treated some girls to this so I thought I should share it with everyone. It originally came from a Best of Bridge cook book (don’t ask me which one, hahaha!) and this is what Jeanette shared with me:

Garlicky Tomato Tortellini Soup

1 tbsp butter

6-8 cloves of garlic, chopped (I do substitute in dried garlic)

4 cups of chicken broth

a bag of fresh tortellini (I use cheese tortellini and often mine is frozen so I toss it in there as such)

1 large can of diced tomatoes (I use the ones with Italian seasonings added)

10 oz bag of spinach

8-10 fresh basil leaves, coarsely chopped

parmesan cheese for garnish

Melt butter in large pot and saute garlic for about 2 minutes. Add chicken broth and bring to a boil. Add the tortellini and cook halfway, about 5 min. Add tomatoes and their liquid. Bring to boil and then reduce heat to simmer. Cook until pasta is tender. Stir in the spinach and basil and cook until wilted, about 1-2 min. Serve sprinkled with parmesan cheese. Or any cheese really, how can you go wrong?

Oreo Popcorn

This is the easiest recipe I have! 3 ingredients—microwave popcorn, Wilton Candy Melts and Oreos! To create this you will need 2-3 bags of microwave popcorn, one bag of white candy melts and one bag of Oreo’s (crushed). Toss the popcorn and Oreos in a huge bowl, melt your chocolate, pour on top and shake everything to coat. Set out on waxed paper or tin foil to harden. I store mine in an airtight container but it actually doesn’t last that long!

This is one of my kids favourite treats. It is requested a lot as a treat to take to share at school with friends and is basically a Christmas staple!

Good Morning Granola

I have been making this granola recipe, ripped from a Martha Stewart magazine, for at least 10 years. One would think I would know it from heart (I do not!). Here it is…

Makes 6 1/2 cups

1/2 c shredded coconut

4 cups old fashioned rolled oats (not quick oats!)

1/4 c toasted wheat germ (sometimes I substitute flax)

1/4 c sunflower seeds

1 c coarsely chopped almonds

1 tbsp sesame seeds

1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

1/4 tsp nutmeg

1/2 c honey

1/2 c melted butter

1/2 c golden raisins (you can omit if you are not a raisin fan)

Heat oven to 350. Line a baking sheet with parchment and toast coconut (approx 5 min). Transfer to a wire rack to cool.

Reduce oven temp to 300. Line two baking sheets with parchment and set aside. In a large bowl mix all dry ingredients together except the raisins. In a smaller bowl mix the honey and butter together and pour over oat mixture. Stir well and spread on baking sheets. Bake until golden, approx 25 min. Transfer to a rack to cool. Break up granola, mix in coconut and raisins. Store in an airtight container and ENJOY!

Seriously, try this with your yogurt!

I eat this every single morning. Fun fact!

Brenda's Banana Bread

Over the years there is one class treat that I have shared repeatedly and always with fan fair! I am going to share my secret not so secret Banana Bread recipe with you. I believe the origin of this recipe came from my mom. I always write my favourite recipe’s on recipe cards and in the top corner I write who shared this recipe with me. Its a part of memory keeping!

Brenda’s Banana Bread

1/2 cup butter

1 cup sugar

2 eggs, beaten

4 ripe bananas, mashed

1 1/2 cup flour

1 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp vanilla

Grease and flour a muffin tin pan (I use the square muffin pan from Pampered Chef). Add the butter to sugar and cream; add eggs and bananas and combine. Separately, sift together flour, baking soda and salt. Add to creamed mixture and combine. Add vanilla. You can add in chocolate chips too! I usually toss a couple of handfuls in.

Bake for 25 min at 350! Enjoy!