Mini lemon cheesecakes with homemade lemon curd topping


I still got some cream cheese that's begging to be used so  , who am I to resist ?!

As if I need an excuse to bake cheesecake lol

Last week I baked lemon cheesecake for somebody's birthday . I love lemon but never had the urge to bake cheesecake with it until that day . Boy , I'm really glad that I did !

If you've seen some of my cheesecakes , especially the minis , you'll noticed that most of them comes from one Martha Stewart's cheesecake recipe . I just tweaked them by adding or reducing some ingredients , the difference is only the toppings .

I used this recipe from BBC GoodFood for my first lemon cheesecake and it tasted really good er the batter since I haven't eaten the finished product  -____-'' 




At that time , I was thinking of what topping should I use , most lemon cheesecake topping online tend to be lemon curd . Now , lemon curd here is not really expensive but I'm not so impressed by the color and after scrutinizing the long list ingredients at the back of the label , I decided to make it myself . How hard it can be ?

I've been eyeing both King Arthur's and Yen's lemon curd but settled on the former . I haven't tried store-brought curd so I got nothing to compare to but I remember reading somewhere online that once you made homemade lemon curd , you'll never go back and I couldn't agree more ! Just four ingredients , mind you ! Though the first time I've made it , I got some curdled egg white so I strained the mixture , problem solved ! I even made grapefruit curd , trust me , it tastes sensational !


For this bake , I used another recipe , this time from The America's Test Kitchen's Family Baking Handbook As usual , I couldn't help but tweaked the recipe , I made half of the recipe but since half of the cream cheese is not that much , I've added some sour cream . The result is quite delectable , creamy with a wonderful tartness from the lemon and not overly rich . Even without the topping , these delightful minis will surely please all cheesecake aficionados !


Recipe adapted from The America's Test Kitchen : Family Baking Handbook 

You'll need sixteen 2 1/4 x 1 1/4-inch loose bottom tins or these muffin liners

Below is the full recipe and in blue is my modified half version . The instruction is also modified  .

Crust :

5 oz crackers or tea biscuits 135 grams light digestive biscuits 
6 tablespoons unsalted butter , melted and cooled 45 grams unsalted butter , softened 
3 tablespoons sugar omitted this

* Process digestive biscuits into food processor until fine then add butter and pulse to combine . Put about 1 tablespoon of crumbs into the prepared tins and press firmly and evenly . Freeze for about 20 minutes .

Filling :

1 1/4 cups sugar  100 grams 
1 tbsp grated fresh lemon zest 1/2 tablespoon 
1 1/2 pounds cream cheese , cut into chunks and softened 300 grams cream cheese plus 135 grams sour cream , at room temperature 
1/4 salt pinch of coarse salt
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice ( from 2 lemons ) 3 tablespoons 
2 teaspoons vanilla extract 1 teaspoon
4 large eggs 2 eggs at room temp
1/2 cup heavy cream 4 tablespoon 

* Preheat oven to 325°C / 160° .

* Process the sugar and the lemon zest together in a food processor until sugar is yellow and the zest is very fine .

* Using a handheld mixer , beat the cream cheese in a large bowl , mixing on medium speed until smooth , about 2 minutes then add in the sour cream and beat a minute more . Scrape the sides of the bowl as needed .

* Add in half of the lemon sugar and salt and beat until well combined . Beat in the remaining lemon sugar , 1 to 3 minutes . Beat in lemon juice and vanilla until well incorporated . Add in the eggs , one at a time , beat until well combined . Beat in the heavy cream until well incorporated , about 1 to 3 minutes .

* Divide batter into tins and bake in a water bath for 30 minutes . Take out from the oven , let cool for 45 minutes then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely . Put tins in a baking sheet and cover with plastic wrap , refrigerate overnight .

Lemon curd  ( Please check original recipe @ King Arthur )

Makes about 225 ml

1/2 cup fresh lemon juice
125 grams sugar
70 grams butter
2 eggs

Grapefruit curd

Makes about 1/2 cup

generous 1/2 cup fresh grapefruit juice
50 grams sugar
2 tablespoon butter
1 egg

* Combine the ingredients above in a small saucepan , over slow heat and using a whisk , stir mixture together until thickens ,  about 10- 12 minutes . Strain mixture and let cool completely , transfer into glass container and chill in the fridge overnight before using . Pipe or spread on top of the minis .

Comments

  1. Oh Anne, they look heavenly! I love lemon anything especially as cute little minis:) I have never made lemon curd but now that you mention it, "how hard could it be?" (although for a kitchen klutz like me, it may be difficult:)

    Thank you so much for sharing...

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  2. Your photo’s have a been a real treat for my eyes today.

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  3. Hi Anne, This recipe is unbelievably irresistible... I wish i can have one right now. Thanks for sharing the recipe

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  4. I love looking at your cheese cake posts, they are so perfectly made... your lemon curd looks delicious too, so firm you can even pipe it out!

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  5. Your photos are gorgeous and the mini cheesecakes are so adorable! The shot with the curd dripping down is sooooo good, so tempting!

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  6. Hi Anne! The mini cheesecakes are so cute and beautiful! I love your quest for everything mini these days! Well done!

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  7. Anne, you are becoming a Pro. in making mini cheese cakes. These look absolutely divine and the lemon curd would have me begging for one.

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  8. Ann, it's lovely!
    I love these mini cheesecake. I would gobble down each and every single you have there.

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  9. We seriously don't need any excuses to eat cheese cake. These mini cheesecake are so pretty with the bright yellow curd on top.

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  10. I can just imagine the lovely refreshing taste of your cute cheesecake Anne:) I love how you piped the curd flower like topping too:)

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  11. Anne, I love cheesecake and yours look so pretty! Thumbs up!!

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  12. Hi Anne,
    Wow, girl, you really love your cheese! I don't blame you, your mini cheesecake looks divine! And I love lemon curd, homemade is definitely better!
    I'm wishing that I could grab that plate over!

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  13. Bless you Anne, thanks for converting the recipe into grams! These lemon minis are SOOOO cute! Love your photos. Hope to try making these very soon.

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  14. You make the most glorious cheesecakes, Anne, and theses are no exception! YUM!

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  15. Ooh, yum! I love your cheesecakes! This one looks especially good :)

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  16. Hi Anne, your mini cheesecakes are gorgeous, as always!

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  17. Hi Anne.. May I know where did u bought the mini cheesecake pan from?

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    Replies
    1. Hi Sasha , so sorry for the late reply :P If you're here in HK , you can buy it anywhere in Shanghai St , Yau Ma Tei . Here's one shop that sells this kind of mould cheesecake mould The first one is the ones I used .

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  18. Hi Anne.. Your Cheesecake look fabulous!! Am so loving it! May I know where did u bought the mini cheesecake pan from? TIA! :))

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  19. Hi Anne,

    Funny that your cream cheese is begging you to use them - LOL! Seeing so many of your beautiful cheesecake including these little lemon ones, I like to call you Anne the cheesecake queen!

    Zoe

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  20. wow, you even made grapefuit curd, the colour is so lovely! and what can i say about your cheesecake...hmm..fantastic!

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  21. Oh, your cheesecake is sooo tempting, I have yet to make lemon curd, THanks for the inspiration.

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  22. Anne again you have done it! Right in the middle of the morning I was sipping green tea and being a good girl, then I take one look at your cheese cakes and now I so want them! I make lemon curd at home, they taste awesome on hot buttered toast try it :-) Love the way you have used lemon curd to do the frosting, couldn't have been easy, lemon curd being the way it is :-)

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  23. Hi Anne, very delectable and awesome cheesecake. The mini is so cute and pretty. Lovely presentation. :))

    Have a wonderful week ahead.

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  24. You have some really awesome cheesecake recipes, Anne. These lemon cheesecakes look heavenly.

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  25. Hi Anne
    Gorgeous works of yours. I just got myself a bunch of the 2inch loose bottom tins and I am gonna try this cheesecakes this coming weekend. I have a question on the eggs though. For the filling, you mentioned 4 eggs of which 2 are at room temperature. When do I add the room temperature and when do I add the say, cold eggs? Does it matter if all the eggs are cold or all are room temperature.
    Thanks.
    Ginny

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  26. Hi Anne
    Oh i just re-read your post again.....the 2 eggs are half recipe. Understood now.
    Thanks
    Ginny

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  27. Hi Anne
    This is so pretty. I'm going to make this for my colleagues' farewell appreciation.
    I'm going HK next month. Will go Shanghai St, Yau Ma Tei to walk around and see if I could get the mould :D
    It's too expensive in Singapore.

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