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 .