Lemon Ripple Cheesecake Bars
Why I Love This Recipe
From food and wine's may 2003 issue...Time consuming but very, very, very good...and incredibly healthy as you'll be able to see. Fine, they're not healthy, but they're good.
Ingredients You'll Need
Crust:
1 C. flour
1/4 C. sugar
1 tsp. finely grated lemon zest
1/8 tsp salt
4 oz. unsalted butter cut into 1/2 inch pieces and chilled
Filling:
1 tbsp and 2 tsp cornstarch
1/2 c. cold water
2 large egg yolks
1 3/4 c. sugar
1/4 c. fresh lemon juice
1 tsp finely grated lemon zest
1 1/4 lbs cream cheese, softened
2 tbsp flour
3 large eggs, room temp
1/4 c. sour cream
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
Directions
Make the crust: Preheat oven to 325 and position rack in the center. Butter 9 sq. inch nonstick baking pan. Mix flour with sugar, lemon zest, and salt. Mix very well! Add the butter and pulse until a soft crumbly dough forms. Press the dough evenly over bottom and a scant 1/2 inch up the side of pan. Bake crust for 20 minutes or until golden and firm
Make the filling: In a small bowl, dissolve the cornstarch in the water. In a medium saucepan, whisk egg yolks with 3/4 c. sugar and lemon juice. Whisk in cornstarch mixture and cook over moderate heat whisking gently until the sugar is dissolved and the lemon mixture is hot (about 4 min). Boil over moderately high heat for 1 min, whisking constantly, until the mixture is thick and glossy. strain the lemon mixture into a heat proof bowl, stir in lemon zest and let cool.
In a large bowl, using an electric mixer, beat cream cheese with the remaining 1 c. of sugar until smooth. Beat in the flour until blended. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well between additions. Add sour cream and vanilla and beat until smooth. Pour cream cheese batter over crust and smooth surface with spatula. Dollop the lemon mixture on the cheesecake batter and carefully swirl it into the batter
Bake cheesecake for about 40 minutes or until golden around edge and just set. Run tip of knife around edge to loosen cheesecake from side of pan. Let cool on wire rack for 1 hour, then refrigerate until chilled