HCB: Baby Lemon Cheesecake

When I got my copy of RHC last September - leafing through the book and DROOLING over the pictures - one of the pictures that cause the drooling reaction is the baby lemon cheesecake. Not that I particularly like cheesecake, on the contrary, but because that picture is so nicely done. The little cheesecake round, on top of a biscuit, the smooth and shiny curd in a perfect swirl shape around the top. And the baby blue plate with its white adornment around it. It all just looked so enticing…

I don’t like cheesecake AT ALL. And I’ve tried many different ones. None are homemade of course but still. I always find it a bit odd because I do like cheese, albeit I can only eat small quantities on it.

My friends are puzzled. How can you not like cheesecake? I would reply by saying, “I don’t know. It is odd as I like cheese. But I always find cheesecake too sweet, too rich, too much on everything.” This is how I usually try a cheesecake: I would take a spoonful, then another small spoonful, then pushed it aside. I’m done.

I skipped the pumpkin cheesecake that was on the rotation last year. This time however, I thought, why not. The picture does look very very enticing. And it’s hard for me to pass on making baby anything, since it looks so cute.

So I set forth to make it - on the same weekend that I made the Trifle, nonetheless. Saturday was full on trifle making day. Sunday morning is cheesecake day. Have I mentioned that I’m crazy about baking yet? ^_^

I split the recipe in ½ (I’m getting pretty good at it). First I made the biscuit. I have a quarter sheet pan from Nordic Ware, perfect for this.

The biscuit came together perfectly. The only surprise is that it takes about 14 minutes to bake, instead of the prescribed 7.

I waited until the biscuit cooled on the rack before starting on the cheesecake. Plus it’s lunch time and I made chicken mushroom pizza.

After my stomach is satisfied and there’s no trace of the pizza except for the dirty baking stone, I set forth to combine the cheesecake filling. Cream cheese and sugar are beaten until combined, and then beat in the egg and egg yolks. In go lemon juice and salt until incorporated, then sour cream.

I used a pair of shears to cut the biscuit, using the bottom of the cupcake molds as a template. I taste the scraps of the biscuit, yum, it taste so good and spongy.

I followed Rose’s instruction of using a measuring cup to pour the batter in. I weigh each cupcake cavity to precision; I want these little babies to have the same size.

Cheesecake baked in 30 minutes. I let it cool – with ice in the hot water – then cover and refrigerate for 1 hour.

Next is my favorite part – to make and to eat: the tangy lemon curd. I’ve made this several times so I won’t go over the details. Once curd is done, I transfer it to the measuring cup as well and pour onto each cheesecake. At this point I realized that I took the curd a little too far as it’s not really pourable consistency. Ok, no problem, I use the small spatula to scoop out the curd and smooth it out onto each cheesecake. Then everything is refrigerated for 2 hours.

Un-molding is a little tricky. I have to push up the bottom of the pan up, hold this with one hand, and then used a big metal spatula to move it to a plate. The image of forklifts came to mind. I am fork lifting the baby cheesecake LOL.

Tasting impression: Man oh man, gotta revise my previous statement. I like cheesecake, but only if it’s Rose’s recipe :)). This baby is so good. It’s smooth and creamy and I love the tanginess of the lemon curd.