Lemon Cheesecake With Gingersnap Crust Food

LEMON CHEESECAKE WITH GINGERSNAP CRUST

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350°F. Stir cookie crumbs and butter in medium bowl until evenly moistened. Press mixture onto bottom of 9-inch-diameter removable-bottom cheesecake pan with 3-inch-high sides. Bake crust until deep golden, about 12 minutes. Cool completely. Reduce oven temperature to 325°F.
• Stack 3 large sheets of foil on work surface. Place same cake pan in center. Gather foil snugly around pan bottom and up sides to waterproof.
• Using electric mixer, beat cream cheese in large bowl until smooth and fluffy. Gradually beat in sugar, then salt. Beat in eggs, 1 at a time. Beat in sour cream, grated lemon peel, and lemon juice. Pour filling into pan.
• Place wrapped cake pan in large roasting pan. Pour enough hot water into roasting pan to come halfway up sides of cake pan. Bake cake until filling is slightly puffed and moves only slightly when pan is shaken gently, about 1 hour 25 minutes. Remove cake pan from water bath; remove foil. Cool cake in pan on rack 2 hours. Chill uncovered until cold; cover and keep chilled at least 1 day and up to 2 days.
• Cut around pan sides; carefully loosen pan bottom from sides and push up pan bottom to release cake. Place cake (still on pan bottom) on platter. Garnish with lemon leaves or twists.
• The pan: It must be three inches high to hold all the filling. If your nine-inch springform pan is that high, it can be used instead. The cream cheese: For best results, use Philadelphia brand. The crust: Grind the gingersnaps in the processor or place them in a heavy-duty plastic bag and finely crush them with a rolling pin.

STRAWBERRY CHEESECAKE WITH GINGERSNAP CRUST

Steps:

• Make crust:
• Position rack in center of oven and preheat to 325°F. Blend cookie crumbs, sugar and butter in processor until well mixed. Press crumb mixture onto bottom and halfway up sides of 9-inch-diameter springform pan with 2 1/2-inch-high sides. Bake crust until set, about 10 minutes. Transfer to rack.
• Make filling:
• Using electric mixer, beat cream cheese and sugar in large bowl until smooth. Beat in vanilla. Add eggs and beat just until blended.
• Pour filling into crust-lined pan. Bake until sides of cheesecake are slightly puffed and begin to crack, and center moves slightly when pan is shaken gently, about 1 hour. Transfer cake to rack. Cool completely. Cover; chill overnight.
• Release pan sides from cheesecake. Arrange strawberries around outer edge of cheesecake. Cut into wedges.

LEMON CHEESECAKE WITH GINGERSNAP CRUST

Steps:

• LEMON CURD (makes about 1 cup).
• In small cup, sprinkle gelatin over water. Allow to soften 10 minutes.
• In processor, mince lemon peel with sugar until lemon peel is as fine as sugar. Transfer to heavy small saucepan.
• Add in lemon juice and yolks, then butter; mix.
• Stir over medium heat until very thick, about 5 minutes; do not boil.
• Transfer to bowl. Add gelatin and stir to dissolve.
• Cool completely, stirring frequently, about 1 hour.
• CRUST.
• Position rack in center of oven and preheat to 350 degrees farenheit.
• Lightly oil 9-inch-diameter springform pan.
• Add vanilla wafers and gingersnaps with sugar and lemon peel to food processor and finely grind. Add butter and blend well.
• Make bottom crust by sprinkling crumbs over the bottom of pan and pressing down.
• Bake until golden brown, about 12 minutes. Cool.
• FILLING.
• In small bowl, sprinkle gelatin over cold water; allow to stand 10 minutes to soften.
• In processor, mince lemon peel and ginger with sugar and salt until lemon peel and ginger are the consistency of sugar.
• Add yolks and blend until light and fluffy.
• In heavy medium saucepan, scald milk.
• With processor running, add milk through feed tube and blend well.
• Return mixture to saucepan. Stir over medium-low heat until mixture thickens, about 12 minutes; mixture should leave path on back of spoon when finger is drawn across; do not boil.
• Add gelatin mixture to custard and stir until dissolved.
• Strain into bowl, pressing on solids with back of spoon.
• Refrigerate until thickened but not set, stirring frequently, about 20 minutes.
• Add cream cheese and lemon juice to processor and blend until smooth. Add custard and blend until smooth. Transfer to large bowl.
• In medium bowl, whip cream until it forms soft peaks. Gently fold into filling.
• Pour half of filling over crust. Using a tablespoonfuls, spoon half of curd over filling. Swirl mixtures together using tip of knife.Pour remaining filling over.
• Using tablespoonfuls, spoon remaining curd over. Swirl mixtures together using tip of knife.
• Refrigerate cheesecake at least 4 hours or overnight.
• After running a knife around sides of cake, release pan sides.
• Garnish with mint.

GINGERSNAP CHEESECAKE CRUST

Steps:

• Stir together the gingersnap crumbs, melted butter, sugar, and salt in a bowl. Press onto the bottom and 1 inch up the sides of a buttered 9-inch springform pan. Fill right away or chill up to 2 hours.

TANGY LEMON CHEESECAKE

Steps:

• Combine cookie crumbs and butter; press onto the bottom and 2 in. up the sides of a greased 9-in. springform pan. , In a large bowl, beat cream cheese and sugar until light and fluffy. Add eggs; beat on low speed just until combined. Beat in lemon juice and vanilla. Pour into crust., Place pan on a baking sheet. Bake at 350° for 35-40 minutes or until center is almost set. Cool on a wire rack for 10 minutes. Carefully run a knife around the edge of pan to loosen; cool 1 hour longer. , In a small saucepan, combine sugar and cornstarch. Stir in water until smooth. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cook and stir over medium heat for 2 minutes or until thickened. Remove from the heat; stir in the butter, lemon juice and zest. Refrigerate cheesecake and sauce overnight. Serve sauce over cheesecake.

LIME CHEESECAKE WITH GINGERSNAP CRUST

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 400 to start. You will turn it down to 350 after 15 minutes.
• Position your oven rack to center.
• Butter the bottom of 9 inch springform pan.
• NOTE: Your ingredients should be room temperature.
• Crust:.
• In a small bowl, combine softened butter with crumbs and sugar (first 3 ingredients). Press into the bottom of the prepared pan. Set aside or if you want, you can bake this for about 10 minutes to give it a brown crust.
• Filling:.
• In a large mixing bowl, beat softened cream cheese on low until very smooth. Gradually add the sugar beat well. Add the eggs one at a time (blending well after each egg). Scrape down sides of bowl when neccessary (turn off machine when doing this or you'll have batter on your ceiling). Stir in the lime juice and zest until well combined. Then stir in the sour cream and mix thoroughly until light and fluffy. You need to have some air in the batter, which gives it a fluffy texture.
• Wrap the bottom of the pan with aluminum foiland then pour batter into prepared pan . Set the pan in a 1 inch water bath. (place pan in larger baking pan and add just 1 " of water to bottom pan) Bake for 15 minutes at 400 THEN reduce to 350 and DO NOT OPEN DOOR! Bake until edges are set and center moves only slightly when pan is shaken, about 50-60 minutes. During last 10 minutes open to GENTLY shake to see if slightly set.
• LEAVE OVEN DOOR OPEN SLIGHLY and turn off the heat while cooling the cake in the oven for about 1 hour. Cover in platic wrap and refrigerate over night to completely set about 6-8 hours.
• To serve:.
• About 20 minutes prior to serving, remove from refrigerator and garnish with a sprinkling of powdered sugar and thin slices of lime on the edges.
• NOTE: If your cake cracked - it's ok you can add cherry topping or lemon curd on top and then sprinkle powdered sugar on top. No worries, it's happened to me a few times too but didn't fail to disappear quickly! :).

GINGER LEMON CHEESECAKE BARS

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
• Mix cookies, brown sugar, butter, and ground ginger together in a bowl; press into the bottom of a 9x13-inch baking dish.
• Bake in the preheated oven until lightly browned, 6 to 8 minutes. Remove crust from oven and cool to room temperature.
• Process cream cheese, eggs, white sugar, lemon juice, and lemon extract in a food processor until smooth and creamy; spread over crust.
• Bake in the preheated oven until cheesecake is set, 25 to 30 minutes.
• Cool cheesecake to room temperature and refrigerate until chilled, about 1 hour.