Lemon Meringue No-Bake Cheesecake

Crust:
1 cup crushed graham cracker crumbs
1 Tbs sugar
5 Tbs butter, melted
2 tsp grated lemon zest (zest from 1 lemon)

Cheesecake:
1/3 cup fresh lemon juice (about 2 lemons)
1 packet unflavored gelatin
3 packages (8 oz each) cream cheese, softened
¾ cup sugar
pinch of salt
1 ¼ cups heavy cream

Lemon Curd (about 1 ¼ cups)
Meringue Topping

Prepare Lemon Curd (recipe below) and refrigerate until cooled.

Crust:
Preheat oven to 350°F. Mix crust ingredients and press into the bottom of a 9” springform pan. Bake for 6-7 minutes. Cool completely. If desired, line inside of springform pan with an acetate strip (for easier removal of cheesecake later).

Cheesecake:
In a small bowl, sprinkle gelatin over the lemon juice and let stand for 5 minutes to soften. Microwave for 10-15 seconds, or until gelatin is completely dissolved. Set aside.

In a large mixing bowl, beat the cream cheese, sugar, and salt until light and creamy. Slowly beat in the heavy cream and continue to beat until smooth, about 2 minutes. Beat in the lemon juice/gelatin mixture. Pour the filling over the cooled crust in the springform pan.

Set ¼ cup of the lemon curd aside in the refrigerator to top the cheesecake later. Measure 1 cup of the remaining lemon curd to swirl into cheesecake batter. Create swirl by placing small dollops of the 1 cup lemon curd on the top of the unset cheesecake batter. Use a knife to gently swirl the curd into the top layer of the cheesecake. Refrigerate cheesecake until set, about 6 hours.

Assembly:
Remove the sides of the springform pan and place cheesecake on a serving plate. Remove acetate strip, if using. Spread reserved ¼ cup of lemon curd over the top of the cheesecake. Gently top the cheesecake with the meringue topping. Use the back of a spoon to create peaks in the meringue. Use a kitchen torch to brown the edges of the meringue (or place under broiler for 1-2 minutes). Store in refrigerator.

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Lemon Curd

6 egg yolks
1 ¼ cups sugar
zest from 2 lemons
½ cup lemon juice (about 3 lemons)
½ cup cold butter, cut into 1 Tbs pieces

In the top pan of a double boiler (but not over heat), whisk together egg yolks and sugar for one minute. Add lemon zest and juice and whisk mixture until smooth. Bring the water in the lower pan of the double boiler to a boil and reduce heat to low. Place top pan with lemon mixture over the simmering water in the double boiler (top pan should not touch water in lower pan). Continue to whisk until mixture thickens and coats the back of a spoon, about 8-10 minutes. Remove top pan from heat and stir in butter, one tablespoon at a time. Spoon curd into a jar and refrigerate until cool.

NOTE: This will make more lemon curd than you need for this recipe, unless you want your cheesecake really lemony.

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Meringue Topping

1 cup sugar
1/3 cup water
½ cup egg whites, at room temperature
2 tsp vanilla extract

Combine sugar and water in a small saucepan. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to medium. Continue to cook until mixture reaches 250°F.

Put egg whites in the bowl of a stand mixer. Beat with whisk attachment until stiff peaks form. With mixer running, slowly pour in the hot syrup at the side of the mixing bowl. Beat for 5-7 minutes, or until meringue is smooth and glossy and cooled. Beat in vanilla.

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