Lemon Curd Cheescake Tart - Two Ways

I made this recipe (from my fave website Epicurious) last week when I needed a dessert for an evening in with friends. I adapted it to make two desserts - small appetizer sized tarts for the party, and a larger tart to freeze for a later date. Bonus!

Tip: begin with all your ingredients at room temp

Lemon Curd Marbled Cheesecake
Gourmet | July 2006
Maggie Ruggiero

For lemon curd

1 teaspoon finely grated fresh lemon zest
1/2 cup fresh lemon juice
1/2 cup sugar
3 large eggs
1/2 stick (1/4 cup) unsalted butter, cut into small pieces

For crust
1 1/3 cups finely ground graham cracker crumbs (5 oz)
1/3 cup sugar
3/4 teaspoon salt
5 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

For Tarts:
2 pkgs. phyllo cups, found in your grocer's freezer

For filling
3 (8-oz) packages cream cheese, softened
1 cup sugar
3 large eggs
3/4 cup sour cream
1 teaspoon vanilla

Make lemon curd:

Whisk together zest, juice, sugar, and eggs in a 2-quart heavy saucepan. Add butter and cook over moderately low heat, whisking frequently, until curd is thick enough to hold marks of whisk and first bubbles appear on surface, about 6 minutes.

Force lemon curd through a fine-mesh sieve into a wide shallow dish, scraping bottom of sieve, then cover surface with wax paper. Cool completely, stirring occasionally, about 30 minutes.


Make and bake crust:

Put oven rack in middle position and preheat oven to 350°F. Stir together crust ingredients in a bowl, then press onto bottom and 1 inch up side of tart pan. Bake 10minutes, then cool crust completely in pan on a rack.


Make filling and bake cheesecake:Reduce oven temperature to 300°F.

Beat together cream cheese and sugar in a bowl with an electric mixer at medium speed until smooth, 1 to 2 minutes. Reduce speed to low and add eggs 1 at a time, beating until incorporated. Beat in sour cream and vanilla until combined.

For the bite sized cups: Spoon cheesecake mixture into the phyllo cups (on a cookie sheet) until they are half filled. Top with lemon curd and bake for 12-15 minutes. Cool and top with fresh fruit. (makes 24 mini tarts)

For the tart: Pour remaining cheesecake mixture into tart pan, on top of baked crust. Pour remaining lemon curd on top of cheesecake mixture and swirl with the tip of a knife. Bake 20-25 minutes until center is nearly set. Garnish with fresh fruit.

Both versions will need to be refrigerated after cooling to set up.

Serving options? Look no further...

You could serve your tart on these lovely plates by Virginia Wyoming


Or maybe on these lacy plates by Prince Design UK


Your mini tarts would look fantastic on this platter by GeoBub Studios


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