These little gems are TO DIE FOR!!!
It’s no secret, lemon is my absolute favourite flavour in sweets and desserts, tangy and sweet, citusy, zingy, invigorating…. If you love cheesecake and you love lemon meringue pie then this is gonna ROCK YOUR WORLD! When I travelled to the Italian Aeolian island of my heritage, Salina, and around the Amalfi Coast I was seduced by the fragrant aroma of lemons filling the air. They were growing everywhere and are the basis of so many regional dishes both sweet and savory, as well as drinks, liqueur and gelato… and a mixture of all of the above! So that explains it.. no wonder I’m such a lemon lover.. its in my blood!
I was given a lemon tree for my birthday one year which was so very exciting. I envisioned my idyllic life in a Garden of Eden of lemons dripping from the tree and all the delicious desserts and cakes I could make whenever the moment struck me. But alas, unlike my ability to turn anything into a delicious dessert, I was NOT blessed with a green thumb. My little lemon tree is not the bearer of loveliness, it is, well, more of a scrawny twig 🙁 So its off to the green grocer I go to stock up on lemons. 
I make this dessert in a mini cheesecake tin but if you don’t have one, or have trouble finding one, never mind, you can make it in cupcake liners in a muffin tin and it will turn out just as delicious. I hope you love this recipe as much as I do, It may look complicated at a glance but it is really very straightforward… so give it a go 🙂 
Ingredients
Crust
- 250g packet Scotch Finger biscuits
- 3 tbspn melted unsalted butter
Lemon cheesecake filling
- 350g cream cheese at room temperature
- ½ cup white sugar
- 2 tbspn sour cream
- 1/8 tspn salt
- 2 tbspn lemon juice
- 1 tpsn lemon zest
- 1 egg
Lemon curd
- 2 egg yolks
- ½ cup white sugar
- 2 tbspn lemon juice
- 1 tsp lemon zest
- 2 tbspn unsalted butter
Meringue
- 2 egg whites
- ½ cup white sugar
- 1/8 tspn cream of tartar
- ½ tspn vanilla extract
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 180°C and lightly grease a 12 mini cheesecake tin
- To make crust place the biscuits and butter in a food processor and blitz it.
- Place one heaped tablespoon of mixture into the bottom of each cavity and press firmly and evenly.
- Bake for 5 minutes.
- Lower the oven temperature to 170°C.
- In a mixing bowl beat the cream cheese and sugar until well combined and lump free. Add sour cream, salt, lemon juice, zest and egg and beat until very smooth.
- Pour batter evenly onto the crust until it comes close to the top of the tin and bake for 15 – 20 minutes. Allow to cool to room temperature in the tin then transfer to the fridge for about 6 hours or overnight if that suits best.
- Meanwhile make the lemon curd.
- In a double boiler whisk together all the ingredients until they start to thicken, about 8 minutes. Sieve the mixture to remove the bits of zest so you have a very silky curd. Cover with cling wrap, pressing the wrap onto the mixture to avoid any air getting to it. Allow to cool to room temperature then transfer to the fridge to cool completely and thicken further.
- Remove cheesecakes from tin remembering to remove the disc from the bottom. Gently spoon teaspoonfuls of curd evenly on top. You can use a piping bag to do this if you prefer but I find the spoon works well enough and is easier to wash up afterwards! Return the cakes to the fridge while you make your meringue.
- To make meringue add the egg whites, cream of tartar and sugar in a metal bowl, or metal stand mixer bowl if you have one, over a saucepan of simmering water. Mix gently with a whisk until all the sugar is dissolved and the mixture is very warm approx. 46°C. Be careful not to cook the eggwhite. Remove from the heat and immediately begin to beat with a hand mixer or transfer to stand mixer, on low. Gradually increase the speed until stiff peaks form and it is super duper glossy. Add the vanilla and beat some more until fully combined.
- Now it is time to pipe the meringue onto the cheesecakes… yippeee
- Fit the piping bag with a round tip to achieve the same finish as mine, or you can use a star tip if you want a different effect. Fill the bag with the meringue and top each mini cake with a generous amount of meringue. Using a kitchen torch lightly brown the meringue and they are ready to serve.
- If not devouring them immediately store them in the fridge to devour later
I hope you enjoyed my post. Leave me a comment and let me know how your cheesecakes turned out or if you have any questions I’d be happy to help. If you liked my post please share it by clicking the icons below and spread the word. The more lemon lovers out there the happier the world will be!! 🙂
EAT – CELEBRATE – ENJOY!!
Woow – these look super delicious – gotta try it out!!!