LEMON MERINGUE CHEESECAKE

Ingredients :

CRUST

2 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs
2/3 cup salted butter, melted
1/2 cup sugar

CHEESECAKE FILLING

24 oz cream cheese, room temp.
1 cup of sugar
3 Tbsp all-purpose flour
1 cup sour cream, room temp.
1 1/2 Tbsp pure vanilla extract
1 Tbsp grated lemon zest (2-3 lemons)
4 large eggs, room temp.

LEMON TOPPING :

8 Tbsp lemon juice (3-4 lemons)
4 tsp grated lemon zest (1 lemon)
1/2 cup sugar
8 large egg yolks
1/4 cup salted butter

MERINGUE TOPPING

1 cup of sugar
1/2 tsp cream of tarter
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
4 large egg whites

Misc Items :

Aluminum foil
non-stick Cooking spray
8” springform (or push) pan

Directions

In a mixing bowl, combine all the crust ingredients and mix until butter is fully blended. Spray springform (or push-pan) with non-stick cooking spray, and evenly disburse crust. Place in the freezer for at least 10-minutes.
In the meantime, start working on your cheesecake filling. In a mixing bowl, combine cream cheese, sugar, & flour. Beat on a low-speed until you’ve reached a smooth consistency.
Next, mix in sour cream, vanilla, & lemon zest. Mix until fully dissolved. Then, one at a time, slowly mixes I your eggs. Make sure to scrape down the sides if needed.
Remove crust from the freezer and evenly pour in the cheesecake batter. Cover springform pan with aluminum foil and be sure to make a foil-sling for easy removal.
Place trivet and 2 cups water inside pressure pot. Then, gently lower your springform pan on top of the trivet. Close & seal lid. Cook on manual HIGH-pressure for 75-minutes. Allow for a 15-minute Natural Pressure Release and then Quick release any remaining.
Open the lid and carefully remove the cheesecake. Let cool down on oven or counter-top for about 30-minutes. Then, uncover and place in the refrigerator for an additional 30-minutes to cool.
Once the cheesecake is in the fridge for roughly 15-minutes, it’s time to get started on your lemon curd.
For the lemon curd, you will want to use the Pot-in-Pot method. Simply place trivet and also a metal or glass cooking dish inside of your pressure pot. Fill with water until it has reached the halfway point on your cooking dish. Now, turn on the “sauté” mode.
Add all of your lemon curd ingredients into the inner dish and continue to whisk until the curd has reached a temp between 170-180 degrees or when it starts to thicken. Don’t overcook as it will continue to thicken.
Once the curd has reached the desires temperature, evenly pour over cheesecake and return it to the refrigerator to cool an additional 5-6 hours.
Once the cheesecake has cooled, make your meringue. For this, we will again use the Pot-in-Pot method. Place your inner cooking dish and trivet inside the pressure pot and fill halfway with water. Use the “sauté” mode.
Combine all ingredients for meringue and whisk slowly until a temperature between 140-160 degrees (or when it appears sugar has fully dissolved).
Once warmed, remove from heat and continue to whisk at a HIGH speed for 5-7 minutes or until it has reached a thicker/foamy consistency. Top your cheesecake with meringue in a wavy dome-shape. Use a kitchen torch to brown the top, OR place in the oven at 350 degrees for 10-15 minutes. Serve chilled & ENJOY!!

Notes: If you don’t have any Old Bay, use a combination of celery salt and paprika.

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