Lemon cheesecake bars

Serves: 12
Course: Dessert
Cooking Time: 1 hr 0 mins
Ingredients
  • For the base:
  • 150g ginger biscuits (or plain biscuit of your choice)
  • 40g soft brown sugar
  • 60g butter, melted
  • For the cheesecake filling:
  • 575g full fat cream cheese
  • 120g caster sugar
  • 2 large eggs
  • Zest and juice of 2 large lemons
  • 100ml double cream, lightly whipped
  • For the lemon curd (makes 250ml):
  • Zest and juice of 2 lemons
  • 100g caster sugar
  • 50g butter
  • 2 large eggs
  •  

1 For the base: Line an 8 x 8inch square tin with parchment paper, allowing the paper to come up the sides of the tin and leaving a few centimetres hanging over the edge. Preheat the oven to 175 degrees Celsius.

2 Put the biscuits into a food processor with the sugar and blend to a fine powder. Add the melted butter and blitz again, until well combined. You should have the texture of wet sand.

3 Press the biscuit powder into the base of the tin, packing tightly. Put the tin in the fridge to set while making the filling.

4 For the cheesecake filling: Put all of the cheesecake filling ingredients except the cream into a food processor and blend until smooth and fully combined. Alternatively, mix well in a bowl until smooth.

5 Fold in the whipped cream, and pour the mix into the tin, smoothing the top with the back of a spoon or a palette knife.

6 Put the square tin into a larger tin and place in the oven. Pour boiling water into the larger tin until the water comes halfway up the smaller tin. Close the oven and bake for 50-55 minutes. The cheesecake should have a slight wobble in the centre. Remove from the oven and leave to cool completely, overnight is preferable. You can also freeze it at this point.

7 For the lemon curd: Put all of the ingredients in a bowl over a pan of simmering water. Whisk continuously for about five to 10 minutes until the curd coats the back of a wooden spoon or until it has reached 75 degrees Celsius. Remove from the heat, cool slightly, pour into sterilised jars and seal. The lemon curd will keep for a few weeks in the fridge.

8 Slice the cheesecake into 12 bars, and drizzle with lemon curd to serve.

Aoife Noonan

Aoife Noonan

Aoife Noonan is a pastry chef and culinary consultant. She writes a weekly baking column for the Irish Times Magazine