RECIPE | Lemon meringue cheesecake

Serves: 6-8

Difficulty: Medium, 1 hour

Crust:

200g Tennis biscuits

50g butter, melted

Lemon Curd:

2 extra-large eggs

3 extra-large egg yolks

100ml fresh lemon juice

100g butter

100g (½ cup) sugar

Cheesecake filling:

225g American-style cream cheese

20ml (4 tsp) flour, sifted

25ml cream

1 extra-large egg

1 egg yolk

Zest of 1 lemon and 15ml (1 tbsp) juice

Meringue topping:

3 extra-large egg whites

130g (1 cup) icing sugar, sifted

Method:

1) Grease and line a 16cm springform pan with greaseproof paper on the bottom and a strip around the sides.

2) To make the crust, crush the biscuits in a food processor and mix with the butter, press firmly into the pan and refrigerate.

3) Make the lemon curd by placing the eggs in a pan and adding the yolks, lemon juice, 50g butter and all the sugar. Place on a medium heat and stir continuously. Once the mixture starts to bubble, stir vigorously for a minute, remove from the heat and beat in the remaining butter. Pour the curd through a sieve into a plastic container. Cover with plastic wrap to avoid a skin forming and refrigerate.

4) To make the cheesecake filling, mix together the cream cheese and the flour. Beat together the cream, egg and egg yolk and add to the cheese mixture. Stir in the lemon zest and juice and mix till just blended. Pour onto biscuit base and bake at 120°C for 25 minutes. The sides should be set and the middle should wobble. Cool completely.

5) Spoon a generous dollop of lemon curd over the top of the cheesecake.

6) To make the meringue topping, using an electric mixer, whip the egg whites till stiff. Slowly add the icing sugar and continue beating till you have a soft meringue. Pipe swirls of meringue on top of the lemon curd on the cheesecake. Place under a preheated grill and just cook the meringue so it is set with wisps of golden brown over the top. Cool completely.