Lemon cottage cheesecake

With lemon in season, I've been addicted with lemon curd since I made my first batch about a month ago. In fact, this batch is the third I've cooked consecutively!

Lemon cottage cheesecake
source : credited respectively below as I was combining 3 recipes

Crust ~ adapted from Joy of Baking

100 gm crumbs of vanilla cream biscuits

57gm unsalted butter, melted

* sugar was eliminated as vanilla cream from biscuits should give enough sweetness. You can add sugar if you will.

Lemon curd ~ from Joy of BakingMakes 360 ml

3 large eggs

80 ml fresh lemon juice (2-3 lemons) (do not use the bottled lemon juice)

1 Tbsp finely shredded lemon zest

150 grams granulated white sugar

56 grams unsalted butter , at room temperature

Cottage cheese filling adapted from Not quite Nigella
250gm local cottage cheese
2 eggs
24 gm vanilla infused caster sugar

Method

Pre-heat oven at 180°c

For crust
In a bowl combine the biscuit crumbs and melted butter. Press the crumbs evenly over the bottom and about 1 inch (2.5 cm) up the sides of the springform pan. Cover and refrigerate while you make the filling.

For lemon curd

In a stainless steel bowl placed over a saucepan of simmering water, whisk together the eggs, sugar, and lemon juice until blended. Cook, stirring constantly (to prevent it from curdling), until the mixture becomes thick (like sour cream or a hollandaise sauce) (160 degrees F or 71 degrees C). This will take approximately 10 minutes. Remove from heat and immediately pour through a fine strainer to remove any lumps. Cut the butter into small pieces and whisk into the mixture until the butter has melted. Add the lemon zest and let cool. The lemon curd will continue to thicken as it cools. Cover immediately (so a skin doesn't form) and refrigerate for up to a week.

For cottage cheese filling

In a bowl, mix cottage cheese, eggs, , vanilla sugar until smooth using hand blender. Mix with 3/4 of lemon curd, set aside

Assembly (text as per http://homecookingrocks.com/coffee-cheesecake/)

Take the crust-lined springform pan out of the fridge. Place the pan in a larger pan. Pour the cheese mixture over the crust.

Pour enough hot water into the larger pan to reach halfway up the height of the pan. Bake the cheesecake for an hour and 45 minutes. The center should be jiggly. Leave the cake in the oven to cool completely. Decorate top of cake with remaining 1/4 of lemon curd. Then, chill in the fridge for a couple of hours.

Season for citrus - Orange Cake

Tasty recipe from here

In view that the link above doesn't work anymore, I have included the whole recipe from http://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2007/aug/01/recipes.foodanddrink3

What I did differently :-

Halved the recipe based on 2 eggs. 
Baked using 18cm spring form.

Used plain flour (instead of self-raising) added with baking powder.

Verdict

Love it - Light at fluffy! A keeper but I'll add more orange zest the next time.

Sicilian orange cake
Serves about 8
source : http://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2007/aug/01/recipes.foodanddrink3

250g lightly salted butter, at room temperature, plus extra for greasing
250g caster sugar
4 medium eggs
1½ teaspoons finely grated orange zest
250g self-raising flour
85ml freshly squeezed orange juice

For the icing:
125g icing sugar
5 teaspoons freshly squeezed orange juice

Method :-
Preheat the oven to 170C/gas mark 3. Grease and line a 22cm clip-sided round cake tin with non-stick baking paper.
Using an electric whisk, cream the butter and sugar together for 4-5 minutes until very pale. Beat in the eggs, one at a time, beating well between each one, if necessary adding a spoonful of flour with the last egg to prevent the mixture from curdling. Beat in the orange zest. Add the flour all at once and mix in well, then slowly mix in the orange juice. Spoon the mixture into the tin and bake on the middle shelf of the oven for 45-50 minutes or until a skewer, inserted into the centre of the cake, comes out clean. If it starts to brown too quickly, cover loosely with a sheet of lightly buttered foil.
Leave the cake, in its tin, to cool on a wire rack, then carefully remove the sides and base of the tin and peel off the paper. Put it onto a serving plate.
Sift the icing sugar into a bowl and stir in the orange juice until you have a spreadable consistency. Spread it over the top of the cake, letting it drip down the sides, and leave to set. Serve cut into slices.