Pinterest Thursday

A while back, I posted “Pinterest Tuesday” so that I could share recipes that I have tried.  My thought was to share a recipe weekly.  Well.  We know that hasn’t happened!  After a month of visitors, we spent almost 2 weeks in Cleveland visiting my family.  Once we returned home, it took a little while to get back in the swing of things.  Not to mention, I’m finding it difficult to find time to blog.  I’m rarely in front of my computer these days.  Using my phone to weed out the junk mail and trying to respond to email in about oh… 2 weeks – YIKES! 

So here I am.  Finally ready to share with you a successful PIN.  I say successful because I had a flop about a month ago that left me pretty deflated.  I should also warn you that this recipe flopped on me my first go at it, but I was determined to make it work.  You see, L’s favorite pie is Lemon Meringue, so I wanted to make it for him for Father’s Day.  Because I know meringue is very difficult, I thought I would make my first attempt a Lemon Meringue Cheesecake.  The recipe calls for a stand mixer, but I thought “eh… I can do it without one”.  I was at my friend’s house, 3 kids, 2 dogs and 2 hungry husbands were a bit distracting.  I ended up not following the recipe to the T which meant FLOP.  I added all the ingredients and then mixed (HUGE mistake) and didn’t mix the meringue long enough.  Like I said, a bit distracted while following the recipe.  Not an excuse but the truth!  Determined to redeem myself, I pulled out my brand new Kitchen-Aid stand mixer on a 96◦ day (yesterday).  I was a bit intimidated by it and read the instructions as thoroughly as my type A personality would allow me.  The end result – an absolutely beautiful and delicious Lemon Meringue Cheesecake!  PS – I will never, ever NOT use my stand mixer again.  It is heaven!

Although I found the recipe on Pinterest, you can find it on The Cilantropist blog.  She shares quite a story on how this recipe came to fruition.  She wasn’t wrong.  It was actually very easy to make and is really, very delicious.  This recipe will remain in my arsenal J

I now present you with Lemon Meringue Cheesecake care of The Cilantropist!

Lemon Meringue Cheesecake, Inspired by Extraordinary Desserts
Adapted from a Jeff's recipe for Northwest Cheesecake Supreme and The Food Network

Crust:

1 cup graham cracker crumbs
3 tbsp sugar
3 tbsp unsalted butter, room temperature

Filling:

2, 8oz packages of cream cheese, softened at room temperature
1/2 cup sugar
1 1/2 tbsp flour
2 eggs
1/2 cup sour cream
1/2 tbsp vanilla
2 1/2 tbsp lemon juice, plus zest of 2 lemons

Meringue: 

3 egg whites
1 tsp cream of tartar
1/2 cup sugar

Preheat oven to 325 degrees Fahrenheit.  Crush graham cracker crumbs in a thick plastic bag, or use a food processor to grind them to a fine crumb.  Combine with sugar and unsalted butter to mix well, and press graham cracker crust onto the bottom of a 9" round springform pan.  Bake 10 minutes, until crust is golden brown.  Remove from oven and let cool on a wire rack.  (Crust can be made ahead of time and cooled.)  Immediately reduce oven temperature to 250 degrees Fahrenheit.

Meanwhile, make cheesecake filling.  Combine cream cheese, sugar, and flour in the bowl of a stand mixer, and beat at medium speed until well mixed.  Add eggs, one at time, mixing well after each addition.  Blend in sour cream, vanilla, lemon juice, and lemon zest, and pour entire mixture over cooled graham cracker crust.  Bake at 250 degrees Fahrenheit for 1 hour and 15 minutes.  During this baking time, make the meringue topping.  Whip the egg whites with cream of tartar until stiff peaks form.  Add the sugar and beat again to peaks.  Set aside, in the refrigerator if possible.

After the cheesecake has baked for 1 hour and 15 minutes, and you have made the meringue, remove the cheesecake from the oven and increase the temperature to 325 degrees Fahrenheit.  Spread the meringue on top of the cheesecake,  all the way to the edges, and create a decorative swirl pattern or peaks.  Put the cheesecake back in the oven to bake for an additional 15 minutes at 325 degrees.  Remove from oven and cool on a wire rack at room temperature.  Loosen cake from rim of pan, and then chill until serving.

Here are a few photos:

Mixer was critical for the meringue - so easy and perfect!

Right out of the oven - beautiful!

Absolutely delicious!



Now... go and enjoy every bite!