See? I told you I was having a serious berry and lemon curd affair lately.
Just one more for now, and then we’ll move on, I promise! This Lemon Curd Cheesecake Tart. I love it because the flavors are amazing, but it’s not too rich and overwhelming, so it fits perfectly for summer. My husband, Ben, loves to eat this plain, but me, I love serving it up with some delicious blueberries. And lately I’ve been craving raspberries……doesn’t that sound divine?
I hope this recipe can show you how easy it is to mix and match up elements from recipes that you already know to create something new. You see, once again, I borrowed the lemon cookie crust from Tammy’s Vanilla Bean Cheesecake, and then just took my basic cheesecake recipe and did 1/4 of the original recipe. I topped it off with this lemon curd that I put on this Strawberry Shortcake Cup recipe, and….voila!
I’ve also made this recipe with a graham cracker crust, and it was also quite yum so just go with what you are in the mood for!
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Lemon Curd Cheesecake Tart with Lemon Crust and Blueberry Topping
Ingredients
For the Lemon Cookie Crust:
- 1 1/2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 2 tablespoons lemon zest approximately 2-3 small lemons
- 12 tablespoons (1 and 1/2 sticks) cold unsalted butter cut into 1/4 inch cubes or grated on a cheese grater
- 2 egg yolks
For the Cheesecake Layer:
- 8 ounces cream cheese 1 package, softened
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 1 egg
- 1 tablespoon heaping sour cream
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
For the Lemon Curd:
- 3 tablespoons unsalted butter softened
- ½ cup sugar
- 1 large egg
- 1 large egg yolk
- ½ cup lemon juice
For the Blueberry Topping:
- 2 cups blueberries frozen or fresh
- 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
Instructions
For the Lemon Cookie Crust:
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Mix together flour sugar, and zest.
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Add butter and, using hands or a pastry blender, toss and blend until mixture forms about pea-sized clumps.
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Add yolk, and mix until the dough forms a ball.
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Wrap in plastic and place in fridge for at least 30 minutes.
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Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
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Remove dough from fridge and press into your tart pan until formed (I use about an 11.5 inch, but you could go a little smaller if you'd like.)
For the Cheesecake Layer:
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With a hand mixer, beat cream cheese until smooth and fluffy with no lumps.
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Add sugar and beat until just smooth.
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Add egg, beating until smooth.
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Stir in sour cream, vanilla, and lemon juice and mix until combined.
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Layer lemon crust with thin cheesecake layer.
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Bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes, then turn off oven, and leave tart for 10 more minutes with oven door cracked.
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Remove tart from oven and let cool completely, chilling in refrigerator.
For the Lemon Curd:
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In a medium bowl, beat together the butter and sugar with a mixer for about 2 minutes, or until light and fluffy.
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Add the egg and the yolk, and beat slowly for one minute.
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Mix in the lemon juice.
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Pour mixture into medium saucepan, and start to cook over low heat, stirring occasionally until it starts to look smooth.
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Increase the heat to medium low and cook for about 15 minutes, stirring constantly. DO NOT LET THE MIXTURE BOIL.
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The curd can be done anywhere from 160 degrees F to 170 degrees F (with the higher being a little thicker and more set). It will leave a path on the back of a spoon and it will set more as it cools.
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Remove the curd from the heat and place in a container for it to cool faster.
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Place a piece of plastic wrap over the top surface and place in the refrigerator to prevent curd from getting a skin (although I've never had a problem with this).
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(Note: You may make this in advance - it will keep for about a week in the refrigerator.)
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After cheesecake and curd are both completely cooled, layer curd on top of cheesecake layer.
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Refrigerate until time to serve.
For the Blueberry Topping:
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Combine blueberries with sugar and still until coated.
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Cook over medium-low heat for about 5 minutes, or until berries start to pop and release their juices.
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Serve over top of tart.
Recipe Notes
Change it Up:
Substitute a graham cracker crust in place of the lemon cookie crust. Use 1 1/2 cups crushed graham cracker crumbs, 1 tablespoon sugar, and about 5-6 tablespoons melted butter. Mix together until well combined and all moistened and pat in bottom and up sides of tart pan. Cook as directed in recipe.
Try raspberries instead of blueberries for the topping.
Dress it Down:
Leave off the berries to enjoy the pure lemony cheesecakey goodness.
Or, make it a straight lemon curd tart by eliminating the cheesecake layer and doubling the lemon curd recipe.
Put fresh berries or other fruit on top of the tart (without adding sugar and juicing the berries).
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i love blueberry and lemon. it looks great!
Thanks for the compliment!
It is confusing. What do you mean by 1 1/2 cubes of butter? Should that have been “sticks”?
Hi Sharon! Thanks for pointing that out. I recently changed my recipe card maker on my website and it had put a few things out of order on this ingredient. I’ve fixed that and now it should read a little bit more clearly. It’s 12 tablespoons (1 and 1/2 sticks) butter.