Lemon Mousse Cheesecake

Combine crushed graham crackers, melted butter, and ¼ cup sugar. Press crush in bottom of a 10" spring form pan, coming up about 1" on the sides. Seal the outside of the pan with foil and set in a baking dish. Add water to the baking dish to come 1" up the sides. Bake in (preheated) 325-degree oven for 10 minutes.

Zest lemons until you have 1 tablespoons of zest. Place in small bowl and set aside. Squeeze the lemons to acquire ¾ cup lemon juice and set aside.

In mixing bowl, using an electric mixer, beat cream cheese until smooth. Gradually add 1 ¼ cups sugar and continue to beat until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes. Add egg yolks, flour, lemon juice, and zest and beat until smooth.

In a separate mixing bowl, whip the egg white to soft peaks. Add remaining ¼ cup sugar to the egg whites and continue to whip until stiff peaks have formed. Fold the egg whites into the lemon batter. Pour batter into the crust. Bake cheesecake until set and golden, about 55-65 minutes.

Remove from oven and cool in pan on cooling rack, about 4 hours. Once cooled, refrigerate uncovered until chilled. Add pre-made lemon curd on top of the cheesecake. Loosen sides, unmold, and serve. (You can freeze up to one month.)

Lemon Curd:

Over medium heat whisk to combine yolks, zest, lemon juice and sugar in a 1-quart saucepan.

Cook for approximately 8 minutes until mixture thickens and looks smooth. Remove saucepan from heat and add butter, one piece at a time, with a wooden spoon; until it is fully incorporated. Pour mixture into a bowl and put plastic directly on top of mixture. Let cool on counter, then refrigerate.

NOTE: My neighbor made this and brought it to us. It was wonderful, very light, like the Strawberry Glazed Cheesecake Recipe elsewhere on the site (which was my mothers). She said she did not make the lemon curd but purchased it. She got it at Publix on the cake mix aisle down near the end of the aisle on the left side. It is in a jar and the taste is excellent! Having had it with the bought curd, I won’t hesitate to use it when I make this. With the low carb diet, though, it will be awhile before I do so; and this is too good not to share!