If one takes the time to stand in one’s kitchen and look around at what’s sitting there, one soon realises that many of the ingredients to hand are terribly underappreciated.
The eggs, without which we’d not be able to bake cakes, fill tarts, whip-up omelettes. Onions, the basis of much of our daily cooking, lending that familiar, comforting base-note to soups, sauces, stir-fries, stews, pies and myriad other dishes. Garlic: usually in its own little pot somewhere on the work surface, smashed, minced and pureed for thousands of dishes, but rarely thought about and truly appreciated in and of itself.
We buy these things in an almost trance-like state as we push our trolleys through the supermarket. The pot of basil, the block of cheese, the carton of yoghurt, the bag of lemons. Ah, yes, the lemons.
Of all the underrated workhorses of the kitchen, one of the most unappreciated is the lemon. There they sit, in their little yellow string bag (or worse, in the fridge, slowly drying out and puckering, poor things) waiting to be chopped up and chucked into the evening’s first large G&T, half of them surely knowing that they’ll be in the bin before long, perhaps a little mouldy on one side, unused and unloved.
We must do something about this. Because lemons are essential.
Stephen Jackson's Lemon Posset with honeycomb and raspberries
Think of all the uses to which they can be put: a simply grilled piece of fish tastes so much zingier with a splash of lemon and a grind of black pepper.
Switch out a little of the vinegar in your salad dressings and use fresh lemon juice instead – the flavour instantly becomes deeper and fresher.
At the last minute, whisk a splash of lemon into a soup or sauce, and it helps to highlight the other flavours most keenly. And at the sweet end of the spectrum, of course, the lemon brings its ‘A’-game.
Here, the fragrance of the zest and that exquisite sharpness come to the fore.
From the devastating effectiveness of the simple Shrove Tuesday pancake to the most temperamental macaron, it is when paired with sugar and flour that the lemon does, in my opinion, its finest work.
And so, this week, a recipe combining the classic baked New York-style cheesecake with a fresh lemony twist. We’re making a lemon-scented cheesecake but topping it with a layer of soft meringue, the same as you’d find on a classic lemon meringue pie. It’s incredibly decadent, but all that citrus keeps it just below the overly-sugared limit.
Stephen Jackson's New York Cheesecake recipe
New York baked cheesecakes are wonderfully rich things. No deli or diner is without one of these terrific beasts, kept under a glass dome on the counter. A crunchy buttery crust that gives way to a rich, vanilla-flecked cream cheese filling, baked to a sexy wobble and cooled to allow it all to set into a lovely dense cake, perfect for slicing.
Of course, all that cream cheese and the sugariness of the meringues might make for a rather one-dimensional mouthful, and I like tartness a great deal, so I decided upon a thin layer of extra-tart lemon curd in the middle. I wanted it to be far sharper than a regular curd, so I upped the lemon ratio.
It’s great here, but will definitely slip of your slice of toast and make you wince if you try it on its own.
Tucked between all that creamy sweetness, though, it works wonders, and makes this cheesecake a perfect symphony of sweetness and creaminess, all suffused with that wonderful tart lemon.
For the crust:
250g Digestive biscuits
120g unsalted butter, melted
55g light muscovado sugar
¼ teaspoon Maldon salt
For the filling:
500g mascarpone
400g cream cheese
200g sugar
1 ½ tbsps plain flour
The finely grated zest and juice of 2 lemons
3 free-range eggs
1 free-range egg yolk
½ tsp lemon extract
For the curd:
The grated zest and juice of 5 lemons
180g unrefined golden sugar
100g butter, diced
2 eggs
1 egg yolk
For the meringue:
80g egg white
160g white caster sugar
60ml water
Splash lemon juice
Extras:
A 22cm spring form cake tin
Piping bag
Blowtorch or hot grill
Method:
First, make the lemon curd; put the lemon zest and juice, the sugar and the butter, into a bowl set over a pan of simmering water. Whisk from time to time until the butter has melted. Whisk the eggs and egg yolk lightly with a fork, then stir this into the lemon mixture. Let the curd cook gently, stirring regularly, for about 10 minutes, until it becomes thick and custard-like. Remove from the heat and stir occasionally as it cools. Pour into sterilised jars or clean tubs and seal. It will keep for a couple of weeks in the refrigerator.
Now for the cheesecake; make the biscuit crust: whizz the digestives in a food processor until they resemble fine crumbs.
Melt the butter and muscovado sugar together in a pan, and stir into the crumbs along with the salt. Press into the springform tin carefully, making sure it goes almost all the way to the top around the sides. Pop in the freezer for about 45 minutes to solidify, while you make up the filling.
In the bowl of a mixer, beat together the mascarpone, the cream cheese, sugar, flour and lemon zest until smooth. Add the eggs and yolks, one at a time, beating until each is completely incorporated. Add the lemon extract.
Preheat the oven to 150ºC / Gas 2. Gently pour the filling into the frozen tin, smoothing the top a little, then bake for 45mins to an hour, checking occasionally. The filling will inflate and crack, but don’t worry; it’s meant to.
When the filling is cooked it should have a barely perceptible wobble but feel firm to the touch. Turn off the heat and allow the cheesecake to cool in the oven.
When cold, remove from the oven and chill in the fridge for a couple of hours. Press down any raised parts to make a relatively smooth surface, and carefully spread a ½-cm layer of lemon curd around the top, leaving a small border.
Now to finish by making the meringue. Gently heat the water and sugar until dissolved, then raise the heat and boil until the syrup reaches 100ºC. Start whisking the egg whites to a soft peak, and when the syrup reaches 118ºC, pour it gently in a thin stream into the egg whites, whisking all the time. They will stiffen and become beautifully glossy. Add a splash of lemon juice and continue whisking until they are completely cold.
Spoon into a piping bag and pipe the meringue over the top of the cheesecake in whatever manner you fancy, either blobs, concentric circles, hedgehog-style or any other attractive way, and light the blowtorch or grill. Carefully heat the meringue to give an attractive toasted effect.
Serve the cheesecake in nice thick wedges.
