Goat Cheese and Lemon Cheesecake with Hazelnut Crust

Name: Goat Cheese and Lemon Cheesecake with Hazelnut Crust
Yield: Serves 12 to 16
Ingredients: 2 ounces, hazelnuts (generous 1/3 cup), toasted, skinned, and cooled; 3 tablespoons, granulated sugar; 5 ounces, Nabisco Barnum's Animal Crackers or Social Tea Biscuits; 3 tablespoons, unsalted butter, melted and kept warm; 1 tablespoon, grated lemon zest; 1/4 cup, lemon juice; 1 1/4 cups, granulated sugar (8 3/4 ounces); 1 pounds, cream cheese, (two 8-ounce packages), cut into rough 1-inch chunks and left to stand at room temperature 30 to 45 minutes; 4 , large eggs, room temperature; 8 ounces, mild goat cheese, left to stand at room temperature 30 to 45 minutes; 2 teaspoons, vanilla extract; 1/2 cup, heavy cream; 1/3 cup, lemon juice; 2 , large eggs; 1 , large egg yolk; 1/2 cup, granulated sugar (3 1/2 ounces); 2 tablespoons, unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch cubes and chilled; 1 tablespoon, heavy cream; 1/4 teaspoon, vanilla extract; pinch, table salt

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Appears in Cook's Illustrated May/June 2003

Desserts or Baked Goods

Fruit

Cheese

Cakes

Lemon is a fickle flavor, and pairing it with cream cheese requires a perfect balance of juice, zest, and sugar.

SERVES12 to 16

TIME2¼ hours, plus 3½ hours cooling and 4 hours chilling

Goat Cheese and Lemon Cheesecake with Hazelnut Crust

WHY THIS RECIPE WORKS

Pairing citrus with cream cheese for our best lemon cheesecake recipe required finding the perfect balance of juice, zest, and sugar so that the citrus flavor would be neither too fleeting nor too harsh. Lemon curd on top of the cake gave o...

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