Brownie-Bottom Lemon Cheesecake

BROWNIE-BOTTOM LEMON CHEESECAKE

source: Bon Appetite

Ingredients:

CRUST

Nonstick vegetable oil spray6 Tbl. Flour
1 ½ tsp. unsweetened cocoa powder
1/8 tsp. Salt
3 ounces bittersweet chocolate, chopped
¼ cup (½ stick) unsalted butter
¾ cup Sugar
¼ cup packed Brown Sugar
1 large Egg
½ tsp. Vanilla

FILLING:

5  8 oz. packages cream cheese (room temp.)
1 ¾ cups Sugar
2 Tbl. Flour
1 Tbl. Grated  Lemon Peel
4 tsp. fresh Lemon Juice
5 large Eggs
2 large Egg Yolks
½ cup Sour Cream
¼ cup Heavy Whipping Cream

TOPPING:

1 cup Sour Cream
½ tsp. Lemon Extract
Chocolate Shavings
Thin sliced Lemon

CRUST:

Preheat oven to 350°, coat inside of 9 “spring form pan with nonstick spray. Whisk Flour, Cocoa, and Salt in small bowl, set aside. 

Combine Chocolate and Butter in medium metal bowl, place over saucepan of simmering water and stir until melted and smooth. Remove bowl from heat, add both Sugars to Chocolate mixture and whisk until blended. Let cool about 10 minutes. Whisk Egg and Vanilla into chocolate. Fold flour mixture into chocolate mixture. Spread brownie batter evenly over bottom of pan.

Bake crust until top looks slightly cracked and tester comes out with some moist crumbs, about 20 minutes.  Cool at room temp. about 30 minutes. Maintain oven temperature.

FILLING:

Place pan with cooled crust on rimmed baking sheet.  Beat Cream Cheese in large bowl until smooth. Add Sugar, Flour, Lemon Peel and Lemon Juice, beat until smooth.  Add Eggs and Yolks 1 at a time, beating just until incorporated after each addition. Beat in ½ cup Sour Cream and ¼ cup Heaving Whipping Cream. Pour filling over brownie crust in pan, smooth top.

Bake until puffed, light golden and set around the edges (center will still move slightly when pan is gently shaken). About 1 hour 20 minutes. Remove cake from oven. Maintain oven temp.

TOPPING:

Mix Sour Cream and Lemon Extract, spread evenly over top of cake. Bake an additional 5 minutes. Remove and cool. Serve with Chocolate Curls if desired.