defiantly domestic

When I opened my first "we must make this" email from Yahaira & Rangsiwan my eyes were immediately caught by the words "Goat Cheese". Those who know me well know that I am a huge fan of cheese in general with a plain goat cheese topping my list of favorite multi-purpose cheeses.

Of course until I was directed towards the Cooks Illustrated recipe for Goat Cheese and Lemon Cheese Cake, I hadn't considered it's use in dessert.

The recipe is both daunting and simple. The daunting part requires a lot of "mise en place" or prep of ingredients.

The crust and the filling were your typical, "run of the mill" cheese cake directions (animal crackers and hazelnuts with butter in the food processor for the crust and cheese, cheese, more cheese, eggs, etc. for the filling).

The addition of a lemon curd for the topping was a new one for me. The directions given by CI made the process for making a lemon curd sound kind of frightening. I just kept stiring and stiring and hoping I wouldn't end up with a rock hard substance stuck to my pan. Lucky for me it turned out perfectly. I didn't use a thermometer, I just eye balled it, and it was fine.

Apparently the direction that alluded us all was the wrapping of the tin foil for the bain marie. I'm not sure how I screwed up wrapping the pan in tin foil, but I did.

Yes, my cheesecake had a mushy crust too.

Of course, mushy crust aside, it was a tasty treat. The goat cheese added a sharp flavor that paired with the sour/sweet bite of the lemon curd topping was fantastic. Rich but not over powering and just the rich amount of bite.

I'm sure the hazelnut crust would have added something to the flavors if it hadn't been such a mess.

My final verdict is that the recipe, with some tweaking (ie: indusrial strength foil) is a winner. The lemon curd was my favorite part & I see whipping some of that up in the future for use on lots of things (maybe just to be eaten with a spoon by itself even).

Since it makes so much (enough for 12-15 people) by neighbors are all enjoying the cake tonight for dessert. If it's as much of a hit with them as it was in our house I'll make it again in a heart beat.