Lemon Meringue Cheesecake

Whisk the egg yolks in a mixing bowl, then add lemon juice, lemon zest and sugar until well combined.
Add mixture to a large pot on a medium heat and stir with a wooden spoon until it thickens. Test by running your finger along the back of the wooden spoon, and if the mixture doesn't come back together then it's ready. Add the butter and salt and stir until melted and well combined.
Run the mixture through a sift into a mixing bowl, then transfer to a jar. Lemon curd can be stored for up to 2 weeks in the fridge, or it can be frozen and defrosted the day before you need it.

Double wrap the bottom and sides of an 8-inch springform cake tin with foil. Set aside.
Add the lemon zest and graham crackers into the bowl of a food processor and blitz until you reach fine crumbs. Add the melted butter and blitz to coat crumbs until they resemble wet sand.
Pour the mixture into the springform pan and chill for 30 minutes.

Turn the oven up to 150°C / 300°F. Double wrap the bottom and sides of an 8-inch springform cake tin with foil. Set aside.
Add the cream cheese, corn starch and sugar into a large mixing bowl. Use an electric hand mixer to whip until smooth and creamy.
Add the eggs, egg yolk, whipping cream, vanilla bean paste, vanilla extract, lemon zest and lemon juice and whip until well combined. Scrape the bowl down and mix on high speed for 20 seconds.
Pour the mixture into the springform cake tin. Gently tap on your work bench to let any air bubbles rise to the top and to help get rid of any gaps.
Place the cheesecake in a large baking dish and fill it with water. Bake for 60-70 minutes. The cheesecake will be slightly wobbly in the centre but firm on the outside.
Turn the oven off and allow the cheesecake to cool in the oven with the door slightly open for one hour.
Take the cheesecake out of the oven, remove it from the water bath and allow to cool to room temperature. Chill in the fridge for 2hours or overnight.

For a taller meringue - double the Swiss meringue ingredients.
Fill a large saucepan one-quarter of the way with water. Let it come to a gentle boil over a medium–high heat.
Separate your egg whites from your yolks in a large, very clean, glass or metal mixing bowl. We only need the egg whites for this recipe, so you can store the yolks in an airtight container in the fridge to use for something else. If you need ideas, there are loads on the internet, but my go-to recipe for using up egg yolks is French pastry cream. Yum!
Add your sugar to the egg whites and use a hand whisk to mix them together.
Place your bowl on top of the pan of boiling water, making sure the bottom of the bowl doesn’t touch the water. This is called the double-boiler method and is a very gentle way of cooking something or melting something.
Gently whisk your egg white and sugar mixture for about 3–4minutes, or until the sugar is completely dissolved and you reach 160C. The best way to check that it’s dissolved is by running it through two fingers. If you can’t feel the sugar granules, then it’s time to take it off the heat. If you can feel the granules, continue whisking for another 2–3 minutes and keep testing until you can no longer any granules.
Transfer the mixture to the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment and whisk on high speed for about 4–5 minutes. The mixture will become thick and glossy and will begin to cool.

Once your cheesecake has baked and cooled, add the lemon curd on top and spread using a spoon or spatula. Side note: if your cheesecake cracked or slightly browned, it’s fine. Nobody is going to see any of that! Once you’ve got it on there, chill it in the fridge and move on to making the Swiss meringue.
Once you’ve made the Swiss meringue add it to the top of the cheesecake and spread around using a spatula or spoon. You could even pipe it if you like. Then use a kitchen torch to toast the meringue before serving! This cheesecake is best served the day the meringue goes on top.