Ingredients:

1 cup almond meal or all-purpose flour

1/4 cup sugar

1 teaspoon lemon zest, just the yellow not the white

1/8 teaspoon salt

8 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, cut into small cubes

2 large egg yolks (lemon curd)

1 + 3/4 cups sugar, divided (lemon curd)

1/4 cup fresh squeezed lemon juice (lemon curd)

1 teaspoon lemon zest, just the yellow not the white (lemon curd)

1 pound room temperature cream cheese (regular or light) (lemon curd)

2 tablespoons all-purpose flour / plain flour (lemon curd)

3 large eggs, at room temperature (lemon curd)

3/4 cup sour cream (regular or light) (lemon curd)

1 teaspoon vanilla extract (lemon curd)

whipped cream, for serving, optional (lemon curd)

1 tablespoon plus 2 teaspoons cornstarch / cornflour (filling)

1/2 cup cold water (filling)

Directions:

1. To prepare the crust. Preheat oven to 325 degrees F / 163 degrees C / Gas 3 Warm. Butter or line with parchment a 9-inch-square baking pan.

2. Add the almond meal or flour, sugar, lemon zest and salt to the bowl of a food processor and pulse a few times to combine. Add the butter and pulse to make a soft, crumbly dough. Add the dough to the pan and press it out to cover the bottom evenly. Bake 20 minutes, cool on a wire rack.

3. To prepare the lemon curd. Stir the cornstarch and water together in a small bowl until the cornstarch dissolves. Add the egg yolks, 3/4 cup of the sugar and the lemon juice to a medium, heavy-bottomed saucepan set over medium heat. Whisk in the cornstarch mixture and cook, whisking constantly, until the sugar dissolves and it starts to bubble and thicken about 3 minutes.

4. Turn the heat up a little and bring to a boil for 1 minute, stirring constantly. Remove from heat and pour through a wire mesh strainer set over a bowl. Mix in the lemon zest. Allow to cool.

5. To prepare the filling. Beat the cream cheese with the remaining 1 cup of sugar together in a large bowl on medium speed until smooth and creamy. Beat in the flour then the eggs, 1 at a time. Add the sour cream and vanilla and beat until the batter is smooth. Pour it over the crust and smooth it out to make it even. Drop spoonfuls of the lemon curd over the cheesecake batter and then drag a knife through them to make swirls.

6. Bake 40 minutes until set in the center and the edges start to pull away from the pan a little. Cool on a wire rack for about 1 hour, then refrigerate until completely chilled about 4 hours. Cut into 9 big or 16 smaller bars. Serve with a dollop of whipped cream, if desired. For easy cutting dip a chef's knife into hot water and wipe clean then repeat between each cut. Refrigerate leftovers up to 4 days.

Bon Appetit!