Meyer Lemon Cheesecake with Raspberry Sauce

Happy Easter. No bunny cakes or cupcakes with nests of chocolate atop them for this year's Easter dinner.  Instead, I've opted for a sophisticated and rather decedent cheesecake flavored with lots of juice and zest from  slightly sweet Meyer lemons and topped with a lovely raspberry sauce. It just screamed Spring to me.

This cheesecake differs from ones I have made in the past in that the crust is a shortbread rather than the normal graham cracker crumb concoction.  It too contains some lemon zest, making it a perfect compliment for the creamy filling.  This recipe is a keeper!

Meyer Lemon Cheesecake with Raspberry Sauce

Crust:
1 cup flour
¼ cup sugar
1 teaspoon lemon zest
½ cup butter
1 slightly beaten egg yolk
¼ teaspoon vanilla

Filling:
3 packages cream cheese
2 teaspoons lemon zest
2 lemons, juiced
1 1/2 cups sugar
¼ teaspoon salt
4 egg yolks
¼ cup sour cream

Raspberry Sauce :
1 cup of raspberry jam (I used seedless jelly)
1 cup of fresh raspberries  (I used frozen berries)
1 tablespoon of lemon zest

Preheat oven to 400.

Make Crust:
Combine first 3 ingredients. Cut in butter till crumbly. Add egg yolk and vanilla; mix well. Pat 1/3 of dough on bottom of 9-inch spring-form pan (sides removed). Bake about 8 minutes or till golden; cool. Butter sides of pan; attach to bottom. Pat remaining dough on sides of pan to height of 1 3/4 inches.

Preheat oven to 450.

Make Filling:
Add softened cream cheese into the bowl of a mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Beat until creamy; add sugar, lemon juice and zest. Add egg yolks one at a time, beating after each just to blend. Add sour cream and stir to combine.

Turn into crust-lined pan. bake at 450 for 12 minutes; reduce heat to 300 degrees; bake 55 minutes or till knife inserted off-center comes out clean. Remove from oven; cool 1/2 hour; loosen sides of cheesecake from pan with knife. Cool 1/2 hour more; remove sides of pan. Cool 2 hours longer.

Raspberry Sauce:
Put jam into a microwave safe bowl and heat for 1 minute until melted. Add raspberries and stir to coat. Pour over cooled cheesecake