Lemon Chiffon Cheesecake

I may or may not have mentioned that I love anything tart... especially lemon. You certainly couldn't tell from the types of recipes I post on here.... but here's one more that I made for our pre-Thanksgiving feast this last week and it was delicious! I wasn't sure it was lemony enough at first for my tastes, but the more I eat of it, the more I love it (my hips not so much, though...). The texture is just sooooo smooth and creamy and perfect, and the gingersnap crust adds just the right amount of tang. Plus, there's no baking involved, so it's a no fail cheesecake! Oh, and the presentation is gorgeous. I found the recipe here, again. (Oh, her desserts are so amazing! She has so much yummy stuff... I could look at her pictures for hours). I'm borrowing her pictures until I get a copy of the ones Alan took of mine. Enjoy!

Crust:

2 cups crushed gingersnaps

1/2 cup butter, melted

2 Tbsp. brown sugar

Filling:

6-7 Tbsp. fresh lemon juice (yes, it needs to be fresh!)

1 envelope unflavored gelatin (about 2 1/2 tsp.)

2 1/2 cups heavy whipping cream, divided

10 ounces white chocolate, chopped

24 ounces cream cheese (3 8 oz. packages), softened

1 cup granulated sugar

2 Tbsp. lemon zest (don't skip this, even if you hate lemon zest, Dacia...)

For the crust:

1. In a medium bowl, combine the gingersnap crumbs, butter and sugar. Press into the bottom and 1 inch up the sides of a 10 inch springform pan. Set aside. (I let mine chill in the fridge)

For the filling:

1. In a large bowl, combine the lemon juice and gelatin and let stand for 2 minutes.

2. Bring 1/2 cup of whipping cream to a simmer in a small saucepan. Remove from heat and add white chocolate, stirring until smooth.

3. Stir the gelatin mixture and whipping cream mixture together and allow to cool.

4. In a large bowl, beat cream cheese, sugar, and lemon zest at medium speed until well combined. Slowly beat in cooled white chocolate mixture and combine.

5. In a large bowl beat remaining cups of cream at high speed until soft peaks form. Fold into white chocolate and cream cheese mixture. Pour into prepared crust. (Instead of garnishing later with chocolate curls, I poured some white chocolate chips into the bottom of my crust, before pouring the cake mixture in.)

6. Cover and freeze overnight. Remove from freezer at least 15 minutes before you plan to serve (otherwise it's too hard to cut slices... I may know this from experience). Run a knife around the edge of the pan to release the crust from the sides of the pan. Garnish with chocolate curls and enjoy!