Quark Cheesecake Squares topped with Tart Lemon Curd

I do not know who started this tag, but undoubtedly everyone on Facebook has certainly been tagged at least once for the "25 Random Things About Me" Facebook note. It seems to have spread across the social networking sphere like wild fire. I am surprised at the way people are prolifically passing this note along with such intimate details about their lives. Apparently Facebook reported that nearly 5 million notes were created by its users in one week!

While I have been enjoying the voyeurism of reading several of theses notes and I have been tagged quite a few times by my buddies on Facebook, it is my die-hard belief that no one will actually get to know the juicy and interesting stuff about me in a random note. Furthermore, I have more than 25 things that makes me the interesting person I think I am and by reading a simple random list of things about someone I cannot consider them as my friend - unless I knew them better before the note!

After having read, in some cases, very personal stuff about my Facebook buddies I did in that instance feel close to them. In one case I actually even cried at the touching details, but walking away I still could not say I felt that they were my friends. Simply because I just did not know them.

After being tagged several times I finally decided to share a few random things about me - they are to be taken with a pinch of salt and trust me the really juicy stuff is not on this list. One day when we really get to know each other and our friendship evolves you will find out those juicy things about me.

  1. My mother put me in a boarding school at the age of 10 (or so). After 2 days she returned to take me home! It was a elite boarding school where getting accepted was rather difficult but after the entire process of getting set up, buying stuff etc. she could not stand to part from me and to everyone's surprise she came back and took me back home. Thanks mum!
  2. I am a bit of a crazy girl. At school I was nicknamed "MadMets" by my friends because I was always thinking up of mad ideas and doing mad things. I know a genius is born to be mad but my ideas were not always good and sometimes got me into trouble.
  3. I have trouble concentrating on something for too long. My dad used to play chess with me to train my concentration. Although today I do sometimes get bored and loose concentration with things, I have found a few methods that help me get back on track.
  4. I hate bigots! I once got a can of Fanta poured over my head by a bunch of English kids at school because I am Indian. I was 12! It was the first and the last time that someone ever was racist towards me! After that I became very aggressive when faced with such racists comments or by such bigots.
  5. I am very very sarcastic! To the point my sarcasm can hurt people's feelings!
  6. I have an enormous willpower. Many people who know me well actually say that if I truly believe in something, my mental strength subconsciously makes me and all those around me react to a situation in such a way that I change the outcome. At the age of 1 1/2 years my dad was leaving Bombay for the US. I cried so hard that he missed his plane - that plane crashed! 
  7. I believe in God - not really in religion. Although I am very proud to be a Sikh, it is only because I find that Sikhism is more liberal in its teachings, which very much fits into my belief. Religion has become an idiotic means for people to shed too much blood!
  8. The older I get the less patient I get! Why is that?
  9. I used to smoke. Started at 16 and stopped at 25!
  10. My grandfather (mum's dad) was my idol!
  11. Sometimes my heart is still stuck in the 80s. My all time favorite movie is The Breakfast Club and I still get excited when I hear Duran Duran.
  12. Tom is the love of my life. I hit the jackpot when I married him!
  13. I went to Hotel Management School and trained as a Hotel Management Trainee at the Sheraton Doha. Food & Beverage was my favorite but also the toughest department.
  14. I once ate garlic snails! They were delicious but I would never eat them again because I still find the thought of eating snails extremely yucky!
  15. Tom says I snore! I, of course, do not believe him!
  16. Soeren is the most precious to me and I can put my hand in the fire for him without even a second thought.
  17. I seemed to have been a bit of an exhibitionist at a young age. I was always running away without any clothes on. At the age of 4 my grandmother was getting me ready for a bath. As she left the room to get my clothes I disappeared. After about an hour they found me butt naked playing on the roof of our neighbors house. There are a lot of stories like this one!
  18. When I am bored I twirl a lock of hair around my finger.
  19. I have a fetish for expensive shoes and handbags.
  20. I am an organization freak. I find that I can function better and more efficiently when I have organized my day to perfection.
  21. Even though I plan everything to the last detail I am still quite spontaneous - however, while I am being spontaneous, I am still planning each detail in my head!
  22. I was 2 years old when I flew alone for the first time.
  23. I lived in a hotel for the first 2 years of my life. (I've lived in hotels for several years in my life!)
  24. I am my own worst critic!
  25. I took guitar lessons from the age of 8 to 10 - but I cannot play the instrument anymore. I really regret it now!


I am presuming that some of you are ready with your freshly made lemon curd from earlier this week and eager to see what we'll be making with it. Here it is - soft quark cheesecake squares topped with tart lemon curd. These were soft little delightful bites I made a little while back for a little tea gathering I was attending. They were a huge hit and very different to the usual cheesecake style desserts.

I chose quark rather than cream cheese because I thought it would complement the tangy aroma of the lemon curd perfectly. Both lemon curd and quark are deliciously creamy but both offer a slightly different tangy note. To finish off the perfect bite a sensational nutty crunch of the buttery digestive biscuits. As you can imagine I had the ladies and the tea party eating out of my hands! 

Monthly Mingle Extended Deadline

MM Caribbean Cooking1 The Monthly Mingle Caribbean Cooking deadline has been extended to Friday 13th March. I am hoping you will find a few exciting flavors and creations to bring along to our beach party. To inspire you here are a few great ideas:

You can easily send your entries using the all new Monthly Mingle Form, which is super easy and guarantees that your submission will not get lost in my spam folder ;-)

Recipe: Quark Cheesecake Squares with Lemon Curd

Ingredients
Printable version of recipe here.

150 - 200g digestive biscuits
500g fresh quark, substitute with cream cheese
1 cup lemon curd recipe
60g unsalted butter, melted
150g granulated sugar
2 eggs
Zest and juice from 2 organic lemons

Method

  1. Butter a 20x20 cm square spring form baking pan then line with baking paper. Heat the oven to 165 degrees C.

  2. Place the digestive biscuits in a food processor and process until finely ground. Pour the melted butter and continue to pulse until the mixture resembles damp sand. Transfer the mixture into the prepared pan and using a flat bottomed metal bowl, firmly press into the baking pan until even. Set aside.

  3. In the cleaned bowl of the food processor combine quark, sugar. lemon juice and zest and pulse until smooth. Scrape the sides of the bowl and pulse for a further few seconds.

  4. Add the eggs and process until the mixture is very smooth and creamy, about 20-30 seconds. Scrape the sides and pulse a few more times.

  5. Pour the quark mixture into the pan. Bake for about 40-45 minutes until the center is dry to touch and the sides are puffed.

  6. As soon as the quark cheesecake comes out of the oven pour the prepared lemon curd over the quark. Smooth out the lemon curd evenly with an offset spatula.

  7. Allow to cool to room temperature, then refrigerate overnight.

  8. To serve cut the quark cheesecake with a sharp serrated knife into squares.

Food Guide Tips:

 


Verdict

Incredibly good and unbelievably delectable. The lemon curd on its own is a true pleasure for me but enjoyed with soft, creamy quark and crispy biscuit base it becomes pleasurable indulgence. Perfect for tea parties and picnics. 

You might like these lemon and lime treats from WFLH:

Lemon Meringue Pie 02 LimeCremeBrulee 04 framed LemonTuiles01 framed
Lemon Meringue Pie Lime Brûlée Lemon Tuiles

Cheesecake from around the blogs:

Daily Tiffin Reading Tip:

 


All photographs and written content on What's For Lunch, Honey? © 2006-2009 Meeta Khurana unless otherwise indicated. | All rights reserved | Please Ask First

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44 comments:

  1. I'm making the lemon curd this weekend! :) I'm serving it for breakfast with crepes :D

    Will let you know how it went! And loved your random stuff. LOL @ being an exhibitionist!

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  2. Yummy! I never get tired of cheesecake and lemon curd! Very refreshing and spring-like! I love tart desserts... Beautiful photography!

    Cheers,

    Rosa

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  3. Meeta

    I am not a great cook but I really like reading your blog because of the interesting things you tell about certain new foods and the wonderful pictures that you have. I have totally enjoyed reading most of your posts and keep telling myself that I will cook more stuff from your recipes one day (I have just tried the fettuccine with lamb sausage meatballs recipe and that turned out great).

    I just wanted to mention one thing though, that I have been noticing lately. It is just that as the quality of your recipes and the pictures has gone so up in recent months, I somehow am finding it harder to relate to the recipes as much. They seem kind of professional and like they must be really hard. Even when I go through them and they seem straightforward enough, it is just that the recipe titles and the pictures don't carry a home cooked feel about them anymore.

    Please excuse (and ignore) my comment if that is the direction that you actually do want to go in. Given your professional hotel management background I would not be entirely surprised, but the only thing which throws me off is that the write up surrounding the recipes still remains that of a warm friendly gregarious person and not that of an impersonal professional cook.

    Wow, that was long, but I just had to say it.

    Best wishes
    Isha

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  4. Ho ho, since I've made quark and love it AND I've made lemon curd and think it's absolute heaven, I know how very right you are and how totally excellent these cheesecake squares would be!!
    Randomness is just so grand!

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  5. Very nice read Meeta:-) Loved the part where u ran away without clothes at 4, can totally see it as my 3 yr old is exactly like that. She likes her "freedom" even while doing somersaults LOL...

    This lemon curd is looking so colorful & like spring that i need to give it a try ... but i am a little afraid.

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  6. Whenever I browse the food blogs, most of the blogs I used to see your blog name but I never visited.... somewhat today i did that, I really liked the story and this recipe looks very simple and yummy.....

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  7. I am not a Facebook fan, although I am a member....don't know why, but I feel it is too personal and "in my face!"
    I do however like the temptation of cheesecake in front of me.... I can actually feel the tang in my mouth!!

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  8. Oh Meeta...you are very brave to do the random 25. I never will. But we are similar in many ways...sarcasm, hate bigots,began smoking at 18 & left it in 1995, am strongwilled beyond belief too, irritable-YES,organised...I could go on & on. I love the cheesecake. Please answer me questions...how many Indian lemons dear girl. This is stunning...you are getting better & better each day girl...WAY TO GO you 'exhibitionist'..LOL!! XOXOXO

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  9. I´m already drooling.... :o)
    I made the lemon curd on Tuesday..and it´s almost eaten up by now!!! So I will make another jar tomorrow and try the cake for my mom´s birthday.

    Unfortunately I´m not a great cook (always on the warpath with spices) but I love (and am good at) baking. But after having read some of your cooking recipes...I think I´ll give it a try once more. :o)

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  10. My lemon tree is still growing green fruits now, will wait till Winter to get them yellow again :) I love lemon curd, it is my favorit jam-like to put on scones.

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  11. Thank you everyone for your comments. I too really loved the flavor of this!

    Isha - Thanks so much for your feedback. It's extremely precious to hear your thoughts. My blog epitomizes how I, in terms of food and photography, have evolved. Three years of cooking and taking pictures for this blog and I have learned something new almost every time. Nowhere else but on this space is it documented so well.

    In a way it is flattering that you should consider the recipes to be on a professional level - but in my eyes they are not - not anymore!

    I like posting recipes that are out of the box but still simple and straightforward enough for my readers, regardless of the level of cooking/baking they are on, to make at home. That is basically my main focus. I want to get my readers to try something new in their kitchens, to take a risk and make something they would normally not make.

    I do this all the time in my kitchen and it never gets boring. It's fun and brings fresh wind into the way you look at food.

    What bothers me however, is the fact that you are finding the recipes impersonal. Is it because you are finding that the level has been hiked up a notch or are the recipes just not attracting you (or both)?

    I am the type of person who never treads water in one spot for too long. I like to move on forward and develop my skills further. That is why for example I joined the Daring Bakers group. Several of the things we have made there I would have never made in my kitchen. But it helped me to see aspects of baking in a whole new light. As time went by I began relaxing and realized I was tackling baking (outside of the challenges) on another level.

    maybe you should try and cook some of the recipes you would never have cooked. You will see that they are not as hard as they look or sound - what you will also realize is that it's fun to try different products, recipes and ingredients.

    Once again thanks for the feedback!

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  12. Wow simply superb. Love the pics....Nice to read about u.

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  13. Wow those squares looks so delicious.
    It was so nice reading about you.
    Hi hi about snails, i make them once a year inwinter for my inlaws and hubby i have never ate them.

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  14. My God - so thrilled to know there's soomeone else whose heart is in the 80's! remember those 'neon' clothes and Fido?

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  15. Ahem, my 5 year old still likes to go butt naked, she sure would like your account :)
    My heart stopped at the incident where your dad missed the flight

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  16. You never disappoint your readers. What a fantastic dessert! And as always, your photography is stunning.

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  17. Hey Meeta, these lemon curd cheesecakes looks so nice. I intrigued by what quark is and went to read your post on how to make it at home, wow, cant wait to try it. Is it similar to mascarpone?

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  18. these squares look super delicious. I have made some lemon curd. Now I know how to use it :)

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  19. I've been a lurker on your blog for the longest time but I'm stepping out of the shadows to say-
    Gosh Meeta, what a divine dessert!

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  20. I loved reading about your 25 things... and loved the cheesecake squares. You know what, I was intrigued by Quark ever since you wrote that post. And now my local supermarket sells it :) So maybe I will try this soon.

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  21. I have never made lemon curd (it is in my list to do) and never tried quark but it does look soooooo goooood. I enjoyed reading the meme and learning so many interesting things about you.

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  22. Hi everyone! Thank you for your comments and glad you like these delicious bites. Also great that you are enjoying the 25 bits and pieces about me!

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  23. Quark? What the heck is quark? The only Quark I know of is quark I learnt in nuclear physics years and years ago....Well, now I know that Quark is also a kind of cheese!

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  24. I've only made lemon squares once and they didn't came out this pretty :).

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  25. Oooohhh, you did it, you combined my two fav deserts - I am not much of a desert person but love quark cakes - have been making them for years with all kind of fruit combos - and I love lemon curd/tarts, the two of them together will be heaven in my mouth. Am drooling already.
    Hugs, Isis

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  26. Hi Meeta, made the cake for my mum´s birthday. She loved it!
    Thanks again!
    Sabine

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  27. Ooh another quark recipe. Delectable is certainly one way to describe it.
    Nice to get to know you better with those 25 little tidbits!

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  28. That is such a beautiful photograph - as always. (Will email soon, I promise)

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  29. Meeta, these days I crave for lemon, yours recipe is my life saver!
    I am not much into "... things about me", it's just me, feel difficult to select what me-stuff can be public enough putting on internet. But once in a while I'd try (and of course like to read others, hehee...).
    ho duran duran, I was listening bananarama last nite...

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  30. English children are terrible. I certainly got a shock when I arrived in the UK and faced them. Cocky buggers!

    Love your cakes!

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  31. Beautiful pictures! I have often thought of making lemon curd, yours is really tempting me to do it.

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  32. Those cheesecake bars with lemon curd look great!

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  33. I enjoyed reading your "random things" and learning a little bit more about you...as I already suspected you are a very interesting person who I definitely would love to meet and hang out with! :)

    This cheesecake sounds lovely...I have yet to aquaint myself with quark but I will! :)

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  34. Glad you are liking my 25 things! And this is NOT even the juiciest part of me yet! LOL! Now I dare you all to go and do it if you have not already!

    Joey - you know how often I think of you when I carry the gorgeous bag you sent me? Almost everyday! I feel closer to you and I too wish we could hang out one day and get to know each other better!

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  35. Yummy yum...I've never had quark before, but I'm sure it complemented the tangy curd beautifully. I love this, Meeta!

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  36. Well, I just printed out this and the lemon curd recipe and I will definitely be trying them this weekend. We (moi, hubby and the munchkin) love lemon desserts and I think this will be a huge crowd pleaser! I did the 25 random thing on Facebook too but only because of who tagged me. I'd already 100 things about me on my blog for my 100th post and thinking of another 25 wasn't easy, but it was all in good fun. I enjoyed reading yours.

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  37. Thank you so much for sharing such a great recipe...I love lemon...yummy.
    Your pictures are great!

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  38. I love recipes that use quark, and the use of lemon with it is extra yummy.

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  39. That looks fabulous, Meeta, almost like sunshine on a platter.:)

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  40. I am a sucker for anything lemon, so I'd love these! And it was good learning a little bit more about you!

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  41. Hi Meeta
    i love the color - cheerful, glowing, natural. and of coz the taste of the lemon. it's just perfect. love yr blog though!

    cheers,
    mawar, kuala lumpur.

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  42. Hi Meeta!
    Lovely lovely looking squares! dying to make them! Just had one doubt, you dont need to put the cheesecake into hot water while baking? Like with other cheesecakes? Also, another pesky question, the quark that i can buy in india, comes in 200 gram boxes, so if reduce the amount of quark to 400 gms what else would I need to tweak? Thank you very much for the great recipes!!

    Love
    Mandakini

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Thank you for visiting What's For Lunch, Honey? and taking time to browse through my recipes, listen to my ramblings and enjoy my photographs. I appreciate all your comments, feedback and input. I will answer your questions to my best knowledge and respond to your comments as soon as possible.

In the meantime I hope you enjoy your stay here and that I was able to make this an experience for your senses.

Hugs
Meeta