Lemon-Ginger Cheesecake

-ELAINE RADIS BGMB90B -----CRUST----- 15 Vanilla wafers

15 Gingersnaps

3 tb Sugar

1 tb Lemon peel -- grated

1/4 c Unsalted butter -- melted

-----FILLING----- 1 tb Unflavored gelatin -- plus

3/4 ts Unflavored gelatin

1/4 c Cold water

2 Zest -- from lemons

1 Fresh ginger -- 1" piece peele

3/4 c Sugar -- plus

2 tb Sugar

Salt -- pinch 3 Egg yolks -- large

3/4 c Whole milk

12 oz Cream cheese -- room temp

1/3 c Lemon juice -- fresh

1 1/2 c Whipping cream -- chilled

1 c Lemon curd*

CRUST: Preheat oven to 350. Position rack in center of oven. Lightly oil 9" springform pan. Finely grind all wafers and gingersnaps w/ sugar and lemon peel in FP. Add butter and blend well. Sprinkle crumbs over bottom of prepared pan. Press to form buttered crust. Bake until golden brown; 12 Minutes. Cool before filling. FILLING: Sprinkle gelatin over cold water in small bowl. Let stand 10 minutes to soften. Mince lemon peel and ginger with sugar and salt in FP until all are as fine as sugar. Really zap it. Add yolks in FP and blend until Light and fluffy. Scald milk in heavy sauce pan. With FP running; add milk through feed tube and blend well. Return mixture to sauce pan. Stir over med. to low heat until mixture thickens; about 12 min. Do NOT BOIL. Add gelatin mixture to custard and stir until dissolved. Refectories until thickened but not set (about 20 min), stirring often. Blend cream cheese and lemon juice in FP until smooth. Add custard (the stuff from the fridge) and blend until smooth. Pour into large bowl. Whip cream in med bowl till it holds soft peaks. Gently fold into custard filling. Pour 1/2 of filling over crust. Spoon 1/2 of lemon curd by T`sponfulls over filling. Swirl mixtures together using tip of knife. Pour remaining filling over. Spoon remaining curd over and repeat swirl. Refrigerate at least 4 hours or overnight. Run knife around sides of cake. Release pan. And you thought it was easy---at least you don`t have to bake. This is a wonderful cake but if you don`t have a FP, forget it.... *Lemon Curd can be bought at speciality stores or check the Gourmet section.