Sprinkle the yeast over the warm milk in a large bowl, stir and let stand about 5 minutes to dissolve. Add the egg, butter, sugar, vanilla, salt and lemon zest and beat until blended; small lumps of butter will dissolve with further mixing. Add 1½ cups flour and beat vigorously until smooth. Add enough of the remaining flour to make a soft but manageable dough.

Turn out onto a lightly floured surface and knead for 2 minutes, then let rest for 10 minutes. Resume kneading for another 7-10 minutes, or until the dough is smooth and elastic, sprinkling on additional flour to keep it from being too sticky.

Place in a greased bowl, cover and let rise until double in bulk.

Punch the dough down and on a floured surface, push, pat and roll it to an 8x16 inch rectangle. Using a sharp knife, cut into strips about ¾ inch wide and 8 inches long.

Form each strip into a loose knot. Let the beignets rise, about 30 minutes.

Heat at least 2 inches of oil to 365º . Fry 3 or 4 beignets at a time, turning them frequently until puffy and golden brown, 2-3 minutes total. Remove with a slotted spoon, drain on paper towels. Sieve a light dusting of powdered sugar over them while still warm.

In a large bowl, mix the graham crackers, brown sugar, the tsp of lemon zest and the ½ melted butter together.
Line a springform pan with parchment paper. Bake the crust for 10 minutes and remove from the oven.

Using a mixer on low speed, mix the cream cheese and sugar until well blended.
Beat in ½ of the cream, lemon juice and zest.
In a sauce pan add the water and gelatin, let sit 5 minutes.
Put on low heat until gelatin dissolves, whisk in the rest of the cream.|
Add this mixture to the cream cheese mixture and blend together. Beat the mixture till fluffy on low speed.

Pour the cheesecake filling over the baked crust. Gently tap the pan on a hard surface to release any air bubbles. Bake for 55-65 minutes, the edges will be set, while the center will still have some jiggle to it. Turn off the oven and crack the oven door open but leave the cheesecake in the turned off oven for an hour.
Now remove the cheesecake from the oven and release the springform, you may need a butter knife to run around the edges to release the cheesecake fully from the springform pan. Let the cheesecake cool completely. At this point you can spread on some lemon curd or decorate the top with some candied lemon pieces. I like mine as is. Refrigerate covered until ready to serve.