Lemon Cheesecake
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This Lemon Cheesecake is smooth, thick and creamy! It’s got a light lemon flavor in the cheesecake and big lemon punch from the lemon curd on top! A great combination of sweet and tart!
So it totally blows my mind that kids are going back to school around here this week. I mean, July literally just ended! What happened to summers lasting until Labor Day? It’s nutty. Poor kiddos! And though it doesn’t effect me from the stand point of having kids, I have to say I’m always bummed when the traffic comes back. We are surrounded by schools and it’s just unavoidable and not super fun.
Not to mention that with school starting back, it makes me feel like I should be thinking about fall and apples and such and I’m just so not ready for that. I mean the month of August is sort of getting towards the end of summer, but not really. It’s still plenty hot. So hot that Jessie has to wait until it’s almost dark now for her “afternoon” walk. I just can’t handle melting every afternoon. I draw the line at melting. 🙂
So I hope you’re still hanging onto summer like me, because this Lemon Cheesecake feels more like summer than fall. Though truthfully, I will totally eat lemon any time of year. Yum, yum and yum. I may have broken my diet several times eating this cheesecake. May have.
If you haven’t done much cheesecake baking, don’t be intimidated. They can take a little time to put together purely because of the steps involved with making the crust and filling – and then of course the long bake time – but honestly, they aren’t hard. And boy are they worth it! I have loved cheesecake since I was a kid and have always been picky about the texture and this one is perfect. So thick, smooth and creamy. No gelatin here, friends. No sir.
To start, I used vanilla wafer cookies for the crust. You could absolutely swap them out for graham cracker crumbs, but if you’ve never tried those cookies as a crust before you must. I toss a bit of sugar in there and it really is one of my very favorite crusts. It’s pre-baked before adding the cheesecake filling, so you can work on the filling while it’s in the oven.
The filling is a blend of all the best things in a cheesecake – cream cheese, sugar, sour cream and eggs. And then of course for this cheesecake we’ve got lemon zest and lemon juice. I use a very finely grated lemon zest so that it blends in well throughout the cheesecake.
The cheesecake bakes in a water bath. If you aren’t familiar with setting up your pan for a water bath, check out my tutorial. It really isn’t hard and a water bath is SO much better than not using one. It helps keep the cheesecake moist, it keeps it from sinking in the center and it helps keep it from cracking.
The other things that are important in keeping a cheesecake from cracking are being sure to not mix the filling on a high speed (which incorporates air bubbles that cause cracks) and cooling the cheesecake slowly. I walk you through it in the instructions below so it’s nice and easy.
The cheesecake is then topped with whipped cream and lemon curd. The lemon curd is to die for! So sweet and tart! I have a fair amount on top of this baby because I love it so. It firms up in the fridge, but will soften fairly quickly when out of the fridge.
I hope you love this cheesecake as much as I do! If you are a lemon fan, I have no doubt about it. Enjoy! 🙂
You might also like:
No Bake Lemon Cheesecake
Berry Lemon Cheesecake Cookie Cups
Lemon Blueberry Cheesecake
Mini Lemon Raspberry Cheesecakes
Lemon Berry Yogurt Trifles
Creamy Lemon Tart
Lemon Blueberry Cupcakes
Lemon Oreo Cheesecake
Lemon Cheesecake
This Lemon Cheesecake is smooth, thick and creamy! It’s got a light lemon flavor in the cheesecake and big lemon punch from the lemon curd on top! A great combination of sweet and tart!
- Prep Time: 1 hour
- Cook Time: 1 hour 15 minutes
- Total Time: 2 hours 15 minutes
- Yield: 12-14 Servings 1x
- Category: Dessert
- Method: Oven
- Cuisine: American
Ingredients
CRUST
- 2 ¼ cups (302g) vanilla wafer crumbs
- ½ cup (112g) salted butter, melted
- 3 tbsp (39g) sugar
CHEESECAKE
- 24 ounces (678g) cream cheese, room temperature
- 1 cup (207g) sugar
- 3 tbsp (24g) all purpose flour
- 1 cup (240ml) sour cream
- 3 tbsp (45ml) lemon juice
- 1 tbsp lemon zest
- 4 large eggs, room temperature
LEMON CURD
- 6 tbsp (90ml) lemon juice
- 1 tbsp grated lemon zest
- 2/3 cup (138g) sugar
- 6 large egg yolks
- 5 tbsp (65g) salted butter
WHIPPED CREAM
- 3/4 cup (180ml) heavy whipping cream, cold
- 6 tbsp (43g) powdered sugar
- 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
Instructions
CRUST
1. Preheat oven to 325°F (163°C). Line a 9-inch springform pan with parchment paper in the bottom and grease the sides.
2. Mix together the crust ingredients until well combined and press the mixture into the bottom and up the sides of the springform pan.
3. Bake the crust for 10 minutes, then set aside to cool.
4. Cover the outsides of the pan with aluminum foil to prepare it for a water bath. Here is a tutorial on how I set up a pan for a waterbath. Set prepared pan aside.
FILLING
1. Reduce oven temperature to 300°F (148°C).
2. In a large bowl, beat the cream cheese, sugar and flour on low speed until well combined and smooth. Be sure to use low speed to reduce the amount of air added to the batter, which can cause cracks. Scrape down the sides of the bowl.
3. Add the sour cream, lemon juice and lemon zest and mix on low speed until well combined.
4. Add eggs one at a time, mixing slowly to combine. Scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed to make sure everything is well combined.
5. Pour the cheesecake batter into the crust and spread evenly.
6. Place the springform pan inside another larger pan. Fill the outside pan with enough warm water to go about halfway up the sides of the springform pan. The water should not go above the top edge of the aluminum foil on the springform pan.
7. Bake the cheesecake for 65 minutes.
8. Turn off the oven and leave the cheesecake in oven with the door closed for 15 minutes. Do not open the door or you’ll release the heat.
9. Crack oven door and leave the cheesecake in the oven for another 20 minutes. This cooling process helps the cheesecake cool slowly to prevent cracks.
10. Remove from oven and let sit on the counter for 15 minutes, then remove the pan from the water bath and remove aluminum foil. Refrigerate cheesecake until completely cooled and firm, 6-7 hours.
LEMON CURD
1. While cheesecake cools, make the lemon curd. Combine all ingredients in a double boiler, or in a metal bowl over a pot of simmering water. Do not boil the water or the heat will be too hot. Occasionally lift the bowl off the pot to release the steam.
2. Heat while whisking constantly until mixture thickens and reaches 160°F (71°C). Refrigerate until cool and thickened.
TO FINISH OFF THE CHEESECAKE
1. When the cheesecake is cool and firm, remove from the springform pan and set on a serving plate.
2. To make the whipped cream, add heavy whipping cream, powdered sugar and vanilla extract to a mixing bowl fitted with the whisk attachment and whip until stiff peaks form.
3. Pipe swirls of whipped cream around the edge of the cheesecake.
4. Spread the lemon curd in an even layer on top of the cheesecake.
5. Refrigerate cheesecake until ready to serve. Cheesecake is best for 2-3 days.
Notes
I used 3 full lemons for the lemon zest and juice used in the cheesecake and lemon curd.
Keywords: lemon dessert recipe, cheesecake recipe, how to make cheesecake
Enjoy!
I'm a wife and mom to twin boys and a sweet black lab with a serious sweets addiction! Bring on the sugar!
With all the crazy complicated or mile-high chocolatey cheesecakes you see all over Pinterest etc right now, it’s so refreshing to see a nice simple but perfect looking recipe like this! I love that you made your own curd too, not enough people do, and it’s so delicious when homemade. I think I’ll definitely need to give this one a try, baked cheesecakes aren’t so popular here in the UK but I’m sure I can convert a few people!
Kids here don’t start school until the end of August, so you can bet we’re still in summer mode out here. Which means that this cheesecake is beyond perfect. So pretty!
This is gorgeous!!!
Yummy! Looks beautiful! And I love that lemon curd on top 🙂
Using vanilla wafers for the crust is such a great idea! It would be so nice for a cheesecake!
Note: I uses 3 full lemons – say what? LOL!
I use gingersnaps in my crust. Have you tried it? You should. It adds a little “spice”.
This looks so refreshing not to mention looks delicious as always! I will definitely try this. I love citrus flavors. Keep it up!????
I’d love to try this recipe but is it necessary to do the waterbath or could I just put the tray with the cheesecake directly in the oven? I don’t have a bigger one to fill with water.. thanks!
You can forgo the waterbath, but you won’t need to make the cheesecake as long. It’ll also likely fall in the center as it cools, have browner edges and be a little less creamy.
I’m going to make this for one of my desserts at Easter. 🙂 In an effort to reduce air while mixing the cheesecake is it better to use a hand mixer or the stand mixer?
I think a stand mixer is better – you have much more control over the speed of the mixer.
This cheesecake is to DIE for! My guests loved it and couldn’t believe I made it myself! I admit to using jarred lemon curd….but I had a jar that needed using up! I am sure homemade curd is fab, but the jarred curd didn’t hurt it in the least.
I did use home grown lemons from my Meyer Lemon Tree, so I hope that makes up for using jarred lemon curd. LOL
Cheesecakes are one of my favorite things to bake. So thankful I found your site….I was getting tired of the recipes I had!! I have made many of your cheesecakes and this is one of my favs! So light and flavorful. Thank you for the detailed and easy to follow instructions. God Bless you!
★★★★★
Awesome! So glad to hear that! I certainly have plenty of cheesecake to choose from. Let me know if you ever have any requests!
After 15 mins to cool out the oven. Do you refrigerate the cheese cake still hot? or do you let it cool completely before putting it in the refrigerator?
Yes, you can put it straight into the refrigerator.
This is a great cheesecake with a perfect lemon flavor. We loved it so much. Thank you for the recipe, Lisa.
★★★★★
I’m so glad you enjoyed the cheesecake!
Absolutely love this recipe! ❤
So lemony, so yummy!!!!
★★★★★
I’m so glad! Thanks Kerri!
This cake is beautiful and delicious, however, it was not fully set and the curd was running off. Any ideas/suggestions? And the curd was sliding off the cake. I followed the baking time and extra time in the oven per instructions.
★★★★★
If the cheesecake wasn’t fully set, it either didn’t cook long enough or wasn’t fully cooled. To make sure it’s done in the oven, you want the edges to be set and the center to still be a little jiggly in the center and not still glossy. Then proceed with the cooling process in the oven and fridge. As for the curd, this one is a little thinner. If you’d like a thicker lemon curd that stays in place, I’d try the one on my Lemon Meringue Cheesecake.
I made it this past weekend. My cheesecake was not fully cooked, it was a little jiggly in the centre when I took it out, I did not worry as it said it would be but definitely not cooked long enough. The second this is I made the lemon curd, took a bit for it to start thickening, recipe did not give a timeline for that. I put it in the fridge, when it was time to put on the cheesecake it was so thick it was hard to spread. I followed the recipe exactly as it was my first time. How do I know when the curd is thick enough to put in the fridge. It was so thick it was crazy, after taking it out of the fridge.
I suppose it sounds like the cheesecake may have needed to bake a little bit longer. If you’re not sure what to look for, it can be hard to tell. But you want the outer part of the cheesecake to be pretty set and the inner couple of inches to still be kind of jiggly when you turn off the oven and start the cooling process.
As for the lemon curd, one way to tell that it’s thick enough is when it coats the back of a spoon. To me that doesn’t seem super descriptive, which is why I include the temperature to cook it to. I also have a whole separate post on making lemon curd that you could take a look at too. There might be some helpful tips in there. https://www.lifeloveandsugar.com/lemon-curd/
Made it. Loved it!
Followed the recipe to a T, except I used chocolate graham crackers as a crust, only used half of the lemon curd on top, and then added home made blueberry jam. Frickin amazing! Thank you Lindsay!
Too bad we can’t add the finished product photos!
★★★★★
I’m so glad to hear that! Sounds awesome!
I have made quite a few of your recipes Lindsay …. but I made this Lemon Cheesecake for Thanksgiving and EVERYONE said it was the best thing I have ever made. It looked beautiful and tasted amazing. Thank you!!
★★★★★
Awesome! I’m so glad it was such a hit! Thanks Teri!
I make it today it is summer here in SA. it has incredible taste. I didn’t achieve same presentation but it was close enough. Everybody said it was worth it. At the end of the day you are doing it once a year. Thank you a lot for sharing it.
Regards
Eugene
I followed the recipe exactly including the water bath. I have never made a more delicious cheesecake or tasted a more delicious cheesecake. Phenomenal!
I decorated it with whipped cream sweetened with a touch of powdered sugar from my new whipped cream charger.
Everyone loved it! Super creamy. Super delicious. Worth every calorie.
★★★★★
So glad to hear you enjoyed it!
I made this cheesecake last weekend and it was fabulous. Made another curd recipe, used a gluten free crust and gluten free flour in the cheesecake. Used 2 pkgs light cream cheese and one regular, and light sour cream. Followed baking directions, but cooked for 85 min, then the 15 min with oven off and 20 min with oven open. The whole cheesecake was consumed. Thanks for a great recipe.
★★★★★