Lovely & Oh So Lemony Cheesecake
This lemon cheesecake has a sunny, perfectly tart flavor and a smooth, sweet custard filling set without a water bath (the only way we do cheesecake around here!). It’s accented by a crisp graham cracker crust and lush homemade whipped cream for a beautifully balanced dessert any cheesecake lover will absolutely adore. I’ve received a lot of requests for a lemon version of my classic cheesecake. I tried many methods to achieve this, like adding lemon juice, zest, and even extract to the batter–but everything yielded flat-tasting, so-so results. Finally, I had a breakthrough while making my lemon frosting; perhaps the best way to make lemon cheesecake was to build it on a lemon curd base! That method was a clear winner, and it’s the one I’m sharing with you today. It produces a brightly flavored lemon cheesecake with the perfect level of tartness and sweetness–exactly what I was looking for, and hopefully what you’re looking for too!
What You Need
Even with the extra step of making your own lemon curd, there are not many ingredients needed to make this lemon cheesecake; here are a few of the important ones:
Lemon juice. Fresh squeezed is best. I typically need about three lemons, but you may need more or less depending on the size of yours. Egg yolks. You’ll need only the yolks for your lemon curd, so save your egg whites for Oreo cupcakes or confetti cupcakes–both use exactly three egg whites! Light brown sugar. I use a blend of granulated and light brown sugar in my crust for a richer flavor. You can use dark-brown sugar in a pinch (or homemade brown sugar), but just know it will impart a stronger flavor. Cream cheese. I only recommend using full-fat, brick style cream cheese. Anything else (tub-style, low-fat, etc.) won’t work the same and your cheesecake may not set properly.
One ingredient you’ll notice we’re not using today is vanilla extract. It subdued the lemon flavor of the cheesecake too much, so we’ll leave it out! SAM’S TIP: You may notice the crust I’m using today has a little bit less butter than usual. This is intentional! The batter for this lemon cheesecake is somewhat wetter than the one for my classic cheesecake, so I reduced the butter in the crust just a tad to prevent a soggy crust and any leaks while in the oven. Remember, this is just an overview of the ingredients I used and why. For the full recipe please scroll down to the bottom of the post!
How to Make Lemon Cheesecake
SAM’S TIPS FOR AVOIDING CRACKS: Since we aren’t using a water bath today, make sure you’re taking precautions to avoid cracks, like not over-beating the batter (incorporating too much air) and not over-beating the eggs (can make the texture of the cheesecake funny). I’ve also learned that if you press the crust up higher than the cheesecake batter will reach, the crust will shrink with the cheesecake as it cools and will keep your cheesecake from cracking. I know so many of you have been anticipating this one, and I hope it exceeds your expectations. 💛 Enjoy! Let’s bake together! I’ll be walking you through all the steps in my written recipe and video below! If you try this recipe, be sure to tag me on Instagram, and you can also find me on YouTube and Facebook
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