This Lemon Cheesecake recipe is a decadent, creamy cheesecake topped with homemade lemon curd packed with fresh lemon flavor in every bite!
If New York Cheesecake combined with Lemon Bars, you’d get this creamy, smooth cheesecake with a light lemon flavor topped with a punchy tart lemon curd. Truly one of the best Cheesecake recipes you’ll ever make.
Sabrina’s Lemon Cheesecake
Cheesecake with Lemon Curd is a decadent dessert packed with fresh lemon flavor as bright as a summer day. This beautiful dessert is completely homemade, from the graham cracker crust layer to the creamy baked cheesecake filling to the tart lemon curd. It takes a little longer than other lemon desserts, but it is worth it! You’ll also find not a drop of lemon extract in sight. Five to six large lemons should be plenty for the cheesecake filling and the lemon curd.
Recipe Card
Ingredients
Graham Cracker Crust:
- 1.5 cups graham cracker crumbs (12 full crackers)
- 1/4 cup sugar
- 6 tablespoons unsalted butter , melted
Cheesecake Filling:
- 24 ounces cream cheese , softened (3 blocks)
- 3/4 cup sugar
- 3 large eggs
- 1/3 cup sour cream
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 2 tablespoons lemon zest
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice
- 2 tablespoons flour
Lemon Curd:
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter
- 3/4 cup sugar
- 3 large eggs
- 3/4 cup lemon juice , freshly squeezed
Instructions
Graham Cracker Crust:
- Preheat oven to 325 degrees and wrap a 9-inch springform pan in a large piece of foil to protect from the water bath. Fill a large pan of water you can set the springform pan in to bake.
- Mix the graham cracker crumbs, sugar, and melted butter together then press it into the springform pan in an even layer.
Cheesecake Filling:
- To your stand mixer add the cream cheese and sugar, then mix on high speed using the paddle attachment until light and fluffy.
- Lower the speed to medium and add in the eggs, sour cream, vanilla, lemon zest, lemon juice, and flour until smooth.
- Carefully spread the mixture on the crust.
- Place the pan in the water bath and bake for 60-70 minutes or until it no longer jiggles in the center.
- Turn off the oven, open the door a couple of inches to let the heat out gently, and let cool for an hour then remove from the oven.
Lemon Curd:
- To your stand mixer add the butter and sugar creaming it together until lightened in color and fluffy, 2-3 minutes on high speed.
- Add in the eggs one at a time until fully incorporated.
- Add in the lemon juice until well combined.
- Add the mixture to a large saucepan over medium heat and whisk constantly.
- Keep whisking until thick enough that the whisk going through the pan leaves a mark in the lemon curd (12-15 minutes).
To Finish:
- Pour the lemon curd over the cheesecake.
- Chill completely before serving.
- Top with whipped cream and a tiny wedge of lemon.
Nutrition
Want to save this recipe? Create a free account to easily save your favorite recipes
Table of Contents
About this Recipe
The Cheesecake is the perfect dessert for the end of Summer or for Spring holidays. Give this cheesecake a show-stopping finish by scoring the top into individual slices. Then pipe each section with some fresh Whipped Cream. Top with a candied lemon peel, thin lemon slices, or a sprinkle of grated lemon zest for the most picture perfect, beautiful slices.
Chef’s Note
This recipe calls for a water bath so make sure you have a spring-form pan and a deep baking pan it can fit into with room to spare. A water bath is hands down the best cooking method for an egg-heavy baked cheesecake. The steam creates a humid environment as the filling bakes, cooking the eggs evenly and giving it that signature silky smooth texture cheesecake lovers crave.
Ingredients
- Fresh Lemon: For maximum lemon punch, this recipe uses fresh lemon and lemon zest. To get the most juice, start with warm lemons and roll the lemons on a hard, flat surface with the palm of your hand to loosen them. Always zest lemons (or other citrus fruits) before you juice them, it’s hard to zest a juiced fruit.
- Sour Cream: This cheesecake uses sour cream instead of heavy whipping cream to give it a little extra tang. Sour cream also makes your cheesecake light and fluffy because it breaks up the heavy cream cheese.
- Lemon Curd: Don’t be intimidated. No need for a double boiler or mesh strainer, just a whisk and a little elbow grease for smooth lemon curd in no time. The top layer of lemon curd makes this the perfect dessert for lemon lovers. It is tart, sweet, and smooth, and a great, fancy topping to master if you love to bake. A dollop can make any summer dessert Top Chef worthy.
Can this be made ahead of time?
You can prepare a baked cheesecake or just the lemony filling in advance. Once you bake Lemon Cheesecake, it will stay good in the fridge for about 2-3 days before it starts releasing a lot of moisture and isn’t as pretty. The cheesecake batter can also be made about 3-4 days ahead of time and refrigerated as long as you keep it in an airtight container. The day you want to serve it, simply pour the lemon cheesecake filling into a prepared pie crust and bake cheesecake as usual. Just give yourself enough time to let the cheesecake chill.
How to Store
- Serve: After topping with lemon curd, refrigerate the cheesecake until completely chilled before serving. Once chilled, it can be at room temperature for about 2 hours.
- Store: The cheesecake and lemon curd will stay good for up to 5 days in the refrigerator. You can make it in advance and the lemon flavor deepens overnight. Make up to 2 days in advance for the best looking cheesecake.
- Freeze: You can freeze cheesecake for up to 4 months. Wrap tightly with plastic wrap and aluminum foil after the cheesecake is completely chilled. Remove the plastic wrap and cover with foil again before thawing so moisture doesn’t collect.
Frequently Asked Questions
If you use low-fat cheesecake or sour cream, it can make your cheesecake filling runny. The fat doesn’t just make the filling indulgent and flavorful, it also helps bind the liquids so you want to use full fat dairy for a perfectly firm cheesecake.
It’s so frustrating when you realize you don’t have room temperature cream cheese to make your creamy dessert! With a microwave and a small bowl you can speed up the process and get back to baking. Microwave cream cheese cubes in 10-15 second intervals until soft but not melted and still slightly cool.
Achieve a flawless, crack-free cheesecake by gently mixing the filling and using a water bath. Giving your cheesecake time to cool slowly in the oven with the door slightly ajar for an hour after turning off the heat will prevent cracks too.
Variations
- Citrus: You can swap out any citrus for lemons in this cheesecake recipe. Try blood oranges, naval oranges, tangerines, or limes. Make combinations of citrus flavors or go with one bold flavor depending on what is in season.
- Meyer Lemons: Meyer lemons are a bit sweeter than regular lemons, and Meyer lemon zest has more floral notes. They are more expensive than regular lemons but are a good option if you like lemon flavor without so much tart lemon punch.
- Crust: Swap out the graham cracker cookies with vanilla wafers, Biscoff cookies, leftover Shortbread Cookies, or animal crackers. Replace a couple tablespoons granulated sugar with brown sugar in the crust mixture to give it a slight caramel flavor.
Related Recipes
More Delicious Cheesecakes
The following photos were used in previous versions of this post
This looked SO BEAUTIFUL and surely was much MUCH better than the one I had months ago at this fancy bakery nearby. I am definitely adding this to my Christmas dinner menu, as my family loves lemon desserts!
It is a beautiful dessert and so glad you enjoyed it David. Thank you for the kind review.