Who doesn’t love a good lemon dessert to freshen your palette?
This sweet dish fuses the creaminess of cheesecake with the citrus delight of a lemon curd. The cheesecake portion (graham cracker crust and cake filling) is the same as the Strawberry Cheesecake recipe.
The only difference is the lemon curd. Sugar, egg yolk, lemon juice and some butter are all you need for the curd. Cook it in a silver bowl over a pot of simmering water for just 10 minutes, and you have a thick, tangy topping for your cheesecake.
Like the Strawberry Cheesecake, the 4-hour refrigeration will take up the most time for this recipe. But I promise the wait is worth the reward.
Prep time | 30 mins.
Bake time | 1 hr. 5 mins. (+ 6 hrs. refrigeration)
Yields | 12 slices
INGREDIENTS
Crust
- 450g graham crackers (any brand)
- 8 tbsp butter, melted
Filling
- 500g cream cheese, room temperature
- 1 cup sugar
- 3 tbsp sour cream
- 5 tbsp lemon juice
- 4 large eggs, room temperature
Lemon Curd Topping
- 6 tbsp lemon juice
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 5 large egg yolks
- 5 tbsp salted butter
INSTRUCTIONS
- Preheat oven to 320°F.
- Prepare an 8″ springform cake pan. Butter the bottom and sides before cutting parchment paper and sticking it to the pan (to the bottom and sides).
- Place the graham crackers in a reusable bag and start breaking them up with your hands and against a hard surface. Then, add all broken cracker pieces to the food processor. Process until the crumbs are very small, like sand.
- In a large bowl, add butter to the graham cracker mix and combine until the mix resembles wet sand.
- Add the crumbs to the cake pan, spreading it across the bottom and up the sides. I used the flat bottom of a measuring cup to flatten body and shape the edges against the sides. Make sure the crumbs reach about half way up the cake pan.
- Use a mixer or beater (if you don’t have either, use a fork) to mix the softened cream cheese. The softer the cream cheese is, the easier it will be to mix.
- Add sugar and flour to the cream cheese and mix until well combined. Then add the sour cream and lemon juice. Mix until well combined.
- Crack eggs and mix until well combined. Your filling should have a creamy consistency.
- Pour the filling into the crust until the filling is just below the top of the crust. Now here, we had some filling left over. Instead of throwing it away (we don’t like to waste food!), we actually made a smaller cheesecake in a square pan. If you have a cupcake pan, you can always make cheesecake cupcakes.
- Place the cake pan in the oven for 50 mins.
- When the cheesecake is ready, let it cool in the oven for 10 mins. with the door open. Just remember to turn off the oven.
- Then, remove the cake pan’s side, leaving the cake on the bottom part of the pan, and refrigerate for 4 hours.
- Once the cheesecake has been in the fridge for about 3 hrs., start making the lemon curd. The lemon curd takes approximately 10 mins. to make.
- Combine all ingredients in a large metal bowl, and put the bowl over a pot of simmering water. Don’t boil the water, or else the heat will be too hot. You can lift the bowl every few minutes to release the steam.
- Whisk the mixture constantly until the consistency is thick. Refrigerate until cool and thickened for approximately 30 mins. It should be ready by the cheesecake’s 4-hour mark.
- Once the 4-hour mark is up, remove the cheesecake from the fridge and slide the parchment paper out from under the cake.
- Spread the lemon curd in an even layer on top of the cheesecake. You can add whip cream to the cake’s edges (but I’m not a fan of whip cream).
- Refrigerate cheesecake until ready to serve. For decoration, cut a few slices of lemon and top the cake off with them. Cut and enjoy!
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