Amy in the Kitchen

A food blog with southern style recipes and decadent desserts

Lemon Cheesecake with Lemon Curd Topping

“This lemon cheesecake is so rich and creamy! The lemon flavor is perfection!”Lemon Cheesecake with Lemon Curd. The lightest, creamiest lemon cheesecake you'll ever try!

I can’t tell you how excited I am about this recipe for lemon cheesecake! If you are looking for a delicious, lemony dessert…please…look no further! 🍋

It’s rich, creamy and full of bold citrus flavor. This lemon cheesecake has it all!

It reminds me of the cold, refreshing lemon icebox pie they serve at B-B-Q restaurants here in the south.

Yummy!

Lemon Cheesecake

Lemon Cheesecake with Lemon Curd. The lightest, creamiest lemon cheesecake you'll ever try!

This already delicious, lemon cheesecake is topped off with a homemade lemon curd that makes the flavor really pop. If you don’t want to make homemade lemon curd, you can always buy it pre-made from your grocery store. Lemon curd is very easy to make and it only takes about 10-15 minutes. The only hard thing about it is having to whisk constantly until it thickens, but the end result is worth it.

The graham cracker crust is perfectly sweetened with light brown sugar and dollops of homemade whipped cream on the top help to marry all of the bold flavors together.

Lemon Cheesecake with Lemon Curd. The lightest, creamiest lemon cheesecake you'll ever try!

I love to use the water-bath method when baking cheesecakes because I find it helps the cheesecake to bake more evenly. It helps to keep the sides of the cake a nice light color instead of browning and the top is less likely to crack as well. If you’ve never used a water-bath, check out my video after the recipe to find out how easy it is!

And as always…Enjoy!

If you are looking for an eggless cheesecake recipe, try this AMAZING recipe for Vanilla Bean Cheesecake. It will knock your socks off!

The BEST Vanilla Bean Cheesecake EVER! This is a Cheesecake Factory copycat. It's an eggless cheesecake and it's to die for!!

 

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Lemon Cheesecake with Lemon Curd. The lightest, creamiest lemon cheesecake you'll ever try!

Lemon Cheesecake

★★★★★ 4.8 from 5 reviews
  • Author:
  • Prep Time: 25 mins
  • Cook Time: 60 mins
  • Total Time: 1 hour 25 minutes
  • Yield: 12
Print Recipe

Ingredients

Crust

  • 1.5 cups crushed graham crackers
  • 1/4 cup light brown sugar
  • 1 stick unsalted butter, melted
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract

Lemon Cheesecake Filling

  • 32 oz. cream cheese, room temperature
  • 4 T unsalted butter, room temperature
  • 1 cup granulated sugar
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • 6 T fresh lemon juice
  • 3 eggs, room temperature
  • 1 cup sour cream, room temperature
  • 1/4 cup flour

Lemon Curd

  • 3 eggs
  • 3 egg yolks
  • 2/3 cup sugar
  • 6 T fresh lemon juice
  • 1 stick unsalted butter, cubed

Whipped Cream

  • 1 cup heavy whipping cream
  • 4 T powdered sugar

Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 350° and line a 9″ spring-form pan with parchment paper.

Graham Cracker Crust

  1. Place ingredients in a small bowl and stir with a fork until fully combined.
  2. Press the mixture into the bottom of the spring-form pan making sure that the crust is firmly packed.
  3. Bake for 10-12 minutes, remove from oven and set aside to cool.
  4. Turn oven down to 320°.

Lemon Cheesecake Filling

  1. Using a stand or electric mixer on low speed, beat the cream cheese, butter and sugar until smooth and creamy. Scrape down the sides of the bowl as necessary to insure everything is being mixed evenly.
  2. Add the vanilla extract and lemon juice. Beat on low until well blended.
  3. Add the eggs one at a time, scraping down the sides of the bowl after each addition.
  4. Add the sour cream and flour and continue to mix until fully incorporated.
  5. Remember not to over mix to avoid incorporating air into the batter.
  6. Pour the filling into the spring-form pan and smooth the top with an off-set spatula.
  7. Gently tap the spring-form pan a few times on a hard surface to release any air bubbles.
  8. Place in the water bath and bake for 1 hour.
  9. Turn the oven off, crack the door and allow the cheesecake to cool inside of the oven for 1 hour.
  10. Remove the cheesecake, run a sharp knife around the inside edge of the pan and let it continue to cool to room temperature.
  11. Place the cheesecake in the refrigerator overnight to set.

Lemon Curd

  1. Add 1 inch of water into a medium sauce pan and heat until it is at a gentle simmer.
  2. In a medium glass bowl, whisk the eggs, egg yolks, sugar and lemon juice together until well combined.
  3. Place the bowl on top of the sauce pan and continue to whisk constantly for about 10 minutes or until the mixture thickens. You can check with a thermometer if you’d like. You want the mixture to be at 160°.
  4. Remove the bowl from the heat and stir in the cubed butter until it has melted and the mixture is smooth and creamy.
  5. Let the lemon curd cool to room temperature, pour into an airtight container and then place in the refrigerator to set.

Whipped Cream

  1. Beat the cream in a medium size bowl until it starts to thicken.
  2. Add the powdered sugar and continue to whip until it forms stiff peaks.

Assembly

  1. Remove the cheesecake from the spring-form pan.
  2. Spread the lemon curd evenly on top of the cheesecake and smooth with an off-set spatula.
  3. Using a piping bag, pipe dollops of whipped cream on top to decorate.
  4. Enjoy!

 

Lemon Cheesecake with Lemon Curd. The lightest, creamiest lemon cheesecake you'll ever try!

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Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. I made this for my boss’s birthday. It came out good. I added a 1/2 teaspoon of lemon extract hoping it would bring out the lemon flavor. It didn’t. If I ever do it again, I will do a lot more. I also left off the lemon curd because I wasn’t sure how it would come out. My cheesecake cracked during the cooling process (oven off and door slightly open).

    ★★★★

  2. these cheesecakes sound so scrumpous, Is there any way to make them Diabetic.? How would they taste.? can you replace some items with light, non fat, and a way to cut the carbs.?

    • Hi Carol, unfortunately I do not know how to make this for a diabetic. I would hate to give you poor advice on the subject.

    • After you take the side off, take a long knife or a flat spatula and run it between the parchment paper and the crust, this should release it and allow you to slide the cheesecake right off.

  5. What beautiful photos of a perfectly textured cheesecake (IMHO). I don’t know what it is about lemon I’ve been crazy for it lately. Can’t wait make this. Love the water bath also.

    ★★★★★

  9. I just wanted to let you know that I made this for my boss’ 70th birthday and he, being a bit of a cheesecake connoisseur, said it was the best cheesecake he ever had. The crust was amazing. I did cheat a bit and use a store bought lemon curd to cut back on some of the assembly time, but all in all it was fantastic. I had a bit of an issue with the amount of butter in the crust, it leaked through my pan and dripped in my oven. But – it’s such a great crust, I didn’t even care! Thanks for sharing.

    ★★★★★

    • Hi Lori! I’m sorry about the leaking crust. I haven’t really pinned down why it does that sometimes. I’m starting to think it depends on the brand… anyway thank you for letting me know how much you like it! 🙂

  10. I have been using this method for many years and it works beautifully. I bake cheesecakes for others and my self all the time. I will be searching your site for new ideas and I am also new to your site family. Thank you for what I have previewed so far and I am looking forward to a continuous baking relationship.

    Carolyn B

    • I love the water bath method. I haven’t had a bad experience yet! Thanks for stopping by and let me know if you try any of the recipes 🙂

  11. HI AMY!
    I PRAY ALL IS WELL AND CONGRATULATIONS TO YOU AND YOUR FAMILY ON THE NEW FAMILY MEMBER COMING SOON!
    I DO HAVE AN QUESTION (AS USUAL) I WANT OT MAKE A PINEAPPLE CHEESECAKE WITH YOUR ABOVE RECIPES AS A TEMPLATE BUT OF COURSE CHANGE THE FRUIT AND IS IT POSSIBLE IF I MAKE THE CRUST A PINEAPPLE DUMP CAKE CRUST ( YOU KNOW THE CLASSIC DUMP CAKE RECIPES) AND THEN POUR THE CHEESECAKE BATTER ON TOP AND BAKE? DO YOU THINK THIS WOULD WORK ?OR PLEASE ADVISE YOUR SUGGESTION…THANK YOU SO MUCH !

  12. Thank you! This recipe was wonderful and my family loved it.
    The only change I made was to decorate the top with fresh raspberries instead of the whipped cream–I had to make it a day early and was worried about the cream holding up, the raspberries went nicely. 🙂

    ★★★★★

    • Hi Sybil, I bet the raspberries were amazing with this cheesecake! Raspberries are my favorite fruit to combine with cheesecake. Thanks for letting me know how it turned out! 🙂

  13. This looks great! I would love to try a variation on this Lemon cheesecake concept except use Key Lime with a Macadamia Nut, flaked coconut crust.