🍋 Best-Ever Lemon Cheesecake 🍋
Detailed Recipe & Step By Step Instruction Here 👇
📋 Ingredients:
Lemon Curd
🥚 Large Eggs: 4 large eggs
🍬 Granulated Sugar: 1 cup
🍋 Fresh Lemon Juice: 1/2 cup
🍋 Lemon Zest: 1 tablespoon
🧂 Salt: a pinch
🧈 Unsalted Butter: 1/4 cup
Crust
🍪 Graham Cracker Crumbs: 2 cups
🍬 Granulated Sugar: 1/4 cup
🧈 Unsalted Butter: 1/2 cup, melted
🧂 Salt: a pinch
Cheesecake Filling
🍬 Granulated Sugar: 1 cup
🍋 Lemon Zest: 1 tablespoon
🧀 Cream Cheese: 4 (8-ounce) packages, softened
🥣 Sour Cream: 1 cup
🍋 Fresh Lemon Juice: 1/2 cup
🥚 Large Eggs: 4 large eggs
📝 Instructions:
Lemon Curd
🥄 Combine Ingredients: In a medium size saucepan, whisk the eggs and sugar until combined. Add in lemon juice, zest, and salt. Heat over medium heat while whisking constantly for 2-3 minutes. 🍋
🧈 Add Butter: Add in the butter and continue to whisk until melted. Continue to whisk until the mixture thickens and coats the back of a spoon. 🥄
🍲 Transfer to Bowl: Remove from heat and transfer into a bowl. Cover with plastic wrap and press the plastic wrap down so it touches the top of the curd and prevents a film from forming across the top. 🌡️
❄️ Chill: Chill for 3 hours, or overnight before using in the cheesecake. You will likely have extras after making the cheesecake, but leftovers can be refrigerated for up to 2 weeks or frozen for up to 3 months. 🕒
Crust
🔥 Preheat Oven, Prepare Pan: Preheat the oven to 325 degrees Fahrenheit. Prepare a 10-inch springform pan by spraying lightly with cooking spray. 🥄
🍪 Crumb Mixture: Mix graham cracker crumbs, sugar, and melted butter together. This should resemble damp sand. 🥣
🥄 Add to Pan: Pour the crumb mixture into the prepared springform pan and press evenly into the pan. Use the bottom of a flat glass or a flat measuring cup to really press it in well and get a nice, even crust. 🍰
🔥 Bake: Bake for 10 minutes. Allow to cool completely. Keep the oven on as the cheesecake will bake at the same temperature. ⏲️
Cheesecake Filling
🍋 Sugar Mixture: Add the sugar and lemon zest to a small bowl. Use a fork to combine the sugar and zest, releasing the oils from the zest into the sugar to make lemon sugar. 🥄
🧀 Mix Cream Cheese: Add the softened cream cheese to the mixing bowl of a stand mixer and beat with a paddle at medium/high speed for about 1 minute. Scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl and beat for a few seconds more. 🥣
🍋 Combine: Add the lemon juice, lemon sugar and sour cream and mix at medium/low speed until just combined. Scrape the bowl again and mix for 30 seconds. 🍰
🥚 Add Eggs: Add the eggs one at a time and beat on low speed until combined, about 30 seconds-1 minute. Scrape the bowl again. 🥄
Bake The Cheesecake
🧊 Wrap Springform Pan: Using 18 inch heavy duty aluminum foil, wrap the outside of the springform pan with 4 sheets of foil, ensuring the sheets are long enough to go up all sides of the pan. 🧈
🍰 Place in a Deep Baking Sheet: Place the wrapped pan in a deep roasting pan. You can alternatively use a baking sheet, so long as the sides are about 2 inches deep. 🍪
🍋 Add Filling and Curd: Add half of the cheesecake batter to the pan. Spoon ¾-1 cup of lemon curd over the filling and then top with the remaining cheesecake batter. 🍰
🍋 Add More Curd: Spoon about 1 cup of lemon curd over the top in line. Use the back of a knife to drag through the curd, swirling it into the cheesecake. 🍋
💦 Add Water Bath: Using very hot water, add water to the baking sheet until there is about 1 ½ inch of water around the springform pan. Carefully move your pan to a rack in the oven that is positioned in the lower third of the oven. 🌊
🔥 Bake: Bake for 1-1 ½ hours. After about an hour of baking, check the cheesecake’s consistency. A slight jiggle of the pan (while still in the oven) should tell you if it’s ready or needs more time. The cheesecake should be jiggly, but not liquid. If it seems very liquidy still, give it 15 more minutes and check it again. ⏲️
❄️ Cool in Oven: Once the cheesecake is fairly firm but still has a slight wobble, turn the oven off but leave the cheesecake in the oven for another hour or so, until the oven has cooled down. Resist the temptation to open the oven during this time! 🍰
❄️ Remove: Once the oven and the cheesecake are cooled, remove from the oven and carefully remove the foil lining the pan. 🥄
❄️ Chill and Serve: Chill in the fridge for 4-6 hours, or overnight before serving. If you like an extra punch of lemon, top the cheesecake with the remaining lemon curd. 🍰
Notes 💡:
◻️ Use fresh lemon juice and zest for the best flavor. 🍋
◻️ Allow the cheesecake to cool in the oven to prevent cracking.
