This Lemon meringue cheesecake is a must for all lemon lovers! The flavor is a perfect balance between sweet and tart. Every bite has a mix of textures from the crunchy graham cracker base, smooth cheesecake, silky lemon curd and fluffy meringue. In other words, it is absolutely delicious.
Lemon meringue cheesecake layers
This majestic looking lemon meringue cheesecake is a mouthfull in more than one way! This dreamy dessert is built with:
Graham cracker base – Graham cracker or digestive cookies are crumbled in a food proccessor with melted butter, then pre-baked in the oven. Many recipes call for sugar in the base, but in this case I find it unnecessary since we have sweetness from the meringue topping.
Lemon cheesecake – This cheesecake has the perfect texture of a creamy, yet not runny bite. This is achieved through cooking it on a low oven setting for a longer time (including the cooldown in the oven). The base is a classic Philadelphia cheesecake with sour cream for extra tanginess and fragrant lemon zest that has been massaged into the sugar for some brightness.
Lemon curd – Silky and tart lemon curd not only adds delicous flavor but the most satisfying texture to each bite. It might seem a bit too tart on it’s own, but it is the perfect topping that marries the flavors from the cheesecake with the meringue.
Italian meringue – It wouldn’t be a lemon meringue cheesecake without the meringue! Italian meringue simply means that you add hot syrup in a thin drizzle as you whip the egg whites. This cooks the meringue and stabilizes it which is necessary since we want the meringue to hold it’s shape and not start to weep. Torching the outside for the final touch is so much fun!
This cheesecake might seem like a challange due to it’s impressive layers, but it is much easier than it looks. I have written all my tips and tricks for the perfect cheesecake further down.
Tips for baking a perfect cheesecake
Use room temperatured ingredients – This includes the eggs, cream cheese and sour cream. This ensures that the batter will be smooth and combined evenly. Using cold ingredients can affect both the baking time and may also cause the batter to be chunky with cream cheese curdles. A trick I like to use to speed up the process of bringing the ingredients to room temperature, is to everything in hot (not boiling) water for 10 minutes.
Mix low and slow – Any air bubbles will cause the cheesecake to crack. To avoid incorporating excess air, mix on the lowest setting and tap the springform with the cheesecake batter against a hard surface before baking to burst any bigger bubbles.
Allow to cool gently – After the cheesecake is finished baking, let it cool down in the oven with the oven turned off and the ovendoor slightly cracked open. This slow cooldown process will help keep any cracks away from your cheesecake.
Waterbath – There are plenty of methods for waterbaths. Either cover the edges of the springform with aluminium foil and place the springform in a deep roasting pan filled with hot water. Alternatively, place the roasting pan filled with water at the bottom of the oven, while the springform is placed in the center of the oven. The waterbath will help cook the cheesecake more evenly, and without deflating or cracking.
Jiggle test – Another key moment in cheesecake baking is knowing when it is time to finish the baking. A good indication of the cheesecake being done is the corner of the form being firm, while the center has a slight jiggle. If it wobbles like liquid, it is too soon to stop baking. But if it slightly jiggles like firm jello just in the center, then it is ready. Remember that the cheesecake will keep cooking after the oven is turned off from residual heat.
Looking for more Cheesecake recipes?
Lemon Meringue Cheesecake
Ingredients
Graham cracker crust
- 1 1/2 cups (210 g) graham cracker crumbs
- 6 tbsp (90 g) butter, melted
Lemon Cheesecake
- 32 ounces (900 g) philadelphia cream cheese
- 1 cup (200 g) sour cream
- 3 large eggs
- 1 cup (200 g) granulated sugar
- 1 tbsp lemon zest (about 1 lemon)
- 1 tbsp vanilla extract or paste
Lemon curd
- 1/2 cup (100 ml) fresh lemon juice
- 2 tbsp lemon zest (about 2 lemons)
- 1/4 cup (50 g) granulated sugar
- 6 tbsp (90 g) butter, cubed and room temperatured
- 5 large egg yolks
Italian meringue topping
- 5 large egg whites
- 1 1/4 cup granulated sugar
- 2/3 cup water
- 1 tsp lemon juice or vinegar
Instructions
Lemon curd
- In a medium sized saucepan, rub the lemon zest with the sugar until fragrant.
- Rigurously beat the lemon sugar with the egg yolks until pale yellow.
- Whisk in the lemon juice and cook on medium low heat, continuously whisking until the curd thickens.
- Remove from heat and whisk in the butter a little at the time until all the butter has been incorporated. Transfer the lemon curd to a bowl and cover with plastic wrap, touching the surface of the curd with the plastic. Allow to cool in the fridge until assembly time.
Graham cracker crust
- Preheat the oven to 350 ℉ (175℃) and grease all sides of a 9 inch (23 cm) springpan. Cover the bottom with parchment paper.
- Mix the melted butter with the graham cracker crumbs until evenly combined.
- Pour the crumbs into the springform and press the the crumbs tightly to form a crust in the bottom and sides of the pan.
- Bake for 10 minutes.
- Take out the springform from the oven to cool and lower the setting to 325 ℉ (163 ℃).
Lemon cheesecake
- In a large mixing bowl, rub together the lemon zest with the sugar until fragrant.
- Beat the lemon sugar with the room temperatured cream cheese on low speed. We want to incorporate as little air into the batter as possible, so go low and slow.
- Once everything is smooth and combined, scrape the sides of the bowl and add the eggs, one at the time. Keep the mixing speed on the lowest setting as you blend. Ensure that each egg is incorporated before adding the next.
- Scrape down the sides and fold in the vanilla and the sour cream.
- Boil a full kettle of water and place a large roasting pan in the bottom of the oven.
- Pour the cheesecake batter into the springform. Tap the pan against a hard surface to burst any airbubbles.
- Place the springform in the middle of the oven (on a rack above the roasting pan). Carefully pour the boiled water in the roasting pan and shut the door quickly.
- Bake for 55 min to 1 hour and 5 minutes. Test the doneness by wiggling the springform, if the center is slightly jiggly like firm jello, it is ready. If it wobbles like water, it is not done yet.
- Turn off the oven and crack the oven door open, but let the cheesecake rest in the oven for another hour.
- Take out the cheesecake and allow to cool for 30 minutes in room temperature before covering with plastic wrap and chilling the cheesecake in the fridge for a minimum of 4 hours, but preferably overnight.
Italian meringue
- Wipe down the inside of a large mixing bowl for a stand mixer along with the whisk attachement with a tissue soaked in vinegar.
- Pour the room temperatured egg whites into the bowl and set the speed to medium low. Sqeeze in a tablespoon of lemon juice once the egg whites get frothy.
- Meanwhile, place the sugar and water in a small saucepan over medium high heat. Stir gently with a whisk to dissolve the sugar, but stop stirring once the syrup comes to a simmer. If there are any sugar crystals stuck to the sides from stirring, simply wipe the sides with pastry brush dipped in water. Allow the syrup to reach 116 ℃ (240 ℉).
- When the egg whites have reached a soft peak, pour the syrup in a thin and slow drizzle as you keep beating the egg whites. Increase the speed to medium high.
- The meringue is ready when it has reached stiff peaks and is shiny. Test by lifting the whisk attachement and see if the egg meringue holds its shape.
Assembling the lemon meringue cheesecake
- Take out the cheesecake from it's form by running a butter knife along the sides of springform (Greasing the sides before baking should help, but just in case!). I like to use an offset spatula to separate the parchment paper from the crumb base and lift the cheesecake onto the cake stand.
- Whisk the lemon curd with a spoon before covering the top of the cheesecake evenly.
- Use a spatula to pile the entire meringue onto cheesecake. Gently shape it to an even form before styling the meringue as you please. I used a small spatula to make a rose shape, you could also make spikes by dipping and lifting the spatula all over the meringue.
- Finally, use a flaming torch to toast the meringue to a beautiful golden color. Move the torch around constantly to not burn the meringue.
- Slice and enjoy!