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Lemon Meringue Cheesecake

This Lemon meringue cheesecake has the best of both worlds! Creamy and rich lemon cheesecake is layered with silky and tart lemon curd, topped with beautiful fluffy italian meringue.
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Prep Time 3 hours
Chilling time 4 hours
Total Time 7 hours

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!

Notes

To get a clean slice, dip a large knife into hot water and wipe off the water before slicing. Repeat the process again before each cut for best results!
Keyword Lemon meringue cheesecake