Enjoy the fabulous flavors of summer with this delicious lemon cheesecake recipe. Featuring a sweet lemony filling on a graham cracker crust, and topped with lemon curd this simple lemon cheesecake is great for birthdays, dinner parties or any festive summer celebration. Top it with homemade lemon curd for an added punch of flavor!

Lemon Cheesecake Recipe

Enjoy the delicious flavors of summer with this dreamy lemon cheesecake featuring a sweet lemony filling on a graham cracker crust topped with lemon curd.

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Course Dessert

Servings Servings

Ingredients

For the Graham Cracker

1 ½ Cups graham cracker crumbs
¼ Cup granulated sugar
¼ Cup butter (1/2 stick), melted

For the Lemon Filling

3 Packages cream cheese (8 oz. each), softened
1 ½ Cups granulated sugar
4 eggs
¾ Cup sour cream
2 Tablespoons lemon juice (from 1 lemon)
2 Teaspoons lemon zest
1 Teaspoon cornstarch

For the Lemon Curd Topping

⅓ Cup lemon curd (optional)

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350ºF. Spray bottom of 9 in. springform pan lightly with vegetable pan spray.
In medium bowl, combine graham cracker crumbs, sugar and butter. Press mixture into bottom and up sides of springform pan. Bake 8-10 minutes or until light golden brown. Remove from oven; let cool completely on cooling grid.
Reduce oven temperature to 300ºF. Place a shallow pan of water on bottom rack of oven.
In large bowl, beat cream cheese with electric mixer on medium speed until light and fluffy. Gradually beat in sugar; mix well. Add eggs, one at a time, mixing until thoroughly combined. Add sour cream, lemon juice, lemon zest and cornstarch; mix well. Pour filling into prepared crust.
Bake 1 hour 30 minutes to 1 hour 45 minutes or until cake is set around edges and still jiggles slightly in center. Turn off oven and leave door closed for 1 hour.
Remove cheesecake from oven; let cool on cooling grid. Refrigerate at least 4 hours or until ready to serve.

Notes

Will lemon juice curdle cheesecake?

In some cases, the acid from lemon juice may react to the fatty proteins in your cream cheese or heavy cream, causing the fat in the cream to clump. However, there is so little lemon juice in this recipe that you shouldn’t have that problem.

If you notice your batter is curdling, it could be due to the temperature of your ingredients. Make sure you’re using softened cream cheese, which is much easier to mix and will prevent clumps. Softened cream cheese will also help ensure you don’t overmix your batter, which can cause your cheesecake to crack.

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Lemon Cheesecake