Lemon Cheesecake
My lemon cheesecake has an amazing blend of creamy cheesecake and tangy lemon curd that promises to delight your taste buds with every bite.
Ryan Nordheimer•
October 27, 2025
This is the only cheesecake recipe you’ll ever need: a perfect lemon cheesecake. The cake itself is excellent. The curd makes it extraordinary. A perfect balance of sweet and tart, I could eat this every night if it wasn’t made of 2 pounds of cream cheese.
Simply Delicious
Indulge in a zesty delight with my irresistible lemon cheesecake recipe featuring a luscious lemon curd topping. This dessert combines creamy cheesecake goodness with the refreshing tang of lemon. This makes it perfect for any occasion, from family gatherings to dinner parties. Follow my simple recipe to create a masterpiece that will wow your taste buds and leave your guests craving more.
To start, gather these essential ingredients: cream cheese, fresh lemons, sugar, eggs, vanilla extract, graham cracker crumbs, and butter. Each component plays a crucial role in achieving the perfect balance of sweet and citrusy flavors in every bite. My recipe ensures a smooth, velvety texture that melts in your mouth, complemented by the bright, bold taste of lemon.
Lemon Curd
Whisk fresh lemon juice, zest, sugar, eggs, and butter over low heat until thickened. Next, strain the mixture for a smooth consistency and let it cool before spreading it over the cheesecake.
My lemon cheesecake recipe stands out for its simplicity and decadence. It merges trending flavors like lemon with the timeless appeal of cheesecake. It ensures a dessert that satisfies both classic and contemporary tastes. No matter if you’re a seasoned baker or a novice in the kitchen, this recipe guarantees success and applause from your guests.
It is perfect for every occasion. Serve this lemon cheesecake at brunches, celebrations, or as a delightful treat after dinner.
Equipment
- 9 in. springform pan
- Stand or hand mixer
- A roasting pan or sauté pan large enough to fit your cake pan in
Key Ingredients
- Sour cream: a tangy, creamy dairy product widely used to enhance the flavor and texture of dishes ranging from baked goods to sauces.
- Graham Cracker Crumbs: Slightly sweet, whole wheat crackers that are commonly used as a base for cheesecakes and pie crusts, providing a crunchy texture and subtle honey flavor to desserts and snacks.
- Cream Cheese: A smooth and mild-tasting cheese made from cream and milk, widely used in sweet and savory dishes like cheesecakes, dips, spreads, and frostings for its rich texture and creamy flavor.
- Corn Starch: An ingredient that adds a smoothness and body to sauces, gravies, soups, and custards. It also provides structure to baked goods like cakes and cookies.
Hey! My name is Ryan Nordheimer. Welcome to my cooking and baking site. I’m a 25-year old home cook living in the East Village in New York City. Hopefully you enjoy my food through my own, tried-and-true recipes.
Ingredients (18)
Ingredients (18)
For the crust
For the cheesecake filling
For the lemon curd
For Garnish
Instructions
Crust
Preheat oven to 350 °F with a rack set in the middle.
In a medium bowl, combine graham cracker crumbs (1 ¾ cups), sugar (3 Tbsp), salt (1 pinch), and melted butter (5 Tbsp) using a spatula. Pour crumbs into a 9” Springform pan and press firmly into the bottom.
Bake for 10-15 minutes. The crust should be darkening around the edge and smell toasty and fragrant. Set aside to cool.
Cheesecake
Lower oven heat to 325 °F.
Begin boiling about 6 cups of water in a saucepot to use for your water bath.
Lay 2 large pieces of plastic wrap on your counter in an X. Place your cake pan on top and wrap the outside of the cake pan in the plastic wrap. Repeat this process with 2 large pieces of aluminum foil.
In a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment (or in a large bowl if using a hand mixer), add the cream cheese (32 oz). Beat on medium-low to work out any lumps, about 1 minute.
Add the sugar (1 ¼ cups) and beat until smooth and creamy, 1-2 minutes. Scrape down the sides.
Lightly beat the eggs (4 large) in a small bowl.
With the mixer running, slowly add the eggs to the cream cheese mixture, scraping down the sides halfway through.
Add the sour cream (⅔ cup), vanilla (2 tsp), and lemon zest (1 whole). Beat until just evenly combined.
Using a spatula, give the batter a few final mixes by hand.
Dump the batter into the cake pan. Even out with the spatula. Give the cake pan a few gentle taps on the counter to pop air bubbles.
Add your cake pan to a larger roasting pan for the water bath. Using a heat-safe measuring cup or a ladle, fill the roasting pan with the boiling water until it reaches about halfway up the side of the cake pan.
Gently transfer to the oven. Bake for 1 to 1.5 hours, or until the edges of the cheesecake have risen (not the center) and when you shake the cake pan gently, the cake gently wobbles in the center but doesn’t look liquidy. It should start to have picked up color, too.
Turn off your oven and prop it open by about 1 inch. Let cool in the oven for 45 minutes.
Take the cheesecake out of the oven. Remove the cake pan from the water bath. Let cool for 1 hour at room temperature until the cake is no longer hot.
Remove the foil and plastic wrap. Transfer the cake pan to the refrigerator with the top wrapped with plastic wrap. Let cool for at least 3 hours or overnight before adding the lemon curd.
Lemon Curd and Assembly
Add the sugar (1 cup), lemon juice (⅔ cup), egg yolks (5), corn starch (1 Tbsp), butter (5 Tbsp), and salt (1 pinch) to a small saucepan.
Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly until the curd thickens and coats your spatula (the curd should register around 182 °F on a thermometer).
Set a fine-mesh sieve over a heat-safe measuring cup. Pour the curd into the sieve and press it through.
Immediately pour the curd over the cheesecake and tilt the cake pan to coat evenly up to the sides.
Chill the cheesecake again for at least another 2 hours or up to 5 days.
To remove the cheesecake, take a small off-set spatula or a paring knife and run it around the sides of the cheesecake, and then release the spring form sides.
Decorate with sweetened whipped cream and lemon slices.
Notes
Notes
For the crust, graham crackers are certainly the most traditional. But you could substitute them for another kind of biscuit cookie like ginger snaps, Biscoff cookies, Nilla wafers, etc.
I only make a bottom crust for the cheesecake because it looks nicer seeing all the layers around the side. If you wanted, you could double the crust recipe to have enough crumbs to make a side crust.
When making the cheesecake batter, your goal is to mix the batter as little as possible to incorporate the ingredients evenly. Whipping the batter for extra time than needed will introduce more air into your cake. This may make your cake more prone to cracking and you’ll get a lot of extra rise along the edge of your cake.
Note on the water bath: it’s not optional. It ensures the cheesecake cooks evenly. The one time I made cheesecake without a water bath, there was a huge f’in crack right in the middle of it. So unless you want that to happen to you, don’t skip the bath!
Knowing when to stop baking the cheesecake can definitely be a little tricky. A perfectly cooked cheesecake should wobble gently in the middle when you shake the oven rack it’s on. The edges should not slosh and it shouldn’t look liquidy. The edges may have risen, but not the center (that certainly means you overcooked it). And if the cake doesn’t wobble at all when you shake the rack, it’s definitely overcooked. Letting the cake cool in the oven propped open for 45 minutes will also continue cooking the cake, so it’s a little insurance policy against under-baking.
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