Lemon Cheesecake

Lemon Cheesecake

March 1, 2019 Off By Laura Hartline
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Hands down my favorite cheesecake. Well, maybe key lime cheesecake at the Cheesecake Factory – but for homemade cheesecake, this lemon one takes the cake. Yea, I just said that!

Not only is it delicious but this is a no bake cheesecake – did you read that right? Yes you did – a no bake lemon cheesecake. The only thing you bake is the crust to give it some structure – but if you don’t want to bake it, just put it in the freezer for about 20 minutes and the butter will harden and provide the structure as well. Making the lemon curd is the hardest part and even that isn’t hard. The lemon curd recipe I use is from Ina Garten. She is a master at all things lemon!

This recipe can be used to make a pie or bite sized cheesecakes, or both – depending on the size of the pie. If you use a regular size cheesecake tin – you will use the entire recipe. If you use a 9 inch pie pan, you’ll have enough to make some mini cheesecakes in a mini cupcake tin. Or you can just eat it out of the bowl 😉

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Lemon Cheesecake

This delicious no bake lemon cheesecake will shine at your next party.

Prep Time 30 minutes
Cook Time 20 minutes
Total Time 50 minutes
Servings 10

Ingredients

Lemon Curd

  • 3 lemons
  • 1 1/2 cups sugar
  • 1/2 cup butter softened
  • 4 eggs
  • 1/2 cup lemon juice
  • 1/8 tsp kosher salt

Crust

  • 11 oz box of vanilla wafers
  • 1/2 cup butter melted

Cheesecake

  • 2 8oz packages cream cheese room temperature
  • 1/2 cup powdered sugar
  • 2 cups lemon curd

Instructions

Lemon Curd

  1. Zest three lemons.  In a food processor, pulse the sugar with the lemon zest until it is all incorporated.  

  2. In another bowl, beat the sugar and butter until creamed.  It will be crumbly at first but keep beating.  I use a hand mixer but you could also use a stand mixer.  

  3. Add one egg at a time until incorporated.  Add the lemon juice and salt and mix until combined.  

  4. Pour the mixture into a 2 quart sauce pan on medium heat.  Stirring constantly, heat the mixture until it thickens.  This may take about 10 minutes.  As it begins to simmer, it will thicken (at about 170° F).  Remove from the heat and refrigerate to cool.

Crust

  1. Place the vanilla wafers in a food processor.  Pulse until the cookies are all crumbs.  Add the melted butter and stir to combine.

  2. Press the mixture into the mold you are using – cheesecake pan, pie pan, or mini cupcake tins.  You can either bake at 350° F for 10 minutes or place in the freezer for 15-20 minutes to let the crust set.

Lemon Cheesecake

  1. Once the lemon curd is cooled completely, in a medium sized bowl, mix the cream cheese with a hand mixer.  Once it is smooth, add the lemon curd and powdered sugar.  Mix until it is smooth.  

  2. Spread the mixture into the desired pan.  Allow to cool in the refrigerator for at least 4 hours or over night.  Decorate with whip cream and fresh lemon slices.  







CategoryDessert
Tagscheesecake lemon cheesecake

2 Comments

  • Stephanie Didericksen says:
    March 12, 2019 at 11:01 pm

    Im headed out to a week long Quilt Retreat and I will have to take my turn at a treat, Im going to try this. Wish me luck, Stephanie D

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