This Lemon meringue cheesecake recipe is decadent and rich – a lemon cheesecake with a ribbon of homemade lemon curd running through the middle and another layer of lemon curd spread across the top. Baked in a Lemon cookie crumb crust and topped with a fluffy toasted meringue every bite is amazing.
How I created this decadent Lemon Meringue Cheesecake recipe
In April my mom and I took a week long trip to PARIS!!!! yup – we spent one day at Disneyland Paris, and spent 6 days taking cooking classes in the morning and being tourists the rest of the day! We saw all the sites and of COURSE ate all the food! If you follow me on Instagram you might have seen some of the food!One of the favorite things we tried was a Lemon Meringue Cheesecake from Berko. So of COURSE it became one of the recipes I had to recreate at home.
To create this I actually used my base Dense and Creamy cheesecake recipe, my Graham cracker crust recipe (but used lemon cookies instead), my homemade lemon curd recipe and my American meringue (aka marshmallow frosting aka 7 minute frosting) and put them all together! Now my lemon curd is a little more creamy than some, so it’s also more pale and opaque – so if you want a more bright yellow, more gelatin looking curd don’t add the cream and maybe even a little less butter. Just a Personal preference!
Just take me to the Cheesecake Recipe already!
If you’d rather skip my tips and tricks for getting the perfect cheesecake, along with links to some of my other cheesecake recipes and get straight to this delicious lemon Meringue Cheesecake Recipe – simply scroll to the bottom of the page where you can find the printable recipe card.
Tips and Tricks for baking the Perfect Cheesecake with no cracking
- Room temperate ingredients are key for a smooth texture.
- Beat the cream cheese and sugar as much as you want, make it smooth, but once you add the eggs, do NOT overbeat, just mix on low until they are barely incorporated, beating after you add the eggs is what often leads to cracking.
- Make sure your oven is the correct temperature (I love my oven thermometer)
- TRY not to open the oven door, like ever, if you can help it.
- I used to hate water baths – the foil always leaks and I don’t like mushy crusts – but waterbaths keep cheesecakes more evenly baked and nice and flat – so now I recommend a silicone water bath pan!!!
- If you run out of water in the water bath pan make sure to boil any water you add so it doesn’t stop the baking process.
- Cook your cheesecake until it’s puffy and set on the outer edge but it’s still a bit jiggly in the center, like a loose jello jiggler, but not liquid, in the center 4-5 inches. It will keep cooking afterwards a bit, and IMO better to be slightly under cooked than overcooked.
- Turn off the oven and crack open the oven door to let it cool slowly, this will help it finish cooking but not cool TOO fast and crack
- Do NOT eat it right away, cheesecake sets and gets BETTER with time in the fridge, at LEAST 8 hours
What equipment I use to make the perfect cheesecake recipe:
- Candy Thermometer
- Zester
- Food Processor
- 9″ Spring form Pan
- 9″ parchment cake circles
- silicone water bath pan
- 12 x 3 inch cake pan
- Stand Mixer
- Hand Mixer – (I adore my bosch hand mixer but they are hard to find as they don’t currently sell them stateside)
- Culinary Torch
Lemon Meringue Cheesecake Recipe
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If you love this Lemon Meringue Cheesecake recipe you’ll love these other cheesecake recipes too!
Chocolate Cheesecake | Salted Caramel Cheesecake | Maple Bacon Cheesecake
Classic Cheesecake | Peanut Butter Cup Cheesecake | Pistachio Cheesecake Coconut Macaroon Crust
Connect with Ashlee Marie!
To watch me make this Lemon Meringue Cheesecake play this video (if on desktop, it should be autoplaying for you)
- 2 Tbsp lemon zest about 3 lemons
- 1/2 C lemon juice about 4 lemons - zest the 4th and save for the cheesecake
- 3 Lrg eggs
- 3 Lrg egg yolks
- 3/4 C granulated sugar
- ½ C butter cold and cut into cubes
- 2 Tbsp heavy whipping cream
- Pinch of salt
- 1 1/2 C lemon cookie crumbs
- 3 Tbsp granulated sugar
- 6 Tbsp butter melted
- 1 Tbsp lemon zest about 2 lemons
- 2 Tbsp lemon juice about 1 lemon
- 1 C granulated sugar separated
- 2 lbs cream cheese room temperature
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 2 Lrg eggs room temperature
- 1 Lrg egg yolk room temperature
- 4 Lrg egg whites
- 3/4 C granulated sugar
- 6 Tbsp light corn syrup
- ½ tsp vanilla
- heat the lemon zest and lemon juice in small saucepan over medium heat until hot but not boiling.
- Whisk the eggs, yolk and sugar in a bowl
- Whisking constantly, slowly pour hot lemon juice into eggs, this will temper the eggs – aka bring them up to heat without scrambling them
- Then return mixture to saucepan and cook over medium heat, stirring, until mixture registers 170 degrees F (remember to adjust for altitude)
- Take off the heat and pour into a bowl
Stir in the butter, cream and salt – note for a brighter lemon curd leave out the whipping cream
- Cover surface of curd directly with plastic wrap to avoid getting a “skin” on the curd - refrigerate until needed.
- preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- In a food processor process cookies until a fine crumb
- Add the sugar and melted butter and process again
- Press mixture into a 9 inch springform pan, along the bottom and up the sides
- Bake until fragrant 10-12 mins
- Set aside and let cool
- bring oven temperature down to 300
- While crust is cooling, mix 1/4 cup sugar and lemon zest in food processor until sugar is yellow and zest is broken down, about 15 seconds
- In a mixing bowl beat the cream cheese, sugar and vanilla until smooth
- Add the lemon sugar mixture and beat until mixture is creamy and smooth, scraping down bowl with rubber spatula as needed.
Add the lemon juice and mix until just incorporated
- Reduce speed to medium-low and add eggs and yolk 1 at a time; beat until incorporated, about 30 seconds, scraping sides and bottom of bowl well after each addition.
- Pour half the batter into the crust, then spoon on 1/3 of the lemon curd and swirl it slightly
- Spoon the rest of the cheesecake batter over the top
- Place in the silicone water bath pan – and place in a 12 inch round cake pan, adding water ½ way up
- Bake about 1 hour until the sides start to puff, the surface is no longer shiny and the center 4-5 inches jiggles slightly – like a jello jiggler
- Turn off oven and prop open oven door with potholder or wooden spoon handle; allow cake to cool in water bath in oven for 30 min to 1 hour.
- When the cheesecake has mostly cooled, spread the rest of the curd evenly over the top of cheesecake.
- Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight or 8 to 24 hours.
- Put eggs whites, sugar and corn syrup in a bowl over boiling water and beat with a hand mixer until the mixture turns white, thickens and ribbons form- about 4 mins.
- Transfer the mixture to a cool mixing bowl, add the vanilla and beat with electric mixer on Med high until soft peaks form- about 3 mins
- Pipe or Spread onto the cheesecake
- Use a culinary torch to toast the outside of the meringue
- Refrigerate until ready to serve
Recipe Video
And today happens to be national Cheesecake day!!! What’s your all time favorite cheesecake flavor??? I have 22 more cheesecake recipes to share with you that I just know your going to love!
National Cheesecake Day!
Celebrating Food Blogger thirteen new Cheesecake Recipes
- Lemon meringue cheesecake – HERE
- Cheesecake Brownies – Creations by Kara
- Mini Raspberry Cheesecakes – Pretty Providence
- Cherry Cheesecake Popsicles – Crumb
- Instant Pot Peanut Butter Chocolate Cheesecake – Savory Experiments
- target=”_blank”Coconut Key Lime Cheesecake Bars – Real Mom Kitchen
- No Bake Berry Cheesecake Parfait – An Italian in my Kitchen
- Dairy Free Cheesecake – Namely Marly
- Cappuccino Cheesecake – Simply Stacie
- Chocolate Almond Cheesecake in Jars – Premeditated Leftovers
- No Bake Vanilla Cheesecake Mousse – The Baker Upstairs
- No Bake Strawberry Cheesecake – Super Golden Bakes
- Instant Pot Cheesecake – My Mommy Style
Ten More Chocolate Cheesecake recipes from me
I am going to make Salted Carmel cappuccino cheesecake for Xmas & this Lemon Cheedecake for Thanksgiving
Mmmmm sounds kinda like my plan!!!
What a delicious recipe. Looks so colorful – and that meringue topping! Amazing!
Wow this cheese cake are looking super delicious, thank you for sharing your blog
you are so very welcome!!!
What lemon cookies did you use? Brand/type.
Thank you. 🌻🍋
I got these from costco https://amzn.to/2wgGCWF
This looks like perfection! Do you think it would hold up to a quick blast under broiler to toast the meringue? Thank You🙃
if it’s all you have then yes, but a culinary torch isn’t that expensive and honestly I use all the time.
Do you have a favorite brand of torch? I’ve thought about getting one for several years—would love to know which one you use.
Thanks Ashlee!🙃
This cheesecake was absolutely incredible!! The one change I made was toasting the meringue in the oven because I didn’t have a kitchen torch, but it worked great! Thank you for sharing 🙂
way to think on your feet! perfect! and so glad you enjoyed the cheesecake
That is A LOT of sugar for one recipe.
personally I think it’s just the right amt!
I hated water baths too – seemed like this cruel game we played, wrapping the pan in foil so the water wouldn’t get in – and it always did. Then I read a suggestion to put your pan in a slow cooker bag. It has been a godsend!!
I’ve read that too, and tried it and it worked well, but now I’m in love with the silicone water bath https://amzn.to/2webrLu it’s my new favorite.
Dear Ashlee ,
So love making cheesecakes, was wondering as every time I use my I pad it tends to crash , not happy 😬😢 … Thus was wondering if you have a Chessecake book I can buy …. I ended up getting my partner to take a photo on his phone for your lemon meringue Chessecake but not the same , so hoping you can help , as a bit of a blonde when it comes to technology ..
Thanking you Suzanne
you can print the recipes – they have a print button right on them. not sure why your ipad is crashing in the kitchen. And I don’t currently have a cheesecake book, but I should create a cheesecake ecookbook! thanks for the idea!
What is that white open topped mixer you use? Looks amazing
yup it’s a bosch universal mixer – been around since the 50’s! I grew up with one, my mom’s is 40 years old and still going strong! Their website is here http://bit.ly/Ilovemybosch or you can find it on amazon too http://amzn.to/210Eyra I have a full review here http://ashleemarie.com/bosch-universal-mixer-review-love-bosch-series/
How much salt in the cheesecake part? Directions say to add lemon juice and salt but salt isn’t listed in the ingredients. Making this now….argh.
sorry about that – no salt in the cheesecake layer, not sure why there was some in the instructions!
Wow this cake is looking so delicious, thank you for sharing your recipe
you are so very welcome! let me know what you think when you give it a try!!!
This is one of the best things I’ve ever laid my lips on. I made one for a trial run and am making a 2nd today for a co-worker. Amazingly good is an understatement.
so glad you like it!!! I think I’ve made it like 4 times already!