This Lemon Meringue Cheesecake is made with a buttery graham cracker crust, creamy cheesecake, tart lemon curd and toasted meringue! The flavors are absolutely amazing and it’s seriously my new favorite cheesecake!
I have been so excited to share this cheesecake with you. Everything about it is amazing, if I do say so myself. Of all the lemon desserts on the blog, this might just be my favorite. It’s in close competition with the Lemon Mascarpone Layer Cake. And of all the cheesecakes, this one is right near the top.
Given that this is based on a Lemon Meringue Pie, I went with a graham cracker crust to get started. Often I’m a fan of using vanilla wafers, but the graham crackers in this are definitely the way to go.
The cheesecake filling has a light lemon flavor from the lemon zest, but is primarily vanilla in flavor. It’s super smooth and creamy, just like I like it. It also gets a lot of great flavor from the full cup of sour cream that’s used in it. So good!
Once the crust and filling are made, the cheesecake is baked. I always use a water bath, even though the extra couple steps can be a pain. It really does give you a much creamier cheesecake that doesn’t crack, doesn’t brown around the edges and doesn’t sink in the middle when it cools. Totally worth it!
Ingredients
- 2 cups shortbread cookie crumbs
- 1/4 cup melted butter
- 3 (8 ounce) packages cream cheese, softened
- 1 cup sour cream
- 1 cup white sugar
- 4 eggs
- 1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 lemon, zested
- 4 egg whites
- 1/4 cup white sugar
- 1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar (optional)
- 1 1/2 cups lemon curd
Directions:
- Preheat oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C).
- Mix cookie crumbs and melted butter together in a bowl until evenly combined; press into the bottom of a 9-inch springform pan.
- Beat cream cheese, sour cream, and 1 cup sugar together in a bowl using an electric mixer until smooth and creamy. Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Mix lemon juice, vanilla extract, and lemon zest into cream cheese mixture, scraping bottom and sides of the bowl. Spread mixture over cookie crust in the springform pan.
- Bake in the preheated oven until almost set in the center, about 1 hour. Cool to room temperature and refrigerate until completely cooled, at least 3 to 4 hours.
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).
- Beat egg whites in a bowl using an electric mixer until soft peaks form; add 1/4 cup sugar and cream of tartar and beat until stiff, but not dry, peaks form.
- Spread lemon curd over cheesecake. Mound whipped egg whites over the curd, sealing around all the edges.
- Bake in the preheated oven until meringue is golden brown, about 10 minutes. Chill uncovered in refrigerator, about 1 hour.