Lemon Curd Cheesecake
Creamy vanilla bean cheesecake is mixed with fresh lemon curd making this the most lemony cheesecake ever.
Servings 10
Equipment
- 8 or 9" cake pan
- parchment paper and metal clips
- 13x9" cake pan for water bath
Ingredients
Crust
- 270 g digestive cookies or graham crackers
- 113 g butter
- 2 tablespoons powdered sugar
Filling
- 2 packages cream cheese 452g
- ½ cup sugar 100g
- Two large eggs
- 1 cup lemon curd 280g
- 2 tablespoons all purpose flour
- 1 vanilla bean scraped
- Pinch fine sea salt
Instructions
Do ahead:
- Make the lemon curd.
- A few hours before making the cheesecake: take eggs and cream cheese out of the fridge to come to room temperature.
Make the crust:
- Grease and line an 8” round cake pan with parchment paper. Use metal clips to hold the paper in place. Don’t worry about making it perfect, creases are fine.
- Preheat the oven to 350 F.
- Pulse the cookies in a food processor until finely ground. Melt the butter in a heatproof bowl and stir it with the cookie crumbs and powdered sugar. Press the cookie crumbs up the sides of the pan and into an even layer on the bottom. Use the bottom of a measuring cup to press it tightly.
- Bake the crust for 10 minutes. Allow to chill while making the filling. Reduce the oven temperature to 325 F.
Make the filling:
- Beat the cream cheese with the sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Scrape down as needed to ensure all the cream cheese is smooth and there’s no lumps.
- Scrape a fresh vanilla bean and add the seeds to the cream cheese mixture. Sprinkle in some sea salt and beat to combine.
- Add the lemon curd and mix until combined. Add the eggs and while they are mixing, add the flour. Beat until you have a smooth filling - but don’t overdo it.
- If you have some lumps, use a sieve to pour the filling into the crust. Scrape the bottom of the sieve to get every last bit of filling.
- Fill a sheet cake pan, 13 x 9” with water. Set the cheesecake in the pan and bake it for about 50-60 minutes. It’s done when you can jiggle it and the sides are set but the center wobbles just a bit. If you have leftover lemon curd, you have the option to bake a layer on on top: spread about a half inch layer of lemon curd on top of the cheesecake. Bake for an additional 10 minutes (still in the water bath).
- Turn off the oven and prop the door open with a wooden spoon. Let the cheesecake cool in the oven for at least 30 minutes before removing. Transfer to the countertop and let cool for an additional 30 before refrigerating for at least 8 hours.
Video
Notes
If you are feeling like taking it up a notch (or ten!), you can make a meringue to go on top for a ‘lemon meringue cheesecake’: see my lemon meringue bars post for instructions on making the meringue and broiling it.