This Lemon Meringue Cheesecake is the dreamiest thing I’ve made in a long time. It’s one of those recipes that make you do a little dance after eating the first bite! It’s the perfect mixture of tart, sweet and creamy – I can’t get enough!
Lemon Meringue Cheesecake Recipe
On my quest to lose weight, I find myself craving the most indulgent desserts.
Isn’t that the way?
And believe me, I don’t deny myself a bite or 15.
Maybe that’s why the scale isn’t working for me? It’s a vicious cycle I’ve created and perpetuated.
But I will say that while cutting back a bit has helped my waistline, it it has also sparked a creativity that I had been lacking recently.
In other words, the less I eat dessert, the more I think about it.
Which has pushed me into creating some over the top stuff lately.
Good for you, not for me.
I mean, take a look at this Lemon Meringue Cheesecake. It’s heaven times infinity.
Not only do you have a lightly lemon flavored cheesecake..you have a giant pile of the creamiest meringue topping ever to exist in history.
And it’s all on a graham cracker crust. Winning fo life.
How to Make a Lemon Meringue Cheesecake
First make your crust…
Then make your filling. It’s easy, I swear it. This is coming from a true cheesecake reformant.
Also, if your family doesn’t like lemon stuff, use only a bit of the lemon zest…or if you love lemon you can up the zest. Totally up to you!
When it bakes it will look like this…
My Mother In Law bakes her cheesecake, turns the oven off and leaves the cheesecake in the warm, closed oven for a few hours after. I tried that technique here and it worked perfectly!
I let mine cool completely and chill in the fridge overnight before making the meringue.
Another good thing about this recipe is that the cheesecake uses egg yolks, but I saved the whites to use on the topping. No waste!
Just whisk your white and some sugar together…
Then heat it over a double boiler until it reaches 140°.
Then pop it into your stand mixer bowl and using the whisk attachment, mix it on high for 10 minutes. The meringue will be super glossy and stiff.
Just spread it all over your cheesecake…
Make little peaks when you spread the meringue…
And then using a kitchen torch or lighter lightly toast the meringue…
Like, how totally gorgeous?
And you must try a slice.
Make this asap!
Lemon Meringue Cheesecake
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 1 hour 25 minutes
- Total Time: 1 hour 45 minutes
- Yield: 12 slices 1x
- Category: Dessert
- Method: Oven
- Cuisine: American
Description
This Lemon Meringue Cheesecake is the dreamiest thing I’ve made in a long time. It’s one of those recipes that make you do a little dance after eating the first bite! It’s the perfect mixture of tart, sweet and creamy – I can’t get enough!
Ingredients
Crust
- 2 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs
- 1/3 cup sugar
- 6 Tbsp butter, melted
Cheesecake
- 4 (8 oz) packages cream cheese, room temperature
- 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
- 6 egg yolks (reserve whites for meringue)
- 2 Tbsp flour
- 1 cup sour cream
- 2 Tbsp lemon zest (2 large lemons)
Meringue Topping
- 6 egg whites
- 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 300°
Crust
- Combine all ingredients for crust in a bowl evenly. Press mixture into a 9″ springform pan and up the sides, about one inch.
- Bake for 10 minutes and allow to cool.
Filling
- In bowl fitted with paddle attachment beat cream cheese and sugar together until combined and smooth. Add in egg yolks and beat until mixture is just combined, scraping sides as necessary.
- Add in flour, sour cream and lemon zest and mix until smooth.
- Pour mixture over prepared crust. Bake for 75 minutes. Then turn off oven and leave cheesecake in the warm oven with the door closed for 4 hours.
- Finally, remove it from oven, run a knife along the edges to loosen from pan and chill for 6 hours, or overnight.
Meringue Topping
- Whisk 6 reserved egg whites with sugar. Place over a double boiler and stirring constantly heat mixture until it reaches 140° on candy thermometer. Pour mixture immediately into bowl of stand mixer, fitted with whisk attachment and beat for 10 minutes, until glossy and stiff peaks form.
- Spread the meringue over chilled cheesecake and with kitchen torch lightly brown the tops of the meringue.
Notes
if you would like to amp up the flavor of lemon in this recipe, you can add another tablespoon of lemon zest.
Store covered in refrigerator for up to 3 days.
recipe adapted from Amazing Cakes Magazine.
Nutrition
- Serving Size:
- Calories: 404
- Sugar: 51.3 g
- Sodium: 174 mg
- Fat: 17.2 g
- Carbohydrates: 54.4 g
- Protein: 9.5 g
- Cholesterol: 221.3 mg
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Find more recipes like this:
If you like cheesecake, here are some more from my archives….
Chocolate Covered Strawberry Cheesecake is a super easy one and SO good!
Or this S’mores Cheesecake, omg so good!
are the measurements right for the crust? 2.5 cups graham to only 6 tablespoon butter? is thet correct?
yes, that is correct!
I used 3 tablespoons of zest, could have even used 4 tablespoons. The cheesecake turned out really well, however, mine didn’t have the concave top like yours where the meringue sits. The meringue itself was good– more of a marshmallow flavor than a traditional meringue. I used a MAPP soldering torch to brown the meringue and it worked well. Lots of compliments on appearance and flavor overall.
I made this cheesecake and brought it to my family’s Easter celebration, it looked beautiful, tasted great, and was a huge hit! It was devoured in a matter of minutes and a week later it is still the talk of the town. This cheesecake is a super fun dessert for spring, even though it is not quite Spring yet here in Fairbanks, Alaska! I would recommend it to anyone looking for something a little different that is still super easy to make and sure to be a crowd pleaser!
Also, FYI we don’t have a double boiler so for the meringue I used superfine baker’s sugar instead of granulated sugar and just whisked the eggs and the sugar in the beater without heating them first and the meringue still turned out how it was supposed to.
Thank you for this great recipe!
Great feedback! SO glad you liked it and thanks for the tip about the superfine sugar!
made this for easter and it was a hit ! i cant have gluten so i used GF graham crackers and they were good. i made a bit more than the crust called for cuz i like a thick crust. i subbed corn starch for the flour and added extra lemon zest and lemon extract. i also added a tad bit of salt.
The meringue made a TON. way more than the picture mine was piled so high and i didnt even use it all ! i followed the directions exactly and used a thermometer and beat in my mixer for 11 mins exactly and it was perfect. used a blow torch thing to brown it up. everyone loved this. we kept it in the fridge then let it sit out for ~ 30+ mins to soften and it cut like butter ! it was so rich but i couldnt stop eating it. thank you for a great recipe !
I made this today and topped it with fresh raspberries and figs. Was my first baked cheesecake attempt and it was devoured by all. Thankyou for the beautiful recipe
AWESOME!!
What size tin did you use for this cake?
A 9″ springform pan
Aaaaaaaa Shelly, this cheesecake looks amazing! I’ll def make it for my bday next month!!! <3
Do you think it'd be possible to leave out the 2 tablespoons of flour in the cheesecake filling or does flour absolutely need to be there?))) Thank you for this awesome recipe! Tetrisa.
It helps stiffen up the texture a bit, but I am sure it will be fine without it!
Shelly, This is stunning & I bet delicious. I made a cheesecake over the holidays that was yummy but, adding the meringue divine.
My husband & I made this cheesecake for our 17th wedding anniversary yesterday. It was not only one of the prettiest desserts I’ve ever made, it was one of the best! The only “mishap” was when I totally didn’t read to leave it in the oven for 4 hours and I started it at 7:30…PM! My wonderful husband stayed up till almost 2am to make sure it turned out perfect!! Wonderful dessert. Wonderful husband. Thank you.
I just made this cheesecake for Thanksgiving… Incredible!!! My wife and mom loved it. They said it was better than the Cheesecake Factory’s Lemon Meringue Cheesecake. And I must agree. Thank you so much for this excellent recipe. My only alteration was adding a slightly tart lemon glaze (sugar, water, lemon juice and corn starch) between the cheesecake and the meringue topping. Thanks again. I look forward to trying another one of your recipes.