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!
Delicious!!! I found that I had excess crust and meringue but the recipe was easy to follow and the finished product was a family favorite at Thanksgiving. Will definitely be making again!
So glad you liked it!!
Outstanding! I used the extra tablespoon of lemon zest and it is wonderful! And, I don’t usually like meringue, too spongey, but this meringue is fabulous, more like marshmallow cream or icing. All in all, this is a keeper and I’ll definitely be making it again!
SO glad you liked it!!
OMG! This turned out PHENOMINAL! My mom requested this cake for her birthday, and I am so impressed with how amazing it turned out.
Thank you!
Love hearing this!! Happy Birthday to your mom!
Made this yesterday for today. Mine actually looks almost identical to yours, except my crust was almost an inch thick and I had way more “meringue”. I may not have mixed the crumbs and butter well enough. The cheesecake itself was perfect, even though the top cracked in two spots. I used Chobani Plain Nonfat Greek Yogurt instead of sour cream, but you’d never know. The only thing I would change next time is the meringue. It’s not meringue; it’s marshmallow fluff. Big difference that changes the flavor of the whole thing. That’s why I didn’t rate it 5.
Sounds like your pan might have been smaller than mine? That’s the only thing I can guess!
So how would I convert this to cook in the Instant Pot- would 1/2 the recipe work in the 7″ springform?
Love lemon. Love cheesecake. Love meringue. I am in serious trouble after seeing this recipe. Can’t put off buying a torch any longer. Thank you!
meringue is how long does it go?
form stable is going on 1hour?
Can I make it without the sour cream and the lemon?
Not this recipe, sorry!
I’m thinking that you could make a lemon type brownie for the first layer, then add the cheesecake then another layer of lemon white chocolate cheesecake, then the rest of the cheesecake then bake it, then add the meringue.yummy!!
I have made this fabulous cheesecake twice and it is the most delicious food I have ever put in my mouth! I make a homemade lemon curd and swirl it in the batter. I also brown my meringue under the broiler, since I don’t have the mini-flame-thrower apparatus.
what a great idea!!