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Slice of Lemon Cheesecake on a white square plate. Cheesecake is topped with a sour cream, then a sweet lemon glaze.
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Luscious Lemon Cheesecake

A large and luscious lemon cheesecake with just the perfect touch of lemon.
Course Dessert
Cuisine American
Keyword cheesecake, desserts, holiday, lemon
Prep Time 30 minutes
Cook Time 45 minutes
Total Time 1 hour 15 minutes
Servings 10 Servings
Calories 669kcal
Author Barb

Ingredients

For the Crust

  • 2 ¼ cups graham cracker crumbs about 25 single crackers, crushed
  • ¼ cup sugar
  • 6 tablespoons melted butter

For the Filling

  • 24 ounces cream cheese softened
  • 3 large eggs
  • 1 ⅓ cups sugar
  • 3 tablespoons lemon juice
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1 teaspoon grated lemon rind

For the Sour Cream Topping

  • 1 pint sour cream
  • 3 tablespoons sugar
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

For the Glaze

  • ½ cup sugar
  • 1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon cornstarch
  • ½ cup water I substituted 1/2 cup Limoncello for the water but it's optional. I also ended up adding just a touch of lemon paste color.
  • 2 tablespoons lemon juice

Instructions

Prepare the Crust

  • Combine cracker crumbs, sugar and butter. Press into bottom and 1/2" up sides of an 11 to 12 inch springform pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 5 minutes. Cool before adding filling.

Make the Cheesecake

  • Beat cream cheese with electric mixer at high speed until completely smooth.
  • Add eggs, one at a time, beating until smooth after each addition.
  • Continue to beat, gradually adding 1 1/3 cups sugar, then lemon juice and vanilla.
  • Stir in lemon rind.
  • Pour into cooled crust and bake at 350 degrees for 35 minutes.
  • Blend sour cream, sugar and vanilla extract for topping.
  • Remove cake from oven. Gently spread sour cream over top of cake. Return to oven and bake about 12 minutes.
  • Cool on rack for 30 minutes. Refrigerate until topping is cool but not completely chilled.
  • Make glaze by combining sugar and cornstarch, blending in water and lemon juice until smooth. Bring to a boil, stirring constantly, until thickened. Cook 3 minutes. Chill until cool but not set.
  • Spread top of cheesecake with lemon glaze. Chill several hours or over­night. Can also be frozen.

Notes

This recipe calls for a rather large springform pan; if your pan is smaller in diameter than your baking time will need to be adjusted accordingly.
Check out this recipe made by a reader that has transformed this luscious dessert so that it's gluten free!

Nutrition

Serving: 1Serving | Calories: 669kcal | Carbohydrates: 66g | Protein: 8g | Fat: 43g | Saturated Fat: 24g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 2g | Monounsaturated Fat: 11g | Trans Fat: 0.3g | Cholesterol: 164mg | Sodium: 427mg | Potassium: 212mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 54g | Vitamin A: 1490IU | Vitamin C: 3mg | Calcium: 139mg | Iron: 1mg