Creamy cheesecake bursting with lemon flavor and baked on a vanilla cookie crust. Refreshing while still being decadent, this dessert screams spring!
Makes one 9″ cheesecake, 10-12 servings
Ingredients
Crust:
18 vanilla creme sandwich cookies (like Golden Oreos), crushed into crumbs
1 1/2 Tbs. butter, melted
Pinch of salt
Cheesecake:
2 lbs. (4 blocks) brick-style cream cheese, softened
1 1/8 cups (225g) granulated sugar
1/2 cup (120g) sour cream, at room temperature
1 Tbs. vanilla extract
Zest of 3 large Meyer lemons
4 large eggs, at room temperature
Topping (Optional):
2oz. brick-style cream cheese, softened
2 Tbs. granulated sugar
1/2 cup heavy cream, cold
1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350° F. Throughly wrap the outside of a 9″ springform pan in sheets of aluminum foil, crimping the sheets tightly around the upper edges of the pan. It is recommended to use 3 sheets, to ensure no water seeps into the bottom of pan.
- Mix together the cookie crumbs, melted butter, and salt in a mixing bowl until the crumbs are evenly moistened. Pack the mixture tightly and evenly into the bottom of the pan, and a little ways up the sides. Transfer the pan to the middle rack of the preheated oven.
- Bake the crust for 13-15 minutes, until it is golden brown at the edges. While the crust bakes, prepare the filling.
- Using either a hand mixer or stand mixer, beat together the cream cheese and sugar for 4-5 minutes, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed, until it is completely smooth and no lumps of cream cheese remain. Add the sour cream, vanilla extract, and lemon zest and continue beating for a minute longer, until smooth and combined.
- With the mixer on the lowest speed, add the eggs two at a time. Stop beating just as soon as the eggs are incorporated and no large streaks of yolk remain.
- Pour the cheesecake filling over the par-baked crust. Tap the pan lightly against the counter a few times to release any air bubbles.
- Place the springform pan in a larger square pan. Carefully pour enough water into the square pan to rise 1/2″ up the sides of the springform pan. Transfer to the middle rack of the oven.
- Bake the cheesecake for 60-70 minutes, without opening the oven until an hour has passed. Test the cheesecake is done by gently jiggling the pan. It should wobble slightly at the very center, but hold mostly stable at the edges. Crack the oven door 2-3 inches and turn off the oven. Let the cheesecake sit in the oven for 30 minutes.
- Remove the cheesecake from the oven and transfer to the refrigerator. Refrigerate for a minimum of 8 hours, preferably overnight.
- Within a few hours of serving, make the topping, if desired. Place the cream cheese and granulated sugar into a medium mixing bowl. Use a hand mixer to beat on medium-high speed for 2-3 minutes, until completely smooth. Add the heavy cream and vanilla extract to the bowl. Beat on low speed to incorporate the heavy cream into the cream cheese, then turn the mixer to medium-high speed, and beat for about two minutes, just until the whipped cream holds stiff peaks. Do not over-beat.
- Release the cheesecake from the springform pan. Pipe the whipped cream around the edges of the cooled cheesecake, and refrigerate until ready to serve.
