Lemon Cheesecake {Mostly No Bake}
Because of it’s deliciously light flavors and the fact that it is no-oven-required, this lemon cheesecake is the perfect summer dessert.
I should have titled this post “The Best, The Very Best, Honestly, The Ultimate Best Cheesecake Ever.” I know. It sounds dramatic. Major hyperbolish. But that’s the way I feel. And this is coming from a gal who loves her some dark chocolate.
This no-bake cheesecake (ok, mostly no-bake; the crust is baked but the filling is delightfully cream and not baked) is creamy and light and lemony and so absolutely addicting, I think I ate half of it. And that fact is definitely no hyperbole.
Because of it’s deliciously light flavors and the fact that it is no-oven-required, this is the perfect summer dessert.
Please make it. And when you do, invite me over. I shall show you how to inhale half a cheesecake in one sitting.
FAQs for Lemon Cheesecake
Yes, it should halve just fine.
Probably two days or so.
Absolutely!
You can use a round cake pan like 9 or 10 inches. If you don’t have those, a 9X13 might work ok. It won’t look as pretty because you can’t take the sides off but will still taste delicious.
One Year Ago: Glazed Poppy Seed Bundt Cake
Two Years Ago: Frozen Key Lime Pie
The Best {No-Bake} Lemon Cheesecake
Ingredients
Crust:
- 9 whole rectangular graham crackers, for about 1 1/2 cups (150g) crushed
- 5 tablespoons (71 g) butter, melted
- 1 teaspoon grated lemon zest
Lemon Curd:
- 1 large egg plus 1 egg yolk
- ¼ cup (53 g) sugar
- Pinch salt
- 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
- 1 tablespoon (14 g) butter
- 1 tablespoon heavy cream
Filling:
- ¼ cup fresh lemon juice, from about 2 lemons
- 1 envelope unflavored gelatin, (2 3/4 teaspoons)
- 3 packages (8-ounces each) (681 g) cream cheese, softened to room temperature
- ¾ cup (159 g) sugar
- Pinch salt
- 1 ¼ cups heavy cream, room temperature
Instructions
- For the crust: preheat the oven to 350 degrees and adjust an oven rack to the middle position. In a food processor, pulse the graham crackers until they are finely ground. Add the butter and lemon zest and pulse until combined. Alternately, the graham crackers can be crushed in a resealable bag with a rolling pin and then poured into a bowl where the zest and butter can be stirred in. Press the mixture onto the bottom of a 9-inch springform pan. Bake the crust until it is lightly golden brown, about 8 minutes. Cool the crust completely on a wire rack before filling.
- For the curd: while the crust is cooling, whisk the egg, egg yolk, sugar and salt together in a small saucepan. Whisk in the lemon juice and cook over medium-low heat, stirring constantly, until the mixture is thick and pudding-like, about 3-4 minutes. Remove from the heat and stir in the butter and cream. Press the mixture through a fine mesh strainer or sieve into a small bowl and refrigerate until needed.
- In a small bowl, put the 1/4 cup fresh lemon juice. Sprinkle the gelatin over the top and let it stand until the gelatin softens, about 5 minutes. Microwave the mixture until it is bubbling around the edges and the gelatin dissolves, about 30 seconds. Set aside.
- For the filling: In a large bowl with a handheld mixer or in the bowl of a stand mixer, beat the cream cheese, sugar, and salt until smooth and creamy, scraping down the sides of the bowl, about 2 minutes. Slowly add the cream and beat until the mixture is light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Add the gelatin mixture and 1/4 cup of the refrigerated lemon curd. Beat until the mixture is smooth and airy, about 3 minutes.
- Pour the filling into the cooled crust and smooth the top. Following the photos below, pour thin lines of remaining curd on top of the cake and lightly drag a pairing knife or skewer through the lines to create a marble appearance. I found it wasn’t quite as easy as I thought to “pour” the lemon curd into lines. I kind of scooped it out of the cup onto the cheesecake and spooned it into lines. It doesn’t have to be perfect since the imperfections are somewhat hidden after you drag through the lines.
- Refrigerate the cheesecake until set, at least 6 hours. Remove the sides of the pan, cut into slices and serve.
- Scoop/Pour the lemon curd into thin lines. This doesn’t have to be perfect – it’s a bit hard to pour so do the best you can. (Photo #1 below)
- Drag the paring knife or skewer through the lines to create the decorative pattern. (Photo #2 below)
Notes
Recommended Products
Photo #2
See? Not too shabby once it’s all finished.
Recipe Source: adapted from Cook’s Country June/July 2010
134 Comments on “Lemon Cheesecake {Mostly No Bake}”
I made this recipe today. It turned out great…everyone loved it. We live in Saudi Arabia, so had to make some adjustments, which I’ll share for others who might be in the same situation. We could not find plain gelatin, so I used lemon jello and increased the amount by about a third. That worked fine, and maybe added a little extra lemon flavor, which was still tasty. I had to use a pie tin instead of a springform pan. No issues with that, we just had a little extra of the filling that we saved. I was worried about the easy curd recipe, but I give it a thumbs up. As far as the top decoration with the curd, I microwaved it a few seconds, then piped it on with a plastic baggie. Worked great, and easier than a spoon. I highly recommend this recipe. Thanks, Mel.
This cheesecake is delicious! I make it with an almond flour crust I got from alldayidreamaboutfood.com. I use Swerve or Trim Healthy Mama Super Sweet instead of sugar. Everyone I’ve served it to raves about it and can’t believe it is sugar free.
Thank you for such a yummy dessert.
Hey Mel! I keep this on repeat during the Spring months. So, so good! Have you ever tried it with your animal cookie crust, like the amazing key lime coconut bars? Just wondered if you think that animal cookie crust could be interchangeable with cheesecake recipes. Thanks for basically feeding my family for years!!
I haven’t tried that, Amy – but I think it sounds like an amazing experiment!
This turned out delicious! I made 3 mini spring forms and 12 tiny ones in muffin cups. Thank you for this recipe.
I made this cheesecake just a the recipe stated at Easter and it was wonderful. But, now my grand daughter wants the same cheesecake but strawberry for her birthday. I want to make it taller and my springform pan is 10 inches. Sorry am late getting this question and hopefully I can get an answer quickly as I have to make it today. Can you tell me how to make the exact cheesecake in the 10 inch. pan that would be as tall as this one in the smaller pan? How much should I increase the cream cheese etc. And the crust I would think would take more ingredients also. Thank you so much. Love all your recipes.
I made this cheesecake for Easter Dinner , dessert and everyone just raved about it. It turned out wonderful just like yours and was so easy to prepare. Love this cheesecake I used orange curd instead of lemon was so good. Now in a week or so going to make this beautiful vanilla bean cheesecake. Thank you for posting such wonderful recipes, that make us all look really good in the kitchen. And I loved your video section your little daughter is the cutest. Hope you had a wonderful Easter.
Thank you, Debbie!
Mel do you think you could tell me how more of the ingredients should I add to make this in a 10 inch springform pan? Making this again for a birthday they loved the first one I made but, since it’s a birthday I wanted it to be taller. Thank you in advance am making it this evening so not sure if you will see this in time. Hopefully you will.
Hi Debbie – sorry I didn’t see your question in time. Did it work out?
Amazing! I made this for Easter this year as my first-ever cheesecake and it was a dream! It came together so easily and made such a beautiful presentation. The lemon flavor was perfect for spring; I could eat that curd on anything! I used a plastic bag to “pipe” the lines of curd on top and it was super easy. I got so many compliments from my family – thanks again for another outstanding recipe!
Not only is this a KILLER TO DIE FOR POUFFY treat (which I had to share so I wouldn’t eat the whole shootin’ match) , but I make the LEMON CURD alone over and over again. Over vanilla ice cream, over berries, over Myself!
Thank you!
I’ve made this cheesecake a couple of times and always loved it, but lately it sort of curdles or breaks once I add the cream, any idea what I’m doing wrong? Should all the ingredients be at room temperature or just the cream cheese? Thank you!
Never mind, I just re-read the recipe, which states that the cream should also be at room temperature, will just have to try again 🙂
Outstanding flavor! My ten year old son requested this for his birthday and we loved it. I didn’t have cream on hand so I added an extra package of gelatin because I didn’t think it would set up well with one percent milk. I won’t do that again—we did not care for the too thick texture! Otherwise this is a fantastic dessert.
Can you half the recipe? Would like to do mini cheesecakes.
Sure, it should halve just fine.
Love this recipe. Wanting to make a plain version as well. Will add s touch more sugar and some vanilla and almond extract.
Use water to bloom gelatin…. But instead of the lemon curd mixed in… Do I replace that with 1/4 cup more heavy cream? Any thoughts?
I’m not really sure since I haven’t tried this variation but it sounds like a good starting place.
Hi Mel
I made your best lemon cheesecake and it was sensational – thanks very much. Can you please tell me how long in advance it can be made?
Probably two days or so.
Could you make the lemon curd in advance and store in the refrigerator?
Thanks for all the great recipes I’ve been using over the years.
Absolutely!
Hi, just wanna know if you could send me the measurements for cheesecake in grams, as I live in South Africa and I love cheesecake and yours seem to be an easy recipe. I do not know how to convert into grams. Really appreciate if you could help out. Awaiting your reply.
I don’t have the measurements in grams, I’m sorry! You could try googling for more help.
This is truly the best cheesecake. I went ahead and made two 9 inch crust for regular pie pans, and there was enough filling exactly. So, for anyone that doesn’t have the spring form pan on hand don’t worry. It taste even better the second day. Thanks for sharing your great recipe.
I am glad this worked out for you Pam! Sorry I didn’t respond earlier.
Hi,I have all the ingredients except the spring form pan. Will it fit in a regular pie pan, or will there be too much filling?Thank you for your reply.
Love you, Mel! This is delicious! I doubled the curd recipe so we could sample it, and add more topping. Also increased the sugar some to satisfy the guest of honor’s sweet tooth. An awesome dessert!
Could I use lemon curd from our Bulk Barn?
Sure, storebought lemon curd should work just fine (assuming you like the taste of it!).
Just made this and it is delish! It didn’t turn out super lemony for me, though. I didn’t have a spring form pan, so I made it in a 9-in pie pan, and used the rest in 6 muffin tins. I ran out of crust at that point so I just dipped graham crackers in what was still left over (probably another 3 muffin tins worth!) Yum!
Hi,
I’m from Portugal and I want to thank you for sharing this recipe … it’s really fabulous and very easy to make. I used cottage cheese instead of cream cheese. The whole family loved it!
Made this over the weekend and it was delicious! Light and amazing and a cinch. Excited to try the baked version!
I love this cheesecake and was wondering if I could tweak it a little for Thanksgiving. If I took the lemon juice out of the cheesecake portion would it still set up okay? I want to do this cheesecake with your apple cheesecake pie apple filling then your sour cream topping from it as well. Do you think this would work?
Laci – I’ve never made this without the lemon juice but it should work just fine. I’m not sure where/when you’re planning on adding the apple filling but I definitely think it sounds promising. Good luck!
Oh my, this was fantastic and easy to make! The only problem is my husband and I don’t want to share it with our kids. : P
Just tried this recipe and loved it! I had never tried using my food processor to make the graham cracker crumbs, but now I’ll use it every time! The crust was glorious, and so much easier to press into the pan. I took the cheesecake to a church event, and people were oohing and aahing as I put it down. I used the tip about piping the lemon curd on top, and it worked beautifully. Needless to say, this lovely cheesecake was gone in no time! A real hit! Thanks so much for posting this recipe!
I love looking at your blog- especially the desserts! I’m a huge fan of cream cheese, heavy whipping cream, and dark chocolate, so there are so many recipes I’d love to try.
Keep up the good work!
Hi! I love your site, i made this cheese cake and also spagetti pie, and they were sooo good!! I’m gonna be using your recipe a lot i think… thanks!
Hi there
Could I used gelatine leaves instead of granules and if so how many leaves would I need? Thanks
Andrea – I am not familiar with gelatine leaves, so you will have to experiment. Sorry I am not more help!
Hi Mel, Do you think I could double the recipe and bake in a 9×13 pan lined with parchment paper? Or is the cream cheese filling too soft for this method?
Hi Steph…are you wondering if you can bake the cheesecake layer? I wouldn’t recommend that but I think you could double this for a 9×13 pan (you might need an additional 8-inch pan if it’s too full). Scooping it out might be a little messier than a springform pan but should work pretty well.
Oh! And I forgot to mention. I switched 1/3 of the cream cheese for Mascarpone since I already had it in my fridge. Lovely taste!
I was searching for ages to find “the” cheesecake recipe. I have never made a no-bake cheesecake before and your pictures and text made me chose this recipe amongst many. First of all, I wanted to make it with oranges instead of lemon. I love lemon, but hubby requested something “orange-y”. Switched all lemon ingredients for orange, except for the lemon curd which I made and used as instructed. Also switched half of the butter in the crust for white chocolate. I must say I panicked when I had made the filling and it was veeery liquid. I thought no way it would set completely. So I added more gelatin (a total of 12 gelatin plates, but I made the entire cake a bit larger) and it set fantastically! So quick and the consistency is absolute heaven! I decorated with lemon curd rosettes rather than marbling. Husband was beyond pleased, and so was I. Will most definitely use this recipe as my go-to cheesecake recipe, and switch it up with different flavors. Thank you! I adore this recipe!
This sounds wonderful. I’m visiting my daughter and granddaughters in Spain in two weeks and I would like to make this for them. They have three lemon trees in there yard. My granddaughter is allergic to eggs. What can you substitute for the eggs in this recipe.
Sheila – I really have no idea since I’ve never made it egg free. You might try looking around online for an egg substitute in cheesecakes. I have a lot of other Lemon Recipes, and quite a few of them are egg free (especially the main dishes). Enjoy the fresh lemons. Oh, and your trip to Spain!
Try to google “Lemon curd egg substitute” – I found heaps of vegan recipes. You could also just use lemon jell-o I guess. Use a bit of it in the cheese-filling and the rest as a top layer on top of the cake.
Enjoy Spain!!! I am nor Spanish, however I have lived here for 4 years now. It is a lovely country.
“This no-bake cheesecake (ok, mostly no-bake; the crust is baked but the filling is delightfully cream and not baked) is creamy and light and lemony and so absolutely addicting, I think I ate half of it. And that fact is definitely no HYPBERBOLE.”
Don’t you mean HYPERBOLE?
Does it have to be regular cream cheese, or will Neufchâtel work?
Jess – using lowfat cream cheese oftentimes makes a no-bake cheesecake much runnier so I’d recommend using full fat cream cheese.
Hi Mel. Firstly, thank you for your speedy response. Secondly, I didn’t get time to experiment but omg I am so glad I took your advice and stuck to the recipe (mostly)! It turned out amazing! Everyone loved it. I did make a few small changes though. I wanted a stronger lemon flavour because I love all things lemony, so I added in approximately an extra half of a lemon, 1tsp lemon zest and all the curd. But I think next time I will only add half of the curd and more lemon juice because it was just a bit too sweet (down to the curd I assume). Also I served it with a strawberry and raspberry coulis. It was absolutely delicious, a definite family favourite. Thank you so much 🙂
Hi Mel. Your recipe looks absolutely delicious. I’m planning on serving it for a dinner party I’m having on Saturday. I was considering adding a can of sweetened condensed milk and cutting down the sugar, just wanted to know your thoughts on this. I’m a bit sceptical about altering the recipe considering the glowing reviews you’ve got thus far, but I would definitely appreciate your feedback.
Thank you.
Nikita – I’ve never made those particular substitutions so I don’t dare tell you whether they would work or not. If you have the time, you might give it a trial run with your variations to see how it goes before making it for your dinner party. The original is pretty amazing so if you are worried at all or don’t have time to experiment, I’d stick with the recipe as written.
Dear mel i just wanted to thank you for being in my life 😉 after the first time i have made this cheesecake my husband just keeps begging me for more (most of the times, i let him suffer a few weeks and suprise him). I have also made this cheesecake into a strawberry cheesecake just adapting the recipe a little bit, which was delicious as well! All of the recipes that i have made from your website so far have been a succes, and trust me when i tell you i did not know how to cook before, so this comes as quite a suprise to my hubby haha. Keep on doing such a great job and being there for us!
Thanks, Mel! I’ll give it a try and let you know how it goes! Cheesecakes are due Sept. 5.
Have a great day!
Hi Mel–I have a catering business and have made a number of your recipes, always with wonderful results. Thank you! I made several of these lemon cheesecakes for a client and they turned out beautifully. I was wondering…I need to make raspberry cheesecakes and would love a no bake version. Have you ever tried this with raspberries? Think it would work to add a layer of lightly mashed raspberries within the cheese layers without having the top cheese layer slide off? I’d appreciate your thoughts. Thanks! Love your website. Have it as my homepage!
Hi Claudia – I think this has a great possibility to work as a raspberry cheesecake but if I were to try, I’d make a simple raspberry jam/syrup mixture and swirl that into the cheesecake and let it set up. Not so runny that it messes with the texture of the cheesecake but enough to give it lovely swirls. Good luck!
I made this last night for dinner with my parents and in-laws…it was a huge hit! I usually make baked cheesecakes, but this really, honestly, is the best unbaked cheesecake ever. So creamy, and the lemon flavor is perfect. Such a good summer dessert! Thank you! 🙂
Hey Mel! Why does your recipe say to preheat the oven… sorry idk cos i dont wana read whole recipe
Mel, can I use cheese Philadelphia? Iva
Iva – Philadelphia cream cheese? Is that what you mean? Sure, that should work fine.
Hi, you are useing cream cheese, but in our country there is added salt. I was thinking what to add instead. What about mascarpone? Thanks for you recomendation. The recepie look great, I love lemon and would like to do it on my birthday. Iva
Thanks Mel for this wonderful recipe! I made it for Easter and it was a HIT! I got so many compliments and my husband’s family kept raving about how light and airy it was! I made another today for my mom’s birthday. She and the rest of my family are going to love it!
Thanks for publishing all of your delicious recipes!
This is absolutely delicious, I made it on Thanksgiving and I’m making it for Easter.
I’ve been wanting to make this for awhile and finally got around to it today when I needed a “non-Christmassy” dessert for tonight. I love the ultra smooth silky texture and how it cuts so cleanly. Not as heavy as some baked cheesecakes. I can see how this would be a great summer dessert. I am thinking of trying it with lime next time.
I’m a pie-lover and host an annual Pie Night. I added this and your Coconut Cream Pie to my usual line-up this year. Loved the Coconut Cream Pie, but I wasn’t a fan of this Lemon Cheesecake. The lemon curd was delicious (I doubled that part so I’d have some to eat later!), the cake looked beautiful, had a lovely texture, and cuts cleaner than any pie or cheesecake (the gelatin helps with that), but the cream cheese just dominated the flavor. I think it’d have a more rounded flavor if one (of the 3!) packages of cream cheese was substituted with a can of sweetened condensed milk and the lemon juice was upped to 1/2 cup.
hello,
i just made this one just now. because i am from Malaysia, we rarely use cheese, lemon and gelatin but your recipe is so easy to understand. i made a few mistakes at first but i managed to overcome with it. one more thing i realized it is a little harder to mix gelatin with lemon juice rather than gelatin with hot water like common recipe of blueberry cheesecake. but like i said, i settled with it too.
but thanks again for the recipe. it’s easy to understand and easy to prepare. and unique too with curd as topping. i cant wait to eat it later.
thank you again, so much… ^__^
Nevie – you are right. When I wrote the post years ago, I was focusing on the fact that the actual cheesecake isn’t baked, but yes, you do need to turn on the oven for the crust. My mistake!
I’m sorry did I miss something – an oven is required. You need to bake the pie crust. Otherwise this does look delish!
Hi Kanwal, the recipe states how to use the gelatin. Even though in recipes it is often dissolved in hot water, in this case, it is sprinkled over the lemon juice.
hi…I have a question about the gelatin that before adding it to the filling does it
need to be dissolved in hot water?
Hi Mel, I had a pretty big family party two weeks ago and decided to make a cheesecake (even though I had NEVER made a cheesecake in my life). I saw your recipe for this ‘No Bake Lemon Cheesecake’. It was a hit. It was gone in seconds after cutting into it. Some people thought I actually bought it and passed it off as homemade. 🙂 The best compliment I could get. Thank you for this and all your other great recipes. Can’t wait to try a lot more of them.
Kirstin – good question, actually. A long time ago when I wrote this post, I was thinking along the lines of the actual cheesecake (not the crust) being no-bake. So for technicality sake I guess you could say the cheesecake is no bake but the crust isn’t. 🙂
Hi Mel — just wondering why you say “no oven required” if you have to use an oven to bake the crust? I am going to try this recipe this weekend and hopefully it will turn out as great as yours!
Hi Rosie – any type of slightly sweet crisp cracker or biscuit should do the trick.
Hey Mel I would love to try this But can you please give me a substitute for the Graham crackers ? we dont get them here in Inida 🙁
Will any biscuits do?
Just made my first cheesecake and found your BEST recipe! Made a slight error and added the rest of the lemon curd into the mixture but ended using 2 more gelatin sheets to ensure it firmed up enough to cut. Turned out perfect and this will be saved to my FAVOURITEs recipe. Substituted graham crackers with cereal biscuits and they were just as good. Added more lemon zest to the cream cheese mixture and it added a lovely zing! Perfect dessert for those summer BBQs 😉
Hello,
I made this recipe and it was really good but mine was a little grainy from the jello. I microwaved the jello until it was dissolved but I think when mixing it with the other colder ingredients it went grainy. Do you have any tips to keep that from happening? I need a recipe like this to make mini cheesecakes for my daughters wedding.
Thanks!
Tammy – did the jello cool completely before adding it to the other ingredients? If not, try letting it cool completely before mixing with the colder ingredients. That will probably help with the graininess.
Hi,
so I was just browsing for a non bake cheesecake because I pretty much suck at making baked cheesecake and yours looked so lovely, I decided I really needed to try it out. Esp because it had the word ‘best’ in the title.
Anyway, I made a few minor changes (used digestives and ginger biscuits for the base, and added the zest in the filling, rather than in the base) and apart from it not setting as much as I would have liked. It really is THE BEST NON BAKE CHEESECAKE, EVER! Or possibly the best cheesecake, baked or non baked!
Thank you so much for the recipe.
Natalie – the total ounces of cream cheese in this recipe is 24 ounces. I’m not familiar with the information in the link you posted so you’ll have to decide whether it is valid. For me, it’s easier just to measure by ounces, since the blocks of cream cheese are sold in 8 ounce blocks. Then you don’t have to mess with measuring it out into cups.
Is is true that the amount of cream cheese (measured in cups) would be 4 and 1/2 cups cream cheese?
I was researching and landed on http://recipes.howstuffworks.com/food-facts/cream-cheese-questions.htm
I think it seems that according to that website, this recipe would call for 4 & 1/2 cups of cream cheese – –
does that sound right to you?
Thx, Natalie
Lemons? You are speaking my language. However, I do have a picky palate when it comes to lemon pies. I just think the gelatin weakens the lemon flavor. Probably just me.
Anyhoo, I’ve been using this no bake recipe for years that is so unbelievably easy. The most time consuming part is baking off the graham cracker crust for 8 minutes because I’ve found that it keeps the crust from going too soggy if it sits for more than 2 days.
All you do is mix one can of condensed milk with 1/2 cup fresh lemon juice and 1/2 pint of heavy whipping cream. Instead of using lemon zest, I like to separate the pulp from the seeds when I juice the lemons and put the pulp in the filling mixture. Stir well until all is combined and pour into cooled shell (if you haven’t eaten if all by now). Refrigerate and try hard to think about something else. It’s that good.
Now, I love me some good lemon curd. Especially with Meyer Lemons which are very difficult (and expensive) to find in my part of the country. But this lemon pie is so incredibly easy and fast and will have you puckering and curling your toes in no time!! Try it tonight!
This is absolutely delicious! I originally made it to give my hubby to take to work and share but in the end, I couldn’t part with it. I think I actually like this no bake version better than baked cheesecake. It was so light in texture and so incredibly yummy. I will be making this again and again.
for Tina if you are in the UK use half digestive biscuits and half ginger nuts to get a fab result
made this for a family do…we are known as the dessert family as the most we have made at any one time for a family get together is 27. This was voted the favorite at the last gathering and we are making it again tomorrow for the next one on Sunday:)
Hey Mel,I am new here in comments,but tried few recipes and I must say they turned out delicious and everybody loved them.I didn find side so good like this one.
But I have a little problem,in my country I cant find graham crackers,what is stoping me to try any recepies with graham crackers crust.can you advice me what crackers can I use?because here are many kinds of them,but not graham!Thank you!
Heya! I just wanted to give a tip for future curds.
If you want to create intricate designs all you need is a plastic bag (those which you may use for fridges work perfectly – use a small sized plastic bag).
You scoop/pour the curd into the bag and with a scissor cut a small hole in one of the bag’s corners. Now apply pressure, this makes it incredibly easy to control the amount of curd at any time.
I used this to create quite a neat version of your lemon cheesecake!
Might I add it also works very well with all kinds of berries (I tested this with blackberries – it was beautiful!).
Instead of a lemon juice you use the juice of berries (requires a bit of cooking to release the juice and strain through a cheesecloth or sieve it. If you like the grain texture blend it in some way.)
Mel you make me look so good. This was devoured in .2 seconds at my pie party last night. And I altered a tip above. I strained the lemon curd straight into a sandwich bag (held up in in a cup so it was easy to pour into) then refrigerated it. When it was time I snipped off the tip and piped it into a spiral on top of the cheesecake then swirled with a chopstick to make a really cool marbling. Looked as good as it tasted!
It turned out fabulous! Instead of lemon curd on top, I did fresh whipped cream flavored with lemon extract. It was interesting and good, but not sure I am a huge fan of whipped cream on that cheese cake. I think I will stick with the fruit toppings (or chocolate ganache) here on out 🙂 Oh and making individual cup cakes was a breeze, super fast! Thanks again!
Hey Mel! Your one of my most favorite sites. Ever. 🙂 I like to come back in and check on you now and again. You are just too cool 🙂
Anywho! I have been making the spiderweb no bake cheesecake ever since you posted it. I even did the mini cupcake size cheesecakes which turned out awesome (froze them for weeks and were still great).
So now after reading this recipe, I am curious as to why you have chosen to add the gelatin in the creamy mixture? There seems to be less cream cheese and sugar as well. Is it a smaller batch? The original recipe seemed amazing, so again just curious!
PS- My brother’s wedding reception is this weekend and I have chosen to make the no bake cheesecake in the cupcake forms. Yes, over 100 of them! I was wanting to add more lemon to them, but when I saw this recipe, I was trying to compare the two and figure out which was best. (Ie: gelatin vs. no gelatin)
Sorry for the long comment! Hope you have a great night!
Jessica – I think the difference in the two cheesecakes is mainly for texture. The no-bake cheesecake which you’ve been making for a while is creamy, rich and more dense than the lemon cheesecakes – which is lighter and a little airier, which I think is due to the gelatin. The lemon cheesecakes makes a slightly less deep cheesecake than the no-bake one (the spiderweb one) but overall, it is just lighter and a little fresher tasting. I love them both for different reasons…if you are already comfortable with the other recipe (100 individual ones?? You are amazing!) then I would simply add some lemon zest into that recipe. I think it would turn out delicious!
That of course was a “jug”….. 🙂
Hi there,
Years ago I tried a cheesecake that looked exactly like this, but the topping (in a jog to add yourself) was a rich semi-dark chocolate sauce.
I am going to try your recipe out for a friends birthday, so I’ll let you know how it went
I made this yesterday for dessert after Sunday dinner. It was delicious! We loved it. I too love the rind in the crust. I did think the cheesecake was even better today (a day after making). Thanks for another winner 🙂
Melissa – thanks for letting me know you liked this cheesecake!
hey Mel, Just wanted to let you know I just posted this recipe and pictures on my blog. We loved it!
Cool, Monica – I’m on my way to check out the post!
I just made this and it’s setting up in the refrigerator. I did make a couple changes though- I omitted the zest in the crust and added a couple tablespoons of sugar to it. And I added the zest of both lemons to the filling. I’m so excited to eat this tomorrow, it will be a birthday cheesecake for my cousin. Thanks for posting the recipe!
~Monica H
Hi Monica – I hope this cheesecake is a hit for your cousin! Thanks for detailing your changes.
It’s me again. I told myself I wouldn’t comment for a while, lest you think I’m some sort of stalker. Then I made this for Father’s Day and, well, stalker or not, I had to tell you how we loved it.
First-I love the thickness of the graham cracker crust. Plus, the addition of lemon rind in the crust is nothing short of genius! I love the filling. It was so cool, creamy, and SMOOTH! This is a perfect summer dessert. I can completely understand how a person could just eat and eat. My husband and I did a lot of “evening things up” once the kids were in bed.
Thanks ever so much!
Danielle – you silly girl, I love your comments so comment every day if you like! I’m so glad this dessert worked out so well. Just reading your comment makes me wish I had a slice to eat right now! Thanks for checking in to let me know!
I was really pleased with how quickly this came together! The only thing I would change about this would be to use more lemon curd. Then again, I firmly believe there should be more lemon curd on everything. Can there ever be too much lemon curd? I think not.
Hey Reyna – you are probably right, more lemon curd could probably create world peace and solve all of our woes. Despite the lack thereof in this cheesecake, I’m glad you still liked it!
I made these as a girls’ night treat, but I wanted something finger friendly so I made individual ones in mini muffin and muffin tins. I just pressed the crust into the bottom, baked it, and did everything else like the recipe. They turned out delicious!! Only, I wasn’t thinking and only put crust on the bottom and not on the sides too – bad plan, had to freeze them to get them out of the pan.. lesson learned 🙂 They were also a little harder to decorate the same way just due to size. They were still cute, delicious, and disappeared. They were a huge hit, thanks melanie!
What’s the purpose of pressing the mixture through a fine mesh strainer or sieve? Is it necessary — I didn’t see any ingredients in the curd that would make this step necessary — though I’m not a pro at making cheese cakes. I’m excited to make it in my Demarle large round (love this product) — only reason why I’m making it, actually!
Thanks!
Aimee
Aimee – whenever custard or curd is made with egg yolks it is important to press it through a sieve to get rid of any small particles of cooked eggs. Sometimes a custard or curd can be cooked smoothly but even with the best of cooks, the yolks can often get overcooked or heated too quickly (when they are being tempered or when they start cooking over the heat). Pressing it through the sieve ensures a dreamy, silky curd. You can eliminate this step but you may end up with a curd that is lumpy or has bits of cooked egg. Hope that helps!
I just made this–haven’t tasted it yet but it looks great! I used a sandwich bag to pipe the lemon curd. Just cut a hole in the corner once it is filled with the curd, and it works just like a cake decorator bag. Worked great!
kelli – after reading your comment, I was like, “duh! why didn’t I think of that?” Definitely a smart idea to use a bag for the lemon curd. Brilliant, actually.
Whoot! Whoot! Saw your lovely picture on Tastespotting. Way to go!
Love lemon cheesecake, and I like the way you decorated the top. thanks for sharing.
it may take tons of exercise to burn the calories off but i think it looks worth it. yum!
This looks delicious….I love cheesecake…. and somehow I’ve never made one…
I know way too much about how to eat half a cheesecake in one sitting…I mean, what I have tons of self control, what are you talking about? Hmmm.
This looks amazing! Love that it’s no bake…and lemon flavored!
I don’t have a Springform pan. Can I use a square baking dish or 9×13 pan?
Caroline – I think it’s worth a shot to use a different kind of baking pan – do you have a round cake pan (like 9 or 10 inches)? If not, I think a 9X13 might work ok. It won’t look as pretty because you can’t take the sides off but will still taste delicious.
gosh i really want that cheesecake.
Wow…stunning presentation and step-by-step photos, Melanie! I love making cheesecake, but I have never made a no-bake version…this will be the perfect summer dessert! Thanks for sharing! 🙂
lovely little designs up top, melanie. and come on now–food bloggers rarely if ever use hyperbole, am i right? (insert eye roll here.) if you say it’s the very best, nay, the ultimate best, i’ll take your word for it. 🙂
Here’s the problem with this recipe: How am I supposed to wait 6 whole hours for this to set up without eating it? You see my conundrum….
Oh….that looks scrumptious! I will be trying this very soon.
Any ideas of a low-fat/lighter substitute for heavy cream? Fat free half and half? Lite Cool Whip? I’m not sure how much whipped cream 1 1/4 cups of heavy cream makes. Thanks! (This looks DELISH!).
Alicia – I’m probably the wrong person to ask on a lighter substitute for heavy cream since I use a ton of it. I know it is loaded with calories and fat but it definitely lends a delicious creaminess to this dish. You could always swap it out with whole milk or the like but I can’t guarantee the results – I don’t know how the cheesecake will set up making a modification like that. If you try something, let me know.
So do you think I could substitute whole milk for the heavy cream??
We just made this Cheesecake last week and loved it as well. Thanks for all the great recipes!
Hi! I’ve been following your site for a while now. It’s awesome! And I just have to say that I love lemon and I love cheesecake. So this is FABULOUS! Thanks for sharing!
Cheesecake IS my chocolate! Love, love, love the stuff. Cheesecake with lemon curd–I’m done.
I know this post isn’t meant to be funny, but I laughed every time you said hyperbole. We are huge Brian Regan fans. If you aren’t then youtube him and you will be!
I LOVE cheesecake!! I can’t wait to try this! :o)
Yum! This has been in my “to make file” and is finally on the menu for Sunday dessert. So excited that you liked it! Lemon is the best, besides chocolate of course!
I want to make this soon. I must go and buy a micro plane immediately. I don’t think the mandolin will help with this recipe.
There seems to be a lot of lemon recipes on blogs today–yum!
I love no bake cheesecakes and this one really does look like THE best! I’ll definitely be trying this in the not too distant future.
Beautiful! Even better than I don’t need to bake it. 😉