Meyer Lemon Cheesecake with Ultra Creamy Lemon Curd

This Meyer lemon cheesecake with ultra creamy lemon curd is the ultimate sweet treat. Dreamy and light, the flavors are perfectly balanced.

I love lemon desserts, but they often tend to be too sweet and not at all tart. This Meyer lemon cheesecake recipe makes the best combination of the two by using sweeter lemons instead of more sugar. This will quickly be your new favorite cheesecake recipe!

What Are Meyer Lemons?

A hybrid between tart lemons and mandarin oranges, Meyer lemons are a sweeter lemon variety. The skin is even a little sweet, so it makes a great lemon zest for garnishing because it has a lot of flavor without being tart or bitter.

Meyer lemons are in season during midwinter, so they often show up from January through March. They do tend to be slightly more expensive than traditional lemons, but they have exceptional flavor.

How To Make A Water Bath For Cheesecake

Cheesecakes bake best when there is a steam in the oven to provide moisture. This keeps the cheesecake from getting rubbery and cracking.

You don’t need to make a super deep water bath, only a couple of inches, but before you fill up your springform pan, make sure it fits comfortably inside of dish that is at least 2 inches deep. Once you have filled the springform pan with the cheesecake filling, place it into the baking dish and add in an inch of hot tap water.

Why is the Lemon Curd So Pale?

If you’ve made traditional lemon curd before, this one may look a little different or like you didn’t make it correctly. Don’t stress! There’s a reason for this.

Most traditional lemon curd recipes are made using ONLY egg yolks. This gives you that super bright yellow kinda translucent looking lemon curd. This recipe however leaves just a few egg whites in it to give it more of a frothy and light texture. This matches the texture of the cheesecake really well instead of giving it an egg heavy curd.

Do I Need A Springform Pan?

I highly recommend using a springform pan because it is the best way to keep the water bath  from leaking into your cheesecake. It also makes it really easy to remove the cheesecake from the pan without damaging its shape or appearance.

If you don’t have a springform pan, you can line a cake pan lined with parchment paper to help remove it from the inside. You may get some folds that cause indentations in your cheesecake, but that’s better than trying to remove it and getting cheesecake crumbles.

Professional Recipe Tips for Meyer Lemon Cheesecake

• Use room temperature eggs for a smooth cheesecake filling. After you’ve gone through the effort of softening the cream cheese, you don’t want it to seize up by adding in cold eggs. This can cause cracks and uneven baking. Read about why you should bake with room temperature eggs for more information.
• Don’t waste money on unripened lemons. The season for Meyer lemons is short, so you don’t want to waste time and money on citrus that isn’t ripe. Check out my guide for buying citrus for in-depth explanation on how to tell if your lemons are ripe. 
• Get the most Meyer lemon juice with a quality juicer. Get your money's worth out of your lemons by using a handheld juicer. If you don’t have one to use, check out my citrus squeezing hack for in a pinch. 
• Use a low speed on a stand mixer. The higher the speed of your stand mixer, the more air beats into the cream cheese. This may seem like it will make the filling fluffy, but it actually can make the cheesecake filling fall and crack during cooling. Protect your Meyer lemon cheesecake by using the lowest speed possible for mixing.
• DO NOT skip chilling. The 4 hours of chilling time is essential for the cheesecake to set up properly. Do not skip it or the texture will be completely off.

Dreamy Meyer Lemon Cheesecake Recipe

Make sure to buy one or two extra Meyer lemons for decorating the top of the Meyer lemon cheesecake. I also like to sprinkle on some extra zest for garnish because it tastes so wonderful.

Happy Cooking! 🙂