I have a serious soft spot for lemon meringue pie but not because of the coconutty crust or the velvety smooth filling (made with condensed milk please!) or even the puffs of crispy-marshmallowy meringue that adorn the top. Nope, it’s not because of any of those things. In fact it doesn’t even have anything to do with the pie. It’s because it’s my dad’s ultimate favourite dessert and that makes it special in our family.
This version, made with a baked lemon cheesecake filling, combines the best of both pie and cheesecake worlds and the layer of tangy lemon curd that oozes out the bottom when you cut it, adds an extra heavenly dimension. And if you’d like to go to a little extra effort, I think cute little mini versions of this (made in ring moulds or even clean tins!) would make a memorable dessert!
Lemon Meringue Cheesecake
Serves 10-12
400g biscuits, crushed
100g butter, melted
540g full fat cream cheese, softened
150g castor sugar
3 eggs
20ml double cream
1 tsp vanilla extract
juice and finely grated zest of 1 lemon
½ cup store-bought lemon curd (optional)
4 egg whites
120g castor sugar
Preheat the oven to 160C. Grease and line a 22cm springform cake tin with baking paper. Combine biscuits and butter and press into the bottom and up the sides of the tin to form a crust. Beat the cream cheese until soft and smooth then add the castor sugar, eggs, double cream, vanilla, juice and lemon zest. Spread a thin layer of lemon curd over the crust then pour in the cheesecake filling. Whip the egg whites until soft peak stage then add the castor sugar gradually until the meringue is glossy and the sugar is dissolved. Top the cheesecake with the meringue mixture, using a spoon to create soft peaks. Bake for 1 hour then leave the door slightly ajar (or place a wooden spoon in the oven door to keep it open), switch the oven off and allow the cheesecake to cool completely. Refrigerate until set then serve.
I love your website and your recipes. I am about to make this gorgeous cheesecake this afternoon. My only wish is that when I copy the recipe, the pictures could also be copied (I hate recipes without pictures)!!
Hi Sue – oh yes, I agree! Thanks for pointing that out, let me see if there isn’t something I can do about that. I’ve started using Yummly recipe cards on my most recent posts which is a handy app that lets you save all the recipes to an online recipe box (or print them). Will look into a solution for you! x
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Only 20 ml double cream? Is this correct? Thanks.
Hi Selma, yes 20ml double cream is correct although if that amount is too small to justify buying an entire container, you can leave it out although I think that extra bit of fat makes this cheesecake really creamy! Hope that helps. Kate x
My meringue turned very brown, did you really put it on from the beginning?
Yes I did put the meringue on at the beginning – its the only way to not over bake the cheesecake (I hate chalky cheesecake!). If you have a fan-forced oven, remember it tends to run 20 degrees celsius hotter than usual so you can start by reducing the oven temp to 140 – or invest in an oven thermometer. They are super cheap (around R40) and will change your life! Otherwise, if the top is burning, I would lower the shelf to the bottom of the oven as sometimes the top of your oven is hotter (especially if it doesn’t have a fan). The other thing you can do is to gently lay a piece of foil (shiny side up) on the top of the meringue if it starts to brown. Hope that helps! x
Hi Kate,
I have made this cheese cake a few times but it never looks as good as yours and I was wondering if you have any tips for me because I can never seem to get the meringue looking that great. It often starts to burn and I can’t get seem to get it to look that nice and thick like in the picture.
Thankyou!!
Hi Beth, the secret is all in understanding your oven. If you have a fan-forced oven, remember it tends to run 20 degrees celsius hotter than usual so you can start by reducing the oven temp to 140 – or invest in an oven thermometer. They are super cheap (around R40) and will change your life! Otherwise, if the top is burning, I would lower the shelf to the bottom of the oven as sometimes the top of your oven is hotter (especially if it doesn’t have a fan). The other thing you can do is to gently lay a piece of foil (shiny side up) on the top of the meringue if it starts to brown. Hope that helps! x
Hi! I will make this for my mom for mother’s day (In Canada) 🙂
Does it not need to be baked in a water bath? Would it make any difference?
Thanks!
Usually, I do bake my cheesecake in a water bath but with the meringue on top, you will never get it crunchy with all that humidity in the oven. Hope that helps!