Eggless Lemon Cheesecake
This Eggless Lemon Cheesecake is smooth, creamy, and melt in your mouth lemony! Nestled inside a traditional graham cracker, this delicious eggless dessert won’t disappoint.
Servings 12 slices
Calories 422kcal
Equipment
Ingredients
Crust:
- 2 cups (200 g) graham cracker crumbs (about 15-17 full sheet graham crackers)
- 7 tablespoons (98 g) unsalted butter, melted
- 1/3 cup (67 g) granulated sugar
Filling:
- 1/2 cup (100 gr) granulated sugar
- 1 tablespoon lemon zest
- 3 tablespoons (30 g) cornstarch
- 3 tablespoons (45 ml) water
- 24 oz (678 g) cream cheese, softened (3 pkg 8oz. each)
- 1/2 cup (120 g) sour cream
- 14 onces (397 g - one can) sweetened condensed milk
- ¼ cup (60 ml) freshly squeezed lemon juice
- 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon lemon extract (optional)
- 2- 3 drops yellow food coloring (optional)
- 1/3 cup (80 ml) heavy cream
To Decorate:
- Eggless Lemon Curd ( I added about 3/4 cup)
- Whipped Cream
Instructions
Make the Crust:
- Preheat oven 350º F (180º C).
- In a medium mixing bowl, combine graham crumbs, butter, and sugar with a fork until evenly moistened.
- Pour the crumbs mixture into the pan and press the crumbs down into the base and up the sides. Tip: Use the bottom of a measuring cup or glass to press down the crumbs evenly.
- Bake crust until set and fragrant, about 8 to 10 minutes. Remove to a wire rack to cool for at least 30 minutes before filling.
Make the Filling:
- In a medium bowl, use your fingertips to combine the sugar and lemon zest until the sugar is fragrant.
- Mix cornstarch and water in a small bowl until smooth. Set aside.
- Place the cream cheese in the bowl of an electric mixer, beat on low speed for 2-3 minutes until smooth and free of any lumps. Add sugar-lemon mixture and sour cream and continue mixing until incorporated. Gradually add sweetened condensed milk and beat until creamy, for 1-2 minutes. Add lemon juice, vanilla, lemon extract (if using), yellow food coloring (if using), and cornstarch mixture; beat until well incorporated.
- Add whipped heavy cream and mix on high speed or 2 – 3 minutes.
Prepare the Pan:
- Grab a large piece of foil, place your springform pan on top, and fold the sides around it to keep water from seeping in. OPTIONAL: I like to wrap the springform pan with a slow cooker liner. I place the springform pan in the middle of the slow cooker liner, grab all that excess baggage, wind it up, and tie the end with a knot.
- Pour the Cheesecake Filing on to the Crust
- Smooth the top with a spatula or knife. Be sure to gently tap the bottom of the pan to remove any potential air bubbles.
Prepare the Pan and Water Bath
- Put the cheesecake in a large roasting pan and pour hot water in (avoiding the cheesecake, of course) until it’s about halfway up the sides of the cheesecake pan.
Bake
- Bake at 350º F (180º C) for 40 minutes or until the edges are just barely puffed, but the filling is pale—you're not looking for golden brown.
- Turn off the oven and leave the door closed for 40 more minutes - leave the cheesecake inside of the oven. The cheesecake will continue to cook but slowly begin to cool as well.
- After 40 minutes, remove the cheesecake from the oven. The cheesecake center should still wobble when you remove it; it will continue to cook as it cools on the counter. Remove the cheesecake from the water bath and wrapping. Let it cool at room temperature. Then refrigerate for at least 6 hours or overnight.
- Loosen the cheesecake from the sides of the pan by running a thin metal spatula around the inside rim. Unmold and transfer to a cake plate.
- Just before serving, top the cheesecake with lemon curd and whipped cream.
Notes
Store cheesecake leftovers in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.
Freeze: Eggless Lemon Cheesecake can be frozen for up to three months.
- First, cool the cheesecake on the counter before freezing—you can skip cooling it in the refrigerator.
- Next, remove the outer rim of the springform pan (leave the base).
- Then wrap the cheesecake and the bottom of the pan with a few plastic wrap layers, then a final layer of aluminum foil. Don’t freeze your cheesecake with any toppings!
- Plan ahead! Cheesecake is one of those desserts you have to plan in advance. It takes a long time to chill and set.
- Measure the ingredients correctly. I highly recommend using a kitchen scale.
- Preheat the oven at least 15 minutes before getting started to give it plenty of time to reach the ideal recipe temperature.
- Leaky baking pans are a cheesecake’s arch-nemesis. After many years of cheesecake making, I have concluded that most springform pans leak, so to avoid water leaks, I like to wrap the springform pan with a double layer of heavy-duty foil and then a slow cooker liner. To do so, I place the springform pan in the middle of the slow cooker liner, grab all that excess baggage, wind it up, and tie the end with a knot, covering the underside and coming all the way to the top.
- Ovens are all different, so baking times are always approximate. Oven thermostats are sometimes inaccurate, and that will all affect baking time, so keep an eye on things.
- Avoid overcooking the cheesecake, or it will crack. The center of your cheesecake should still wobble when you remove it from the oven; it will continue to cook as it cools on the counter.
- To prevent cracks during cooling, it’s important to loosen the cheesecake from the sides of the pan after baking. First, cool the cheesecake on a wire rack for 15 minutes. Then carefully run a knife between the cheesecake and the inside of the pan. Don’t remove the sides of the pan yet.
- Allow the cheesecake to chill for at least 6 hours in the refrigerator before attempting to cut. For a very clean-cut, use a warm knife (the best way to warm a knife is to run it under hot water and then dry it off just before cutting), and wipe the knife clean between cuts.
- If you don't have graham crackers, you can use vanilla wafer crumbs instead.
Nutrition
Calories: 422kcal | Carbohydrates: 30g | Protein: 5g | Fat: 32g | Saturated Fat: 18g | Sodium: 287mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 20g