This baked lemon meringue cheesecake is rich and spring like. It has a buttery graham cracker crust, a lemon cheesecake, a tart lemon curd and a fluffy toasted meringue. Every bite is amazing!
Preheat the oven to 325°F. Grease and line a 9-inch springform pan with parchment paper and set aside. Mix the graham cracker crumbs and melted butter together in a small bowl. Press the crust mixture evenly into the bottom and up the sides of the springform pan.
Bake for 10 minutes and then let it cool on a wire rack while you make the filling.
Lemon Cheesecake Filling
Turn the oven down to 300°F. Beat the cream cheese and sugar together until well combined. Add flour, sour cream, vanilla, lemon zest and lemon juice and beat until combined. Add the eggs, one at a time, and mixing well after each one.
Pour the cheesecake into the springform pan. Wrap aluminum foil around the base and up the sides of the sprinform pan. Make sure it goes more then half way up the sides because the water bath will be halfway up the pan. Wrap a crockpot liner around the springform pan and tie it. Place the springform pan into a larger pan and fill t he larger pan with water until it is halfway up the sprinform pan.
Bake for 1 hour and 15 minutes at 300°F. Do not open the oven door while the cheesecake is baking as the cheesecake could crack. After 1 hour and 15 minutes, check the cheesecake. It should be slightly jiggly in the center. Turn off the oven and leave the cheesecake in the oven with the oven door closed for 30 minutes. Crack the oven door open and let the cheesecake sit in the oven for another 30 minutes. This allows the cheesecake to cool slowly. Again, this is to avoid cracks.
Remove the cheesecake from the oven and store it in the refrigerator while you make the lemon curd and meringue topping.
Lemon Curd
Place 8 egg yolks into a medium sized bowl and set it aside. Add lemon juice, lemon zest and sugar to a medium saucepan, and bring it to a boil over medium heat. Pour the boiled mixture into the eggs, whisking the eggs quickly to temper them. Pour everything back into the saucepan and cook until it thickens and coats the back of a spoon.
Pour the curd into a fresh bowl and mix in the cold butter. Place plastic wrap over the surface of the curd. This is to prevent it from forming a crust. Let it cool while you make the meringue topping.
Meringue Topping
Combine the sugar, cream of tartar, vanilla and egg whites into a large bowl and set it over a saucepan of simmering water. Whisk until the sugar has dissolved and reaches a temperature between 120°F - 140°F on a thermometer.
Remove it from the heat and use an electric whisk to beat the mixture to stiff peaks.
Assemble the Cheesecake
Place the cheesecake onto a cake stand and spoon the lemon curd on top of it in an even layer.
Spoon the meringue on top of the lemon curd. I piled it on in spoonfuls and then used the back of a spoon to make some peaks all over. Use a kitchen torch to lightly brown the meringue.
Refrigerate the cheesecake until it is ready to serve. The cheesecake will last between 3-4 days.
Notes
Make sure the cheesecake filling ingredients are at room temperature. This is key for a smooth texture.
Bake the cheesecake in a water bath. This will help bake the cheesecake evenly (no brown edges), and will help against cracking.
Cook the lemon curd until it thickens like pudding. If you take it off the heat too early, it will be too watery.
You can put the lemon curd back over heat after adding butter and you think it's not thick enough.
Keep the cheesecake refrigerated and it will last between 3-4 days.