Lemon Cheesecake Recipe

This Lemon Cheesecake Recipe is absolutely perfect and easy to make! A shortbread crust, lemon cheesecake filling, and a sour cream topping make this dessert recipe complete!

I honestly feel like one can never have too many cheesecake recipes in their baking arsenal, am I right? I’ve pretty much decided I’m on a quest to fine-tune and tweak every variety of cheesecake I’ve tried and share them with you all – possibly create some new flavors as well! I hope you don’t mind my latest addiction – this incredible lemon cheesecake recipe.

The bright yellow color, and the tangy citrus flavor of lemon always makes me think of spring and summer recipes. Lemon Poppy Seed Pound Cake and Lemon Shortbread Thumbprint Cookies are two of my favorite recipes to bake this time of the year. I’m so glad to add a cheesecake to this mix now!

What’s with the sour cream in this lemon cheesecake recipe?

Sour cream is an interesting addition to this cheesecake, but don’t be alarmed, the sour cream gives this cake a rich flavor without the heaviness of added cream cheese. Don’t skip the delicious sour cream topping either, it’s absolutely wonderful paired with the lemon citrus flavor!

If you liked my Lemon Cheesecake recipe, please leave a rating and a comment below this post!

Lemon Cheesecake Recipe

A lemon cheesecake recipe with cream cheese, sour cream, and lemon zest with a shortbread crust.

4.88 from 8 votes

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Course: Dessert

Cuisine: American

Keyword: lemon cheesecake

Prep Time: 20 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 1 hour hour 30 minutes minutes

Total Time: 1 hour hour 50 minutes minutes

Servings: 8 servings

Calories: 689kcal

Author: Kelly Miller

Ingredients

For shortbread crust:

• ▢ 1 1/2 cups flour
• ▢ 2/3 cup sugar
• ▢ 1/2 cup butter softened
• ▢ 2 eggs
• ▢ 1 tsp vanilla
• ▢ 1 tbsp milk
• ▢ 1/2 tsp salt
• ▢ 1 tsp baking powder

For cheesecake:

• ▢ 16 oz cream cheese softened
• ▢ 1 cup sugar plus 1 tablespoon, divided
• ▢ 2 cups sour cream divided
• ▢ zest of 1 lemon divided
• ▢ 2 eggs
• ▢ 1 tsp vanilla

Instructions

• Beat together all crust ingredients. Press batter into the bottom and half way up the sides of a 9 inch springform pan.
  
• For the filling, beat cream cheese and 1 cup sugar. Add in eggs, 1 cup sour cream, zest of 3/4 of the lemon, and vanilla. Pour into crust.
• Bake at 325 degrees for one hour. Turn off oven and leave cake inside for an additional 15 minutes.
• In a small bowl, stir together remaining sour cream, remaining lemon zest, and 1 tablespoon sugar. Spread over cake. Return cake to oven and bake at 325 for another 15 minutes. Allow cake to cool completely before slicing and serving.
  

Nutrition

Calories: 689kcal | Carbohydrates: 64g | Protein: 9g | Fat: 44g | Saturated Fat: 25g | Cholesterol: 204mg | Sodium: 508mg | Potassium: 277mg | Sugar: 45g | Vitamin A: 1595IU | Vitamin C: 0.5mg | Calcium: 167mg | Iron: 1.8mg

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This really is one of the most delicious cheesecakes I’ve ever tried. I absolutely love the shortbread crust, too! This one’s a winner, for sure!