Baked Lemon Cheesecake

German style cheesecake, with a little lemony twist, this baked lemon cheesecake is bright and creamy and perfect for spring!

What does Lemon juice do to cheesecake?

Lemon juice adds delicious flavor to this baked cheesecake, it also creates and even creamier texture! Lemon juice won’t cause the filling to curdle due to the reaction it has with the fatty filling.

What can I use instead of Quark?

Quark works best in this recipe and if you can’t find any at the store – you can make it at home with this Quark Recipe. I haven’t made this recipe with anything other than quark but if you need to I would recommend trying whole milk ricotta or farmer’s cheese.

Which is better, baked or no bake cheesecake?

This one is 1000% personal preference. I love the German style cheesecake which is baked because it has such a creamy texture and doesn’t need to be ice cold. However, baked cheesecakes are great for the summer when the thought of turning on your oven sounds like the worst idea!

Store bought or homemade Lemon Curd?

I will ALWAYS recommend using homemade lemon curd because it has better ingredients, flavor and texture. This is the recipe for lemon curd that I use and I recommend cutting it in half to use on top of this lemon cheesecake.

What if I don’t have a 7″ springform pan?

If you don’t have a 7″ pan, I recommend sizing up to an 8″ pan and checking the cheesecake 10 minutes early for doneness. If you scale down to a 6″ pan, you will have too much filling.

Additional Recipes to try:

• Käsekuchen – German Baked Cheesecake
• Quark – German Cheese similar to Yogurt in taste and texture
• Quarkteilchen – Custard Pastry

Tips for making Baked Lemon Cheesecake

• Don’t over mix the crust. Because you are going to press it into the springform pan, it does not need to hold together as a solid piece of dough – it just needs to be fully mixed.
• Always zest your lemons before squeezing the juice out.
• Don’t over bake it this lemon cheesecake, it should still have a wobble kind of like jello but not slosh. It’s ok if your cheesecake isn’t as golden as this, it can depend on your oven.
• Allow the cheesecake to come to room temperature before putting it in the fridge to set fully.

Ingredients

• Butter: room temperature butter is used in the crust of the cheesecake to add moisture and richness.
• Vanilla Extract: Vanilla adds flavor and enhances the sweetness of both the crust and the filling.
• Egg: This recipe uses two standard large eggs from the grocery store in the filling.
• AP Flour: All purpose flour is what most people consider to be “normal” flour it can be bleached or unbleached.
• Granulated Sugar: Granulated sugar is white standard sugar and adds sweetness to the crust and the filling.
• Quark: a type of German cheese, quark is a common addition to baked goods in Germany. If you can’t find any you can make your own quark
• Sour Cream: Sour cream adds a little extra richness and creaminess to the cheesecake and helps to stabilize the filling.
• Corn Starch: corn starch is used to partially replace the vanilla pudding mix that is often found in German Quark cheesecake.
• Lemons: Lemon juice and lemon zest are added into the filling for optimal lemon flavor!

How to make Lemon Cheesecake

Make the crust

• Preheat the oven to 350º F and place a rack in the center of the oven.
• Press a large square of parchment paper into a 7″ springform pan and crease the excess along the edges so that it lays flat.
• In the bowl of a stand mixer, add in the butter, sugar, and vanilla. Use the paddle attachment to beat the ingredients together on medium speed until combined.
• Scrape down the sides of the bowl and then add in the flour and baking powder.
• Mix once more until no more dry ingredients are visible.
• Pour the mixed crust into the lined springform pan. Press the crust into the the base of the pan and just barely up the sides.
• Be sure that the corner where the sides and bottom meet isn’t too thick. You can do this by pressing the back of your pointer finger into the corner once the crust has been pressed into the whole pan.

Make the filling & bake

• In a large mixing bowl, add in the cornstarch and sugar. Whisk to combine and then pour in the quark. Use a rubber spatula to stir the mixture together.
• Add the sour cream and vanilla extract to the bowl and stir again. Finally add in the eggs, lemon zest and lemon juice and whisk once more.
• Carefully pour the filling into the pressed crust.
• Bake the cheesecake for 40 minutes, then rotate the pan 180º and bake for another 30-40 minutes until just slightly wobbly.
• Once baked, remove the cheesecake from the oven and leave to cool on a rack until it is room temperature. Then, move it to the fridge and allow it to set fully before removing the springform pan.
• Leave to set in the fridge for at least 4 hours or up to overnight. Top with lemon curd and a dusting of powdered sugar before serving.

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