traditional baked lemon cheesecake layered with lemon curd and topped with crunchy sweet meringue

When asked to bake a cake I’m never one to shy away from a challenge. A request from my mother in law for a lemon meringue cheesecake for her 60th birthday party sounded like a great opportunity to experiment a little with my go-to cheesecake recipe.

I opted to use pre-made lemon curd to save time in making the cake and prepping for the rest of the party. I always use Yackandandah brand for lemon curd as its got a great tart flavour and lovely thick consistency.

If you don’t want to add the lemon curd or meringue the cheesecake is very tasty on its own and of course you can add your own toppings.

ingredients

for cheesecake base

• 160g digestive biscuits (I used gluten free Anzac biscuits)
• 60g butter
• 40g hazelnuts

for the cheesecake filling

• 150g caster sugar
• 3 eggs
• 250g Philadelphia cream cheese
• 250g cottage cheese
• 250g sour cream
• 30ml cornflour
• rind of 1 lemon
• 50ml lemon juice

for the lemon meringue

• 250g lemon curd
• 2 egg whites
• 1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar
• 100g caster sugar

directions

for the cheesecake

1. To make the base, process biscuits and hazelnuts in a blender or food processor until it crumbs. (Thermomix 10 seconds, speed 7). Add the butter (can be cold) mix until combined. (Thermomix 10 seconds, speed 5). Press into a spring form tin and place in freezer to set while you prepare the filling.
2. Beat together the caster sugar and eggs until light and fluffy. I do this in my Kenwood mixer but it can also be done in a Thermomix if you have two bowls as it will need to be clean, free from any moisture or oil. I let it beat away while I prepare the cheeses – about 5 minutes.
3. In a food processor mix together cream cheese and cottage cheese until smooth. (Thermomix 30 seconds, speed 5)
4. Mix cornflour into lemon juice, add to cheese mixture with lemon rind and sour cream and combine. (Thermomix 10 seconds, speed 5)
5. Combine egg mixture and cheese mixture stirring with a spoon until just combined.
6. Pour on top of the base and bake in a 160c/320f oven (not fan forced) with a small bowl of water next to it until done – about 1 hour. Once finished allow to cool in the oven before moving to fridge, I put a wooden spoon in the door to keep it ajar. Letting it cool slowly reduces the risk of the cheesecake cracking (always a challenge).
7. Let the cake rest overnight before adding the lemon meringue topping.

for the lemon meringue

1. Beat together egg whites and cream of tartar until stiff peaks form. (You could do this in your Thermomix with butterfly insert but I have never had success! The bowl needs to be completely dry and free from any oil.)
2. Slowly add in sugar and continue beating for another 30 seconds once all combined.
3. Use the base of your spring form tin and draw a circle on a piece of baking paper. Use a ruler to locate the centre point.
4. Place mixture into a piping bag. On the centre point pipe 1-2cm dot pulling the bag up quickly to leave behind a peak of meringue mixture (as the top picture shows. Continue piping over lapping dots until the circle is full and mixture is all used up.
5. Bake the meringue at 200c/390f oven for 20 minutes.
6. Once the meringue is cool, pour the lemon curd on top of cheesecake, then carefully place the meringue on top.
7. Enjoy your lemon meringue cheesecake!

If you love a baked cheesecake have a look at our other recipes including our baked chai cheesecake and white chocolate and raspberry cheesecake.

For healthier refined sugar free, gluten free and dairy free cheesecakes have a look at our strawberry cheesecake slice with a shortbread crust, caramel cheesecake slice or our coconut strawberry cheesecake.