Mmm… cheesecake! What’s my favorite thing about cheesecake? A great graham cracker crust! You know the kind … the crispy, sweet and buttery thick bottom. It’s my husband’s favorite too. Making this cheesecake made me think of all our early dates at the Cheesecake Café … trying to skimp on dinner so we would have room to at least share a piece of their mile-high cheesecake. The huge dairy case filled with every kind of cheesecake imaginable … Turtle, strawberry, pumpkin. Like I said, mmm … cheesecake!
It has literally been years since I’ve made a cheesecake so my husband pleaded with me to just make a “plain” one with a thick graham cracker crust. The taste of home recipes are much more adventurous with their flavors so I must now confess … I didn’t make the lemon glaze for this cheesecake, just the crust and filling. And they were to die for!! So, let’s get onto our bake which comes to us from Betty Jacques of Hemet, California.
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Golden Lemon-glazed Cheesecake
CRUST
2 ½ cups graham cracker crumbs (about 40 squares)
¼ cup sugar
2/3 cup butter, melted
FILLING
3 packages (8 oz each) cream cheese, softened
1 ¼ cups sugar
3 eggs, lightly beaten
3 tablespoons lemon juice
1 tablespoon grated lemon peel
1 tsp vanilla extract
GLAZE
1 small lemon, thinly sliced, divided
3 cups water, divided
1 cup sugar
3 tablespoons cornstarch
1/3 cup lemon juice
1. In a bowl, combine cracker crumbs and sugar; stir in butter. Press onto the bottom and 2” up the side of a greased 9” springform pan. Place pan on a baking sheet. Bake at 350F for 10 minutes or until set. Place pan on a wire rack. Leave oven on.
2. In a large mixing bowl, beat the cream cheese and sugar until smooth. Add eggs; beat on low speed just until combined. Stir in the lemon juice, lemon peel and vanilla just until blended. Pour into the crust. Return pan to baking sheet. Bake for 40-45 minutes or until the center is almost set. Cool pan on a wire rack for 10 minutes. Carefully run a knife around edge of pan to loosen; cool 1 hour longer. Refrigerate overnight.
Okay, I’m going to stop here for a minute but don’t worry … the lemon glaze instructions are coming!
I baked the cake for the full 45 minutes and when it came out of the oven it was a beautiful, puffy dome. It looked so silky. I lightly touched the center to make sure the filling was done (it didn’t jiggle). As it cooled, a small crack formed where I touched it. A question for all you Chickens out there … do you know why a cheesecake cracks?
The texture of this cake was so smooth and rich and had the right amount of citrus to it. I think I got the crust around the sides a bit thick because it crumbles a little when it’s cut. But, let me tell you … my husband was thrilled with having crust on the bottom and the sides! I’ll have to sneak a piece out for Norma for her taste test!! For those who wish to have the lemon glaze, here’s how it works …
3. Set aside 1 lemon slice; coarsely chop remaining lemon slices. In a saucepan, bring the chopped lemon and 2 cups water to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer for 15 minutes. Drain and discard the liquid. In another saucepan, combine sugar and cornstarch; stir in remaining water until smooth. Add lemon juice and lemon pulp. Bring to a boil; cook and stir for 3 minutes or until thickened. Chill until cooled, stirring occasionally.
4. Remove sides of pan. Pour the lemon glaze over the cheesecake; garnish with the reserved lemon slice. Refrigerate leftovers.
Did you know … sour cream toppings are frequently spread over cheesecakes a few minutes before the end of baking. Remove the cheesecake from oven and let stand for 5-15 minutes. Spoon sour cream topping around the edge of the cheesecake then carefully spread toward the center. Bake for an additional 5 minutes.
What does Norma say about this cheese cake?
SOOO silky smooth! You could add a berry coulis or the lemon glaze for extra oomph but I have to say I really appreciated the simple rich (not too sweet) flavour of a plain cheesecake—“less” felt like “more” for this one! If you love a crisp buttery crumb crust as much as we do you’ll definitely want to have it come up the sides as well.
TEMPTATION LEVEL out of 10: Let’s not kid ourselves Chickens! Cheesecake? Especially cheesecake this elegantly simple and delicious? 9 out of 10!
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