Luscious Lemon Bar Cheesecake

I’m a self-admitted chocolate addict, we all know this. However, this sweet, slightly tangy cheesecake rivals the richest of chocolate desserts, in my book. What’s even better? It’s fancy enough for a gathering, but EASY enough to make when you’re just craving some cheesecake.

I got the idea for this recipe from the Dessert Gods, AKA Southern Living, and adapted it to be low carb, sugar and gluten free. Let me tell you, it does NOT disappoint.

My one tweak, which you can choose to take or not, is that I used meyer lemons for the lemon curd. Meyer lemons are what happens when a tangerine and lemon mix - slightly sweet, but still has the lip-puckering tang of a lemon.

You can find meyer lemons at Trader Joe’s during certain warm-weather months, if you wanna test drive them. Or you can just go with regular lemons - either way, the cheesecake will not suffer.

Prep the lemon curd in advance, because it’ll need time to set and chill.

You’ll need the zest and juice of 6 lemons to start. For the zest, you’ll need a microplane, and be sure to only get the colored part of the rind. To save yourself some time on juicing the lemons carefully (but quickly), use a fine strainer over your measuring cup to catch any seeds while squeezing.

Combine the zest and juice with unsalted butter, Pyure, and eggs in a medium saucepan. Cook over medium-low heat for about 15 minutes, until mixture has thickened and coats the back of a spoon. Place plastic wrap directly on the warm curd (to prevent a skin from forming) and chill at least 4 hours.

When you’re ready to start on the cheesecake, preheat your oven to 325. The crust for this recipe is my tried-and-true gluten free graham cracker crust. Press the crust ingredients into a 10-in springform pan lined with parchment paper and set aside. No need to pre-bake it, it’ll bake just fine when the cheesecake goes into the oven.

Beat the softened cream cheese and Pyure in a stand mixer until smooth, then gradually add the eggs one at a time until blended. Beat in the vanilla.

Pour 2/3 of the cheesecake batter into the prepared crust, then dollop about 1 cup of the chilled lemon curd over the batter. Swirl with a toothpick or knife.

Pour the remaining batter into the pan. Bake at 325 for about an hour or until the center of the cheesecake is just set. Don’t forget to add a water bath to the oven to keep your cheesecake from cracking! See this post for a how-to.

Remove the cheesecake from the oven, and I like to chill mine directly in the springform pan to get the crust to separate. Chill the cheesecake for at least 8 to 24hrs before serving.

When you’re ready to serve, transfer the cake to a serving platter and spoon the remaining lemon curd over the cheesecake.

THAT…is a thing of beauty *heart eyes*.

Main Ingredients

For the lemon curd:

6 Zest and juice of lemons (to equal 1 cup)

3/4 c Pyure, or other sugar-free sweetener

1/2 c unsalted butter

4 eggs

For the cheesecake:

4 8 oz packages of cream cheese, softened

1/2 c [Pyure] (https://amzn.to/3doANJK)

4 eggs

2 tsp vanilla

Prepared lemon curd and gluten free graham cracker crust (https://tinyurl.com/y89n6qf9)

Recipe Steps

1. For the curd: Combine all ingredients in a medium sauce pan and heat over medium-low for about 15 minutes or until mixture has thickened and coats the back of a spoon. Cover and chill for at least 4 hours.

2. For the cheesecake: Preheat oven to 325.

3. Beat cream cheese and Pyure on medium speed until smooth. Add eggs, one at a time, then beat in vanilla.

4. Pour 2/3 of cheesecake batter into prepared crust in springform (https://amzn.to/3cbXDnC) pan. Top with about 1 cup of pre-made lemon curd, and swirl with knife or toothpick. Spoon remaining batter over the top.

5. Bake at 325 for about one hour or until the center is just set. Don't forget to add a water bath to ensure your cheesecake doesn't crack.

6. Remove the cheesecake from oven and chill for at least 8hrs. Remove cheesecake from the springform pan, transfer to a serving platter, and top with remaining lemon curd before serving.