Lemon Meringue Cheesecake
Merry Christmas!
This week has been full of family, with children, grandchildren, sisters, brothers-in-law, nieces and nephews, celebrating Jesus, the Newborn King.
Family gatherings mean dinners, and we can't have dinner without a show-stopping dessert!
I love meringue! It is almost magical how you can turn egg whites (oof) and a bit of sugar into a fluffy cloud! Mom made meringue for me when I was recovering from an illness. I ate bowls of it!
At age 5, I had pneumonia (Mom stressed it was "double pneumonia"). My illness caused the cancellation of a family trip to the beach (boy, was I unpopular!) and I was hospitalized for six days. I remember an "oxygen tent," and being freezing cold. Once home, I was very weak, and the only thing I had an appetite for was hot, buttered rice. Mom was told I needed extra protein. I was on some sort of "tonic," and Mom would mix it with Coca Cola to make it palatable. I was also offered bites of steak from Dad's plate. I don't know what led to beaten egg white with sugar, but it became a staple until I was well enough to start kindergarten.
Lemon meringue pie is a favorite, tangy lemon filling sealed with fluffy topping. Cheesecake is also pretty darn amazing in and if itself: four ingredients in a Graham cracker crust. I don't know who decided to combine the two, but a recipe showed up in my social media news feed. Whichever algorithm figured me out....it's scary, but I don't care! I made Lemon Meringue Cheesecake for some recent visitors, and it was a hit! This dessert is as beautiful as it is delicious, but right now you will have to take my word for it....we ate it before I thought to get a photo!
(Edited to add: Start early! This is not a last minute recipe!)
Basic Cheesecake
3-8oz blocks cream cheese at room temperature
3/4 cups sugar
3 eggs
2 tsp vanilla extract
(Optional 1/4 cup amaretto or coffee liqueur, but omit for the lemon version)
Family gatherings mean dinners, and we can't have dinner without a show-stopping dessert!
I love meringue! It is almost magical how you can turn egg whites (oof) and a bit of sugar into a fluffy cloud! Mom made meringue for me when I was recovering from an illness. I ate bowls of it!
At age 5, I had pneumonia (Mom stressed it was "double pneumonia"). My illness caused the cancellation of a family trip to the beach (boy, was I unpopular!) and I was hospitalized for six days. I remember an "oxygen tent," and being freezing cold. Once home, I was very weak, and the only thing I had an appetite for was hot, buttered rice. Mom was told I needed extra protein. I was on some sort of "tonic," and Mom would mix it with Coca Cola to make it palatable. I was also offered bites of steak from Dad's plate. I don't know what led to beaten egg white with sugar, but it became a staple until I was well enough to start kindergarten.
Lemon meringue pie is a favorite, tangy lemon filling sealed with fluffy topping. Cheesecake is also pretty darn amazing in and if itself: four ingredients in a Graham cracker crust. I don't know who decided to combine the two, but a recipe showed up in my social media news feed. Whichever algorithm figured me out....it's scary, but I don't care! I made Lemon Meringue Cheesecake for some recent visitors, and it was a hit! This dessert is as beautiful as it is delicious, but right now you will have to take my word for it....we ate it before I thought to get a photo!
(Edited to add: Start early! This is not a last minute recipe!)
Basic Cheesecake
3-8oz blocks cream cheese at room temperature
3/4 cups sugar
3 eggs
2 tsp vanilla extract
(Optional 1/4 cup amaretto or coffee liqueur, but omit for the lemon version)
Topping for basic cheesecake:
2 cups sour cream
1/4 cup sugar
Graham cracker crust:
(or just buy 2 pie shells)
1 1/4 cups graham cracker crumbs
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup butter
For Lemon Meringue Cheesecake, add
1/4 cup lemon juice
1 egg
1/4 cup sugar
1 1/2 cups Lemon Curd (recipe 8/2018)
Meringue:
4 egg whites
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 tsp cream of tartar
For a basic cheesecake, beat together cream cheese and sugar. Add eggs, one at a time, and beat well. Add vanilla extract. You can also add amaretto, or a coffee liqueur if you care to. If you have a 9-inch springform pan, combine 1 1/4 cups Graham cracker crumbs, 1/4 cup sugar, and 1/4 cup butter. Press the Graham cracker mixture into the springform pan across the bottom and an inch up the sides. If you do not have a springform pan, that's ok. You can use two pre-made Graham cracker pie shells. Pour the batter into the prepared pan or pie shells and bake at 350: pie shell 30 minutes, springform pan 45 minutes to an hour. You will see tiny cracks form along the edge. The center should be just set. At this point, for a basic cheesecake, combine the sour cream and 1/4 cup sugar, spread over the top of the baked cheesecake, and bake an additional 10 minutes. Remove from the oven and cool, then refrigerate at least 4 hours.
To transform basic cheesecake into a Lemon Meringue Cheesecake, add to the recipe 1/4 cup lemon juice (and forgo the amaretto or other liqueur), an additional egg, and another 1/4 cup sugar. Bake as explained above, cool, and refrigerate. You can stop there and leave the unadorned cheesecake in the fridge until the next day and carry on when ready.
When you are ready to move forward, make the meringue: beat 4 egg whites (the pasteurized egg whites in a carton work just fine), 1/4 cup sugar, and 1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar if you have it. Beat until the egg whites form stiff, shiny peaks.
Now, remove the baked and cooled cake from the refrigerator and spread over the top of the cake 1 1/2 cups lemon curd (see the recipe from August 2018). Pile the meringue over the top to the edges of the cake and bake at 350 to lightly brown, 10-15 minutes. Refrigerate 1 hour, uncovered.
If you have used a springform pan, release the hinge gently, and run a knife around the edges between the cake and pan. Open the pan fully, slowly, and remove the sides. Voila! Enjoy!
Graham cracker crust:
(or just buy 2 pie shells)
1 1/4 cups graham cracker crumbs
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup butter
For Lemon Meringue Cheesecake, add
1/4 cup lemon juice
1 egg
1/4 cup sugar
1 1/2 cups Lemon Curd (recipe 8/2018)
Meringue:
4 egg whites
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 tsp cream of tartar
For a basic cheesecake, beat together cream cheese and sugar. Add eggs, one at a time, and beat well. Add vanilla extract. You can also add amaretto, or a coffee liqueur if you care to. If you have a 9-inch springform pan, combine 1 1/4 cups Graham cracker crumbs, 1/4 cup sugar, and 1/4 cup butter. Press the Graham cracker mixture into the springform pan across the bottom and an inch up the sides. If you do not have a springform pan, that's ok. You can use two pre-made Graham cracker pie shells. Pour the batter into the prepared pan or pie shells and bake at 350: pie shell 30 minutes, springform pan 45 minutes to an hour. You will see tiny cracks form along the edge. The center should be just set. At this point, for a basic cheesecake, combine the sour cream and 1/4 cup sugar, spread over the top of the baked cheesecake, and bake an additional 10 minutes. Remove from the oven and cool, then refrigerate at least 4 hours.
To transform basic cheesecake into a Lemon Meringue Cheesecake, add to the recipe 1/4 cup lemon juice (and forgo the amaretto or other liqueur), an additional egg, and another 1/4 cup sugar. Bake as explained above, cool, and refrigerate. You can stop there and leave the unadorned cheesecake in the fridge until the next day and carry on when ready.
When you are ready to move forward, make the meringue: beat 4 egg whites (the pasteurized egg whites in a carton work just fine), 1/4 cup sugar, and 1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar if you have it. Beat until the egg whites form stiff, shiny peaks.
Now, remove the baked and cooled cake from the refrigerator and spread over the top of the cake 1 1/2 cups lemon curd (see the recipe from August 2018). Pile the meringue over the top to the edges of the cake and bake at 350 to lightly brown, 10-15 minutes. Refrigerate 1 hour, uncovered.
If you have used a springform pan, release the hinge gently, and run a knife around the edges between the cake and pan. Open the pan fully, slowly, and remove the sides. Voila! Enjoy!
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