Friends, with this early warm weather, I propose a delightful lemon cheesecake, perhaps the freshest and most inviting version to fully enjoy a spring dessert! For those who don’t know, the cheesecake has New York origins and has thus been part of American cuisine for years. Therefore, there are many versions of this refined and elegant dessert: with ricotta, mascarpone, and spreadable cheeses, but I believe this one I’m proposing is truly excellent! My mom, rather skeptical about the possibility of liking a “cheese cake,” not only changed her mind but insisted that I make it again for another occasion! I simply lightened the cheese mixture by partially replacing it with delicate lemon yogurt and a bit of cream. The crunchy cookie base and the fresh lemon topping on the top of the dessert were specifically conceived to counterbalance the sweetness of the cream with its unmistakable citrus flavor, creating a balanced and pleasant mix. An extremely easy dessert, which, however, is advisable to prepare a day in advance before serving, so that it can set overnight in the fridge. Absolutely worth trying!
- Difficulty: Medium
- Cost: Medium
- Rest time: 5 Hours
- Preparation time: 40 Minutes
- Portions: 12
- Cuisine: American
Ingredients for the 22-24 inch cookie base:
⚠ THIS RECIPE INCLUDES ONE OR MORE AFFILIATE LINKS. The products I recommend are the same ones I use in my recipes; purchasing them through my blog helps support me and my work, while it won’t cost you anything extra!
- 10.5 oz dry biscuits (digestive type)
- 4.2 oz butter
- 11.6 oz fresh spreadable cheese
- 6 oz lemon yogurt
- 0.3 oz gelatin sheets (gelatin sheets)
- 8.8 oz fresh liquid cream
- 4.2 oz powdered sugar
- 3 tbsp Milk
- 1 lemon zest (untreated)
- 1 cup cups Water
- 3.5 oz Sugar
- 1 lemon
- 2 tbsp cornstarch (cornstarch)
- 6 drops red food coloring (yellow)
Preparation
Start by preparing the base, chopping the biscuits finely. Place them in a food bag, seal it, and start crushing them by rolling them with a rolling pin. Alternatively, to speed up, chop them as I did inside a blender.
Then place them in a bowl and add the melted butter already cooled, and mix well. Pour your cookie and butter mixture into a springform pan lined with parchment paper, creating a disc at the base and leveling it throughout the bottom of the pan with the help of a spoon until you get a smooth and compact base.
Place it in the fridge for at least 30′ or in the freezer for 15′. Meanwhile, prepare the cheese filling by soaking the gelatin sheets in a bowl with very cold water to soften them for about 10′.
Separately, work with electric whisks on the spreadable cheese with the sugar.
Then add the yogurt and the grated zest of 1 untreated lemon and continue working with the whisks.
Incorporate the filtered lemon juice with a fine mesh strainer.
Squeeze the gelatin sheets well and melt them in 2-3 tablespoons of warm milk (not boiling) until reaching room temperature.
Add them to the mixture and continue to mix. Finally, whip the cream until it is compact and thick, and fold it into the cheese cream using a spatula, with slow movements from the bottom upwards to keep it from deflating.
At this point, pour the cream obtained onto your cookie base and level it with a spatula.
Place the cheesecake back in the fridge for 2 hours. After this time, prepare the lemon topping by melting in a saucepan over low heat the water with the sugar, the lemon juice, and its grated zest. As soon as the sugar has melted, add the sifted starch and stir until the gelatin has thickened. Turn off the heat and add a bit of yellow food coloring. Let it cool. Then pour the gelatin onto the cheesecake and level it.
Place it in the fridge for at least another 2 hours, but better overnight. Remove the tin’s springform and decorate as desired… I added lemon slices and some curls of their zest.
And voilà… the lemon cheesecake with gelatin is ready to be enjoyed!
More detailed photo of the decoration…
Bon Appétit from La Cucina di Fefe!
Storage
👉The lemon cheesecake can be stored in the refrigerator in an airtight container for about 3-4 days maximum
