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a bright lemon vanilla cheesecake slice topped with curls of lemon zest on a pale plate, lemon wedges nearby, on a sunny kitchen table, wide horizontal shot, natural light, shallow depth of field, landscape orientation

Lemon-Vanilla Cheesecake

Vanilla cheesecake with fresh lemon zest and juice for a sunny touch.
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Prep Time 25 minutes
Cook Time 1 hour 5 minutes
Total Time 1 hour 30 minutes
Servings: 12 servings
Ingredients Method Notes

Ingredients
  

  • 2 cups graham cracker crumbs
  • 6 tbsp butter melted
  • 32 oz cream cheese softened
  • 1.25 cups sugar
  • 4 eggs
  • 2 lemons zested and juiced
  • 2 tsp vanilla extract
  • 0.5 cup sour cream

Method
 

  1. Preheat the oven to 325F. Press the graham crumb and butter mixture into a springform pan and bake 10 minutes.
  2. Beat cream cheese and sugar until smooth.
  3. Add the eggs one at a time, then mix in lemon zest, juice, vanilla, and sour cream.
  4. Pour over the crust and bake 60-65 minutes until the edges set and the center barely jiggles.
  5. Cool in the oven with the door cracked for 1 hour.
  6. Chill at least 6 hours before slicing for clean edges.

Notes

Zest the lemons before juicing; it's way easier and you get more zest.