Not too sweet and not too tangy, this is by far my Best Ever Lemon Meringue Cheesecake recipe that is perfect with a cuppa or for dessert after dinner.

It would be best if you had a bit of time to make this, but it is pretty simple and lasts up to 3 to 4 days in the fridge.

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It’s not a heavy cheesecake either, so if you are one for a sweet tooth at night, this makes for a great snack.

My husband is not one for lemon meringue desserts due to the sweetness and the bitterness of the lemon. But when I served it up for taste testing, he loved it and even went back for a second slice.
On a winner with this one, yes!

How to Make the Best Ever Lemon Meringue Cheesecake.

Please don’t be worried about the steps; it is pretty easy; you need time, though. But you can make this over two days if you need to.

Biscuit Base and Cheesecake Filling Ingredients
For the biscuit base, you will need:

Marie Biscuits or an alternative
Unsalted Butter

For the cheesecake filling, you will need:

Cream Cheese (this needs to be at room temp)
Sour Cream
Caster Sugar
Lemon Rind
Lemon Juice
Eggs

Meringue Topping Ingredients
For the meringue, you will need:

Egg Whites
Castor Sugar

Prep
Trace around the base of the cake tin on some baking paper and cut it out.

Spray some non-stick cooking spray on the bottom and stick the baking paper on top. The non-stick spray helps keep the baking paper in place while you are adding the biscuit base.

Method – Biscuit Base
Using a food processer crush the biscuits up finely. If you do not have a food processor, you can use a ziplock bag and something hard to crush them, such as a rolling pin.

Melt the butter at 20-second intervals in the microwave or over low heat on the stove.

Place the crushed biscuits and melted butter into a medium bowl and mix until everything is combined.

Pour the mixture into the cake tin and spread out with the back of a spoon. Then, using a straight edge glass, not an angled one, press the mixture firmly around the base and up the sides of the tin.

If you do not have a glass to do this, a spoon will work, and so will your fingertips.

You need the biscuit base to go up the side of the tin about halfway. If it is higher, you can leave it or, using a butter knife or spatula, gently remove some of the mixtures and then repress again to remove any loose biscuit pieces.

Cover the tin with glad wrap, and put it in the refrigerator to chill for 1 hour.

Method – Cheesecake Filling
Preheat your oven to 160°C.

In a large mixing bowl or bowl of your stand mixer, add the cream cheese, sour cream, castor sugar, lemon rind and lemon juice.

Mix until well combined. With the stand mixer, I find using the paddle is best for this part.

Once everything is combined, scrape down the bowl. Add the eggs one at a time and mix through. For those using a stand mixer, set your speed to low and then once all the eggs are added, you can turn up to a medium-high speed and mix until smooth.

And remember to scrape down the sides of the bowl in between each addition.

Once your mixture is smooth, pour it into the biscuit base and place it in the oven.

Cook for 1 hour at 160°C or until the middle feels firm to the touch. When it is ready, leave the cake tin in the oven, turn it all off and leave the oven door open a little to let the hot air escape.

Allow the cheesecake to cool in the oven for 2 hours. Doing this allows the cheesecake to cool down gradually with the oven and avoids it craking.

If the tin is still hot after 2 hours, place it on a cooling rack on the bench for 1/2 hour to an hour to allow it to cool further.

Then place in the fridge to chill for 4 hours.

Method – Meringue Topping
Meringue is simple to make, but there are some beneficial tips to remember.

Your mixing bowl needs to be 100% clean and dry
Use egg whites only; no egg yolk can be in the whites.
It is easier if your egg whites are at room temp.
Remember soft peaks first, then stiff peaks.

I have more Tips For Getting The Meringue Correct in-depth in my Lemon meringue cupcakes recipe.

Preheat your oven to 220°C

In a clean, dry mixing bowl, add your egg whites and mix at a medium-high speed until soft peaks start to form.

You can test this by lifting the beaters if they make a peak, but the tops of the peaks fall; they are soft peaks.

Once the eggs white is all whipped and soft peaks have formed, put your mixer onto a low speed and gradually add the caster sugar. Do this a tablespoon at a time.

Scrape down the sides of the bowl ever so often also.

When the caster sugar is all added, turn the speed up to a high speed and whip until stiff peaks form.

They are ready when the peaks stay and the mixture does not move in the bowl.

You can test by moving the bowl slightly to the side. If the mixture moves, you need to whip longer.

Add the meringue to the top of the cheesecake, spread it around until the mixture covers the entire layer, including the biscuit layer at the sides.

However, if the biscuit base at the sides is too high, make sure the meringue touches it.

Using the back of a spoon or spatula, press it onto the meringue and lift until the meringue drops, forming peaks on the top.

Do this all over the top until you are happy with how many you have.

Place the tin into the oven at 220°C and bake until the top of the peaks goes a nice dark brown colour.

If you happen to have a culinary torch, bake for 5 to 6 minutes to allow the egg whites to cook and then use the torch to brown the tops of the peaks more.

When cooked and you are happy with the colour of the peaks. Place the tin on a cooling rack and allow it to cool for 15 minutes.

If the meringue sticks to the sides of the cake tin, gently slide a knife around the edges to release it.

Then gently release the side of the cake tin from the base and remove and place it back onto the cooling rack.

Note – I found with mine that I could not lift the side of the cake tin. So before I remove mine, I sit the tin base onto something stable, such as a bowl or container big enough to keep the cheesecake stable. Then I release the lock and slide the side of the cake tin down.

It allows me to lift the base away from the side and place it back onto the cooking rack.

Place the rack and the lemon meringue cheesecake into the refrigerator to chill for 2 to 3 hours or overnight.

Note – If you will leave it in the fridge overnight, chill for half an hour to an hour to allow the base of the tin to cool before placing it on the shelf or cake container. Cover with something high enough to keep your meringue peaks intact.

How to remove the lemon meringue cheesecake from the base of the cake tin?

Now, this is important, do not do this after it comes out from the oven. You need your cheesecake to chill, allowing the biscuit base to become hard enough for you to be able to lift it off.

Once your cheesecake has chilled for a few hours or overnight. Remove from the fridge and using a spatula or a long spatula and your hands. Gently lift one side of the cake just enough to slide the spatula underneath the biscuit base.

Gently lift the cheesecake with the spatula and your other hand to support it and place it on a plate or cake board.

Tip – have the cake board or plate next to the base of the cake tin to avoid lifting it too high or too far.

Now it is ready to serve!

Tried this recipe, let us know your thoughts.

This is defiantly a popular dessert for my family. And the fact that you can make this in advance for special occasions or take two days to make it if you are unable to do it all in one day is a bonus.

But we would love your thoughts on the recipe. So let us know how you went making it and what your thoughts are on the taste.
Did you make any adjustments to the recipe, such as more lemon juice or rind, the biscuit crust just on the bottom?

Some of our other dessert recipes to try:

Chocolate Deep Fried Ice Cream – a great alternative to the traditional deep-fried icecream
Cream and Jam Long John Doughnut Recipe – one of my favourite style of doughnuts, that I love being able to make at home.
No-Bake Chocolate Honeycomb Cheesecake with a Mirror Glaze – the ultimate chocolate fix for those that love the sweet desserts.
Delicious Jelly Slice with Cream Cheese – a family favourite for us, but if you love cheesecake and jelly this is a great combination of the two.