Limoncello Cheesecake

I have to start by giving a big shout out to my co-worker, Kathy, whom provided bags and bags of Meyer Lemons just to make this post possible. Her Mother’s Meyer lemon tree was overabundant this year and I thank her as well. As much as I love this recipe, it was a month in the making. I made Limoncello from scratch, so I highly suggest if you don’t have tons of lemons on hand just to use store bought. This cheesecake is just too good to wait a month for!

With that said, Happy March 1st! This is a perfect spring recipe to make for all upcoming events, holidays and birthdays. Better yet, if you make this the way the recipe calls for, it’s low-fat! Cheesecake and low-fat shouldn’t be in the same sentence, but in this case it worked beautifully and I felt good about having 2 or 3 slices….Okay it was more like 5, but I can make myself feel better because it’s low-fat!

Prep Time 30 Minutes

Cook Time 45 Minutes

Difficulty Easy

Servings 12 – 16

Ingredients

FOR THE CRUST

2 – 1/2 cups Graham Cracker Crumbs, {2 packages of Graham Crackers, crushed.}

1/3 cup Sugar

1 stick Butter, melted

FOR THE FILLING

3 (8 ounce) packages Reduced Fat Cream Cheese, softened to room temperature

3 whole Eggs

1 – 1/2 cups Sugar

2 tablespoons Limoncello

1 tablespoon Meyer Lemon Juice, {You can use regular lemons in this recipe.}

2 teaspoons Vanilla Extract

1 tablespoon Grated Lemon Rind

FOR THE GREEK YOGURT TOPPING

1 pint Non-Fat Greek Yogurt, {I used Fage Total 0% Nonfat Yogurt.}

1 tablespoon Meyer Lemon Juice

1/3 cup Sugar

FOR THE LIMONCELLO GLAZE

1/2 cup Sugar

1/2 cup Limoncello

2 tablespoons Meyer Lemon Juice

1 tablespoon Cornstarch

 

Preparation Instructions

FOR THE CRUST

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F.

Combine cracker crumbs, sugar and butter. Press into bottom and 1/2″ up sides in a 12 inch spring-form pan. Bake for 5 minutes. Cool before adding filling.

FOR THE FILLING

In your stand mixer, beat cream cheese at high speed until completely smooth.

Add eggs, one at a time, beating until smooth after each addition.

Continue to beat, gradually adding the sugar, then lemon juice and vanilla extract. Fold in the lemon rind. Pour mixture into the cooled crust and bake for 35 minutes.

FOR THE GREEK YOGURT TOPPING

In a stand mixer or with a hand mixer whip together the yogurt, lemon juice and sugar together.

Remove cake from oven. Gently spread the Greek yogurt mixture over the top of cake.

Return to oven and bake about 12 minutes.

Remove cheesecake from the oven and cool on rack for 30 minutes. Refrigerate until topping is cool but not completely chilled.

FOR THE GLAZE

Whisk together sugar, limoncello, lemon juice and cornstarch until smooth. In a saucepan bring the mixture to a boil, stirring constantly, until thickened. Cook 3 minutes. Cool for 5 minutes.

Spread the top of cheesecake with lemon glaze. Chill several hours or overnight.  Can also be frozen. Remove from spring-form pan and serve. Enjoy!