This Limoncello Cheesecake is my kind of dessert! 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!
Limoncello Cheesecake
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
- 2 teaspoons Vanilla Extract
- 1 tablespoon Grated Lemon Rind
- For Yogurt Topping
- 1 pint Non-Fat Greek Yogurt
- 1 tablespoon Meyer Lemon Juice
- 1/3 cup Sugar
- For the Glaze
- 1/2 cup Sugar
- 1/2 cup Limoncello
- 2 tablespoons Meyer Lemon Juice
- 1 tablespoon Cornstarch
Directions
- Step 1 For the Crust
- Step 2 Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F. Combine cracker crumbs, sugar and butter. Press into bottom and 1/2 inch up sides in a 12 inch spring-form pan. Bake for 5 minutes. Cool before adding filling.
- Step 3 For the Filling
- Step 4 In your stand mixer, beat cream cheese at high speed until completely smooth.
- Step 5 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.
- Step 6 For the Yogurt Topping
- Step 7 In a stand mixer or with a hand mixer whip together the yogurt, lemon juice and sugar together.
- Step 8 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.
- Step 9 For the Glaze
- Step 10 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.
- Step 11 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!
Savor and Enjoy!
and now I have to make a cheesecake… thanks for ruining my diet this week! :)
Ha trust me I’ve ruined my own diet on many occasions, but this one is worth it. Plus like I said it’s “low-fat”…just keep telling yourself that after the 6th slice ;)
Beautiful. I like how you lightened it up too.
Thanks Peter!