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One might ask "How is a New York style cheesecake different from other cheesecakes?" Simple. It's taller (or so says the internet). I learned from the recipe's origin that while most cheesecakes call for 3 bricks of cream cheese, this bad boy calls for 5. I know what it's like to be taller than everyone else, so this cheesecake and I bonded on so many levels.

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Meyer Lemon New York Cheesecake

The crust:
8 ounces finely ground Meyer lemon cookies. Because lemons=win.
8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt

The (rather tall) filling:
5 (8-ounce) packages cream cheese, softened (I used Philadelphia; if you’ve had success with other brands, feel free to use them again)
1 3/4 cups sugar
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon finely grated lemon zest
1 teaspoon finely grated orange zest
5 large eggs
2 large egg yolks
1/2 teaspoon vanilla

The topping (optional):
10 ounces of strawberries (my fruit of choice, use what you like. Frozen ones work fine if they're not in season.)
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1/4 cup sugar
1 tablespoon cornstarch
1/2 cup water

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Make crust: Stir together crust ingredients and press onto bottom and up the sides (stopping one inch shy of the top rim) of a buttered 9 1/2-inch springform pan. You can fill it right away but I like to pop my into the freezer so it quickly sets while I prepare the filling.




Make very tall cheesecake filling: Preheat oven to 550 degrees. Beat together cream cheese, sugar, flour and zest with an electric mixer until smooth. Add vanilla, then eggs and yolks, one at a time, beating on low speed until each ingredient is incorporated.
NOTE: Make sure to scrape the bowl down with your spatula between additions; I cannot stress this enough as if you do not, you’ll end up with unmixed spots of cream cheese. Even I found at least one, despite my best efforts.



Put your springform pan with crust in a shallow baking pan (to catch drips). Pour filling into crust and bake in the middle oven rack for 12 minutes or until puffed. NOTE: Keep a VERY close eye on your cake because some ovens will brown the top very quickly and if yours does too fast, turn the oven down as soon as you catch it. After the 12 minutes at 550 degrees, reduce the temperature to 200 degrees and continue baking until cake is mostly firm (center will still be slightly wobbly when pan is gently shaken), about one hour more.


Run a knife around the top edge of the cake to loosen it and cool the cake completely in springform on a rack, then chill it, loosely covered, at least 6 hours.

Make topping (optional): Place all ingredients together in a medium saucepan. Bring to a boil. Once it is boiling, cook it for an additional one to two minutes then remove from heat. Cool completely.


Remove the side of your pan and transfer the cheesecake to a plate. If you had any crazy baking issues (see my note below), you might need to trim the cake flat. I won't tell anyone what happened to the extras. Promise.

Spread topping (if using) over chilled cheesecake. The original recipe says to bring this to room temperature before serving. I didn't bother.

NOTE: Baking drama! I freaked out. When I checked on this cake about 30 minutes into the 200 degree baking cycle, it had a huge bloated split in it. If this happens to you (and I almost guarantee it will; a cheesecake aficionado says hers always have), just remain calm. When it cools, it will deflate. The crack will most likely virtually disappear, and if it doesn't, that's one thing the fruit topping is there for.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, July 20, 2010 at 7:20 PM. You can skip to the end and leave a response.