This raspberry lemon curd cheesecake is pretty heavenly. It’s a creamy vanilla cheesecake with a lemon cookie crust (which honestly sounds perfect on it’s own some days) topped with lemon curd and raspberry curd swirled together. It ends up with a beautiful marbled top to go with the luscious flavor.

Fresh lemon is one of the best smells. When I zest or squeeze fresh lemon juice I swear I could get high off how my hands smell. It reminds me of being a kid/teenager and living in Arizona when we had a lemon tree in the backyard. My mom would make lemonade and squeeze lemon juice into ice cube trays so you could have cold fresh lemonade on demand in the summer.

I didn’t actually know what lemon curd was until a few years ago. My family came to visit and we went over to the Olympic peninsula. One of the mornings we went to this family owned Amish diner and I had blueberry French toast with lemon curd on it and it seriously was the best breakfast I’ve ever had in my life. My brother in law had an equally good breakfast and we feel bad because everyone else at the table had just normally adequate food and we can’t shut up about a meal we had years ago at this point.

Since that moment I’m always looking for ways to incorporate lemon or lemon curd into bakes. My husband and I had cheesecake for our wedding cake. It was a raspberry lemon cheesecake and it was SO good. So while this cheesecake is nothing really similar to that cake, it inspired me to make something with similar flavors and let me tell you it’s heavenly.

Baking Notes & Tips

Baking cheesecake intimidates some people, I know it used to with me but it’s really just making sure to not overbake. Your cheesecake is done with the outer few inches is set but the center jiggles when you shake the pan gently. That is telling you the center isn’t quite baked through but that’s okay! The residual heat is going to keep baking the cheesecake far after the oven is turned off, and will finish the cheesecake for you. If you wait until the center is firm, your cheesecake may split and will probably be a bit dry and overbaked.

When the cheesecake gets to that point, turn the oven off but leave the cheesecake in. I use a wooden spoon to prop the oven door open just a crack, this allows heat to escape but not so quickly it messes with the cheesecake. You’ll let it sit for at least an hour, and then transfer it to the refrigerator uncovered. Covering the cheesecake is fine but it can lead to condensation on the top because like I mentioned, your cheesecake is still baking and setting.

When swirling the curd on top, you are free to use whatever ratios you choose. Personally I like to use more lemon than raspberry but if you love raspberry more than lemon, you can do that. The design is also totally up to you, if you don’t want to marble it and just want to make it polka dots of one of the flavors, you can!

While this is called raspberry lemon curd cheesecake, the cheesecake itself is mostly just a good vanilla cheesecake with raspberry lemon topping. You can totally use this for baking a plain vanilla cheesecake and just make it with a graham cracker crust. But.. you really should try it with the curd topping because it just takes this to another level.

Raspberry Lemon Curd Cheesecake Key Ingredients

Curd – The lemon and raspberry curd really make this raspberry lemon curd cheesecake. Without them, it’s just a vanilla cheesecake with lemon crust. If you’ve never had curd, it’s such a delight. It’s creamy and smooth and sweet. If you’ve never MADE curd, it’s much easier than you might think. You can buy it instead, however you’ll probably have a hard time finding raspberry curd in a store. Lemon curd will be easier to find.
Lemon Cookies – I used lemon Oreo thins, however any lemon cookie will work. A lemon shortbread would work equally well if that is easier to find. Additionally, you could use a chocolate or traditional graham cracker crust as well.
Cream Cheese – Whenever you make cheesecake, you want to make sure that you buy full fat bricks of cream cheese. Cream cheese in the tubs, especially whipped can have a different texture that won’t bake exactly the same. Lower fat cream cheese can alter the texture and it will not feel as smooth and creamy when you eat it.

Vanilla Cheesecake with Raspberry Lemon Curd

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Prep: 30

Bake: 1

Setting time: 8

Total: 9 30

Servings: cheesecake

Ingredients

Crust

200 g Lemon Oreo thins 27 cookies
28 g Unsalted butter 2 tbsp, melted

Filling

678 g Cream cheese 24 oz, room temperature
200 g Sugar 1 cup
3 large Eggs room temperature
½ tsp Vanilla
½ tsp Sea salt
120 g Heavy Cream ½ cup

Topping

1 cup Lemon Curd
½ cup Raspberry Curd

Instructions

Preheat oven to 325°F.
Take cookies and pulse in food processor until fine crumb. Add 2 tbsp of melted butter and press into an 8 or 9 inch springform pan.
200 g Lemon Oreo thins | 28 g Unsalted butter
Bake at 325°F for about 10 minutes. Remove from oven and allow to cool.
Combine cream cheese with sugar in bowl of mixing bowl with paddle attached.
678 g Cream cheese | 200 g Sugar
Mix until smooth, about 2-3 minutes. Stopping once halfway through to scrap the bottom of bowl and paddle to ensure cream cheese is fully incorporated. Try not to overmix, which will add air bubbles into the batter.
Mix in the eggs, one at a time on a low setting. Adding the next once the first has been fully mixed in.
3 large Eggs
Add in heavy cream, salt and vanilla and mix for about 20-30 seconds.
½ tsp Vanilla | 120 g Heavy Cream | ½ tsp Sea salt
Pour batter into cooled crust, then gently tap on countertop to remove any bubbles.
Optional: Prepare your water bath. I find the easiest way to do a water bath is bake my cheesecake in an 8 inch pan nested inside of a 9 inch pan. The 9 inch pan then goes into a roasting pan filled with about two inches of water. I have also previously used oven roasting bags around the cheesecake pan (leaving the top open, securing around the sides of the pan), and placed the cheesecake pan in the bag into the roasting pan with water.
Using a water bath is not necessary but it does help create a more moist environment in the oven which can help prevent cracking and more even baking.
Bake for about 50-60 minutes. Do not open the oven while your cheesecake bakes, use the light and window to monitor it. When it's ready the center should still jiggle but edge should be set. Check around 45-50 minutes.
Turn oven off, leaving oven door ajar and let cool in oven for at least 1 hour. I find it helpful to put a wooden spoon in between the oven and the door to just leave it cracked open.
Remove from the oven after an hour and let sit for about another 30-40 minutes before putting the pan on a plate, uncovered, inside the refrigerator for at least 8 hours.
Once cheesecake is set, pour lemon curd over top of cheesecake and use an offset knife to smooth to edges. Add dollops of raspberry curd in the lemon and use a toothpick or butter knife to gently marble and swirl the two.
1 cup Lemon Curd | ½ cup Raspberry Curd
Slice cheesecake and enjoy. Cheesecake will keep in the refrigerator for 3-5 days.