Cheesecake is one of my absolute favourite foods and I am so obsessed with the new York style cheesecake! When I was thinking about special desserts for easter, this lemon new york style cheesecake with gingersnap crust seemed like a no-brainer! I mean it’s a cheesecake! It’s nice and bright and spring-y with the intense lemon flavour! Perfect for Easter! Lemon and ginger is a fabulous flavour combination so I like to use crumbled gingersnap cookies for the crust! This cheesecake recipe is so easy to make and it takes very little actual hands on time. You pretty much just smash some gingersnap cookies into crumbs, mix with butter and press it into the bottom of a springform pan for the crust and then you simply mix the cream cheese, eggs, sugar, lemon and sour cream for the cheesecake itself before baking! I like to make cheese cakes in a smaller 6-7 inch springform pan to get a smaller cheesecake so I have provided the recipe for that along with the recipe for the more standard 8-9 inch spring form pan. Whether you are making this for Easter or for any other time, you are sure to enjoy this lemon new york style cheesecake with gingersnap crust and it’s sure to disappear quickly!
This cheesecake is nice served with a blueberry sauce or a strawberry sauce!
Lemon New York Style Cheesecake with Gingersnap Crust (6-7 inch pan)
A bright summery intensely lemon flavour New York style cheesecake that is decadently smooth and creamy.
ingredients
- 1 cup gingersnap cookie crumbs (gluten-free for gluten-free)
- 3 tablespoons butter, melted
- 16 ounces cream cheese, softened
- 2 eggs
- 2/3 cup sugar
- 1/3 cup sour cream (or heavy/whipping cream)
- 1 lemon (juice and zest)
directions
- Mix the crumbs and butter and press into the bottom of a 6-7 inch springform pan.
- Beat the cream cheese, beat in the eggs, one at a time followed by the sugar, sour cream, lemon juice and zest.
- Pour the batter into the spring form pan, wrap the bottom of the pan in foil, place in a larger pan with a small amount of hot water and bake in a preheated 350F/180C oven until set, about 40-50 minutes. (It is recommended that you let the cheesecake cool completely on the counter and then chill it in the fridge overnight, but it’s also amazing while still warm from the oven!.)
Option: Replace the gingersnap cookie crumbs with graham cracker crumbs, vanilla wafer, crumbs, etc. and optionally add 2 tablespoons sugar and 2 teaspoons ginger.
Option: Add 1 teaspoon vanilla extract to the cream cheese mixture!
Lemon New York Style Cheesecake with Gingersnap Crust (8-9 inch pan)
A bright summery intensely lemon flavour New York style cheesecake that is decadently smooth and creamy.
ingredients
- 1 1/2 cups gingersnap cookie crumbs
- 4 tablespoons butter, melted
- 24 ounces cream cheese, softened
- 3 eggs
- 1 cup sugar
- 1/2 cup sour cream (or heavy/whipping cream)
- 1 lemon (juice and zest)
directions
- Mix the crumbs and butter and press into the bottom of a 8-9 inch springform pan.
- Beat the cream cheese, beat in the eggs, one at a time followed by the sugar, sour cream, lemon juice and zest.
- Pour the batter into the spring form pan, wrap the bottom of the pan in foil, place in a larger pan with a small amount of hot water and bake in a preheated 350F/180C oven until set, about 60 minutes. (It is recommended that you let the cheesecake cool completely on the counter and then chill it in the fridge overnight, but it’s also amazing while still warm from the oven!.)
Option: Replace the gingersnap cookie crumbs with graham cracker crumbs, vanilla wafer, crumbs, etc. and optionally add 2 tablespoons sugar and 2 teaspoons ginger.
Option: Add 1 teaspoon vanilla extract to the cream cheese mixture!
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I LOVE lemon and ginger together- this is a gorgeous cake!
That's such a great combination! (and here I was thinking I was clever for using digestives/tea biscuits instead of a standard graham base!)
A perfect summer dessert!
Step #1 for the 8-9 inch pan still references 6-7 inch pan FYI
This looks so good!
This cheesecake looks fabulous! and The flavors sound amazing together!
Woah! This looks amazing, Kevin!
That gingersnap crust is everything!
Try it before you make a comment!!!!!!
Yes!
Made this for Easter dinner with lemon creme sandwich cookie crust instead, not a crumb leftover. Was my best cheesecake to date. I was patient and let it cool slowly in the oven, etc before refrigeration. Thank you for the science behind this, everyone asked for the recipe <3
Beautifully flavored, creaminess. An absolutely fool-proof cheesecake. Will be all smiles serving this to the family at the get together tomorrow. Thank you
This has become my go to dessert. It is so light and airy and the lemon makes it even better. I also love the 6-inch pan size recipe. Just put one in the oven for tomorrow night. Thanks.
I made this for a friends birthday. Here’s the message she sent me after she tried it. “Wow, Wow, Wow that was the best thing I’ve ever tasted”. I was tickled pink that she loved it! Thank you for the wonderful recipe. I’ll make this again.
Sounds wonderful ! I don’t however understand about leaving the cake in the oven for cooling……..doesn’t the cake get overcooked in the warm oven’ even if the oven is off. Thanks so much
This cheesecake should be baked before the oven is turned off and the cheesecake is removed. The bake times are estimates and you can tell that it is done baking when the sides are solid and the centre is still a little jiggly when you shake it.
Hi Kevin, I’m a little confused with the cooling of this cheesecake. Above (Victoria – July 18 2021) it seems you’re saying to leave the cheesecake “in the residual heat of the oven until it’s finishes baking”. Then (Jodi A Benz – November 21 2022) You’re saying to bake the 40-50 minutes then remove to the benchtop to cool.
I’m confused as to after baking for 40-50 minutes do we leave the cheesecake in the residual heat to cool or do we remove it completely from the oven after the 40-50 minutes and cool completely on the benchtop?
Sorry if I’m confusing you, but between the two questions it’s leaving me a bit confused. I would appreciate if you could please clear up to what we actually have do with the cooling process.
Thank you, as I love all your wonderful recipes and look forward to them coming through to Australia.
Hi Josephine! Please follow the directions as written in the recipe! I am not sure how the other comments got on this page; I think they were directed towards another one of my cheesecake recipes, the Guinness Chocolate Cheesecake, which does use the residual heat in the oven to finish baking. Bake this cheesecake for the time specified (based on size), remove from oven and let cool on the counter. Enjoy!
I think this recipe is missing the step to shut off the oven and leave the cheesecake in for 15-20 minutes. Can you verify, please? My attempt at the 6-7″ recipe came out runny, and never set. I love the flavors and want to try to make it again, only would like it to set. Thank you!!
I am a little confused, the step you mention is not a part of this recipe. For the 6-7 inch size you bake the cheesecake until set, which should be about 40-50 minutes. Once it is baked/set you remove it from the oven top cool on the counter.