Meyer Lemon Cheesecake with Easy Fresh Raspberry Sauce

When I was little, maybe around 2nd grade-ish, I remember my Mom making a cheesecake for her bridge club.  This was years before the Cheesecake Factory and years before many notable dining out experiences.  I remember thinking it was a very unusual, but from what my Mom said, a very special dessert.  The recipe was called "Cheesecake Supreme" from her Better Homes and Gardens (1979-ish) recipe book... as it was pretty much the ultimate resource in our house.  Either that or the Betty Crocker.  It is the same cookbook from which the Deluxe Sugar Cookie recipe came - definitely an oldie but a goodie.  

Even today, with all of the internet search options available for cheesecake recipes, I still call my Mom to get this particular Cheesecake Supreme recipe for special occasions.  The most notable difference is the crust.  It is almost like a shortbread dough crust - no crumbled graham crackers here.  I think it makes such a nice compliment to the creamy filling without overpowering it as the grahams can seem to do.

I've updated the recipe (of course... I can't help myself) to include fresh Meyer Lemon zest and juice.  Actually, the original recipe calls for a bit of lemon zest anyway, I just kicked it up to officially make it a "Lemon Cheesecake."  You can find Meyer Lemons right now in gourmet markets - they are definitely worth the hunt.  The taste, while still lemony, is smoother, almost sweeter than a normal lemon.  However, you don't need Meyer Lemons - regular will work just fine.

The raspberry "sauce" is very simple and will take only 1 minute to make.  Literally.  By using store-bought raspberry jam heated in the microwave then tossed with fresh raspberries, you have a sauce that is beautiful and shiny and will set up nicely on the cake.  Even when you cut it it won't run all over the place.

Meyer Lemon

Cheesecake
with raspberry sauce


Crust:

1 cup flour
¼ cup sugar
1 teaspoon lemon zest
½ cup butter
1 slightly beaten egg yolk
¼ teaspoon vanilla

Filling:

3 packages cream cheese
2 teaspoons lemon zest
2 lemons, juiced
1 1/2 cups sugar
¼ teaspoon salt
  3 eggs

Raspberry Sauce :

1 cup of raspberry jam
1 cup of fresh raspberries
1 tablespoon of lemon zest

Preheat oven to 400.

Make Crust:

Combine first 3 ingredients. Cut in butter till crumbly. Add egg yolk and vanilla; mix well. Pat 1/3 of dough on bottom of 9-inch spring-form pan (sides removed). Bake about 8 minutes or till golden; cool. Butter sides of pan; attach to bottom. Pat remaining dough on sides of pan to height of 1 3/4 inches.

Reduce heat to 300 degrees.



Make Filling:

Add softened cream cheese into the bowl of a mixer fitted with the paddle attachment.  Beat until creamy; add sugar, lemon juice and zest.  Add eggs one at a time, beating after each just to blend.

Turn into crust-lined pan.  Bake 55 minutes or till knife inserted off-center comes out clean. Remove from oven; cool 1/2 hour; loosen sides of cheesecake from pan with knife. Cool 1/2 hour more; remove sides of pan. Cool 2 hours longer.

Raspberry Sauce :

Put jam into a microwave safe bowl and heat for 1 minute until melted.  Add raspberries and stir to coat.  Pour over cooled cheesecake. 

The sauce will set up after about 30 minutes- but you can serve it right away if you'd like.

I like to top it with a little bit of lemon zest to show that it is lemony!