Lemon Cheesecake With Poppy Seed Crust
With its creamy rich, and zesty filling and a crunchy base, this poppy seed and lemon cheesecake is the perfect dessert for a lazy afternoon.
Equipment
- 1 springform pan (23cm/9in)
Ingredients
- 1 kg cream cheese (approx. 4 1/2 cups or 35.5 oz.)
- 200 g creme fraiche/ sour cream (approx. 3/4 cups or 7 oz.)
- 40 g corn flour/corn starch (approx. 1/4 cup)
- 5 eggs
- 300 g powdered sugar/icing sugar (divided 100g base + 200g cream) (approx. 3 cups)
- 500 ml whole milk (approx. 2 1/8 cups)
- 150 g poppy seeds (approx. 1 cup)
- 75 g fine semolina (approx 3/8 cups)
- 50 g butter (approx. 1/4 cup)
- 2 tbsp lemon extract
- 1 zest from 2 large lemons
Instructions
Start by making the poppy seed base:
- Add the milk into a medium-sized pan.
- Add the poppy seeds to the milk and stir with a whisk.
- Now add the semolina, powdered sugar (100g), and lemon extract and mix it all well.
- Put the pan on medium-low heat and cook it while constantly stirring with the whisk.
- After a few minutes, the poppy seed mixture will start to thicken. It should reach a thick custard-type consistency.
- Turn off the heat.
- Now add the butter and mix well until it has been fully incorporated.
- Pour batter into a springform pan. I recommend you line the bottom of the pan with parchment paper.
- Smooth the surface well with a cake spatula.
- Leave it aside while you make the lemon cheesecake filling.
- Pre-heat the oven to 160°C (320°F)
Make the cream cheese filling:
- In a large mixing bowl stir in the cream cheese, the whole eggs, the rest of the powdered sugar (200g), corn flour, lemon zest, lemon extract, and creme fraiche.
- Use a wooden spoon to mix everything well and a whisk at the end to make sure the mixture is really smooth.
- You can also use an electric mixer at low speed.
- Pour the cheese filling onto the poppy seed base.
Baking the cheesecake
- Add an oven-safe dish with hot water at the bottom of the oven.
- Put the cheesecake on the middle rack of the oven.
- Bake cheesecake recipe for about an hour or until golden brown on top.
- Take the cheesecake out of the oven and place it on a wire rack to cool off at room temperature.
- Put the cake in the fridge to set for at least 4 hours or overnight. Add a plastic wrap on top to avoid any smell transfer from the fridge.
- Gently take out the removable part of the pan.
- Drizzle with a honey and lemon glaze
- Slice and enjoy!
Notes
- If you don't like the crunch of the poppy seeds, you can use a food processor to break the poppy seeds into a fine powder before mixing it in with the rest of the ingredients.
- Tap the springform pan on the table a few times to make sure the cream filling settles well into the pan and no air bubbles are left.
- Your cheesecake will inflate during cooking time and deflate partially after taking it out of the oven. This is a normal process and nothing to worry about.
- Make sure to not open the oven door until the end of the baking process. You want the environment to stay moist and at a constant temperature.
- Use a butter knife or an icing spatula to gently separate the cheesecake from the walls of the pan. Follow the shape of the pan. This way you will avoid any pulling when removing from the pan.
- Make a honey and lemon glaze by gently warming up a few tablespoons of honey with a tablespoon of lemon juice. Don't overheat the glaze. Just gently warm it up on low heat for a minute, to make it a bit more runny and easy to drizzle.
Nutrition
Serving: 150gCalories: 362kcal
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!