Meyer Lemon Cheesecake Bars with Lemon Curd Swirl

Creamy, dreamy, lemon-packed cheesecake bars with a crispy lemon cookie crust and a swirl of bright and tangy Meyer lemon curd… like a cross between a lemon bar and a classic cheesecake, it’s the perfect bite for springtime!

A cheesecake bar is a quicker, easier way to satisfy your cheesecake craving, without having to deal with the hassle of waterbaths or leaky springform pans. Instead, bake a thinner layer of cheesecake (swirled with Meyer lemon curd) in a standard square baking pan and then cut them into perfectly layered squares.

I’ve had a lemon cheesecake on my to-make list for some time now, and when a box of Meyer lemons showed up in the mail from my aunt in California (thanks, Sally!) I knew it was the first thing I wanted to make. (I still have a whole bunch left even after testing this one multiple times so… send your recipe ideas and requests, please!)

Anyway. Cheesecake! I knew I wanted lemon cheesecake, and I also wanted to do easier cheesecake bars rather than a full sized cheesecake.

I debated back and forth how best to make a mashup of cheesecake and lemon bars. I tested both this swirly version (loosely based on my peach cheesecake bar recipe), and a version that was basically like my favorite Meyer lemon bars with an extra layer of cheesecake in between, with a shortbread crust and a solid layer of lemon curd on top.

And while the lemon bar version was good, ultimately the lemony swirls were just too pretty to pass up (yes, I fully admit to judging a dessert by its cover, but in this case the taste certainly measured up to the appearance). With a perfectly proportioned layer of creamy cheesecake, a swirl of Meyer-lemon curd, and a crisp lemon-scented cookie crust, the final recipe is definitely one you’ll want to save and share.

Why cheesecake bars? Well, they’re like the cheesecake department’s version of casual Friday: simpler, more approachable, quicker to bake and easier to slice. Not to mention you avoid the hassle of springform pans and waterbaths and all that nonsense; just use a regular 8-inch square baking pan (or double the recipe for a 13-by-9-inch pan).

Because these bars are thinner than a typical round cheesecake, the proportion of crust to filling to curd is, in my opinion, much better balanced. Whereas with a regular size cheesecake, the swirl of curd would sit on the very top, leaving a lot of unflavored cheesecake below it, and I don’t know about you, but I want more lemon than that!

Granted the cheesecake base does have some lemon flavor to it, but the curd is really where the punch of lemon comes from in this recipe.

I used lemon flavored wafer cookies for my crust (adding another dose of lovely lemon flavor), but you could use vanilla wafers, graham crackers, or some kind of shortbread cookie instead.

I like my cheesecakes silky smooth, light and creamy, with a bright flavor and subtle sweetness… and that’s exactly what this is. This is NOT a dense, pasty, overly sweet cheesecake.

The secret to the creamiest cheesecakes? A little bit of sour cream, for one, but also a food processor and room temperature ingredients (which can’t be rushed, so plan ahead and get your ingredients out of the fridge well ahead of time!)

Here’s how to make it…

Remember, room temperature ingredients are the KEY to a perfectly smooth cheesecake texture, so plan ahead and get your wet ingredients—cream cheese, sour cream, and eggs—out at least an hour (or more in the winter) before you start baking.

In colder months, I like to submerge my eggs in a bowl of lukewarm water for 20 minutes or so, just to be sure they are really, truly room temperature (room temperature being ideally about 68-72 degrees, don’t be afraid to stick a thermometer right into your block of cream cheese if you need to!)

Mixing cheesecake batter with a food processor is my method of choice: the food processor makes a perfectly smooth consistency without incorporating too much air (like an electric mixer often does). Air in the batter will cause the cheesecake to rise and fall, resulting in cracks and a less-than-flat top.

If your food processor has two bowls, you can use the smaller one to mix the crust and the larger to mix the cheesecake batter. Otherwise you’ll want to wipe out the bowl after making the crust as you don’t want any crumbs marring your perfectly smooth cheesecake.

Curd is the word.

You’ll need about 1/3 to 1/2 cup of lemon curd for this recipe, and the recipe is written for a very small batch of curd that should give you a little more than that (I trust you won’t have an issue “disposing” of the few tablespoons leftover).

The lemon curd here is a little thinner than my go-to lemon curd recipe (which has more cornstarch so it sets up quite a bit thicker, perfect for cake fillings for example). For this recipe I wanted a thinner curd so it’d be easier to swirl (pro tip: the best swirls happen when both mixtures are similar in consistency). I also opted to use a single whole egg instead of egg yolks, which works just fine for this recipe (the curd is a bit lighter than one made with egg yolks, but I think it’s a perfect foil to the rich, creamy cheesecake).

You can also use a store-bought lemon curd if you prefer (personally I’ve yet to find a store-bought curd that doesn’t taste weird to me), though if it’s super thick you may have a harder time swirling it into the thinner cheesecake batter.

When swirling one thing in to another thing like I’ve done with the lemon curd here, ideally both components will have similar consistencies, which makes for the cleanest, smoothest swirls. This is why I’ve intentionally made a slightly thinner lemon curd.

Full size.

This recipe is written for an 8-inch square baking pan, but it can also be doubled and baked in a 13-by-9-inch baking pan if you prefer a larger batch.

While I haven’t tested it personally, the cheesecake base is similar enough to my regular sized cheesecakes (most of which have a similar sour cream-base), just scaled down. If you want to make this in a standard 8 or 9-inch cheesecake pan, double the recipe for a deeper, more traditional round cheesecake (no need to double the crust portion unless you want it to go up the sides too). Obviously the baking time will be quite a bit longer, and you can opt to use a waterbath if you want a smoother top.

I’d probably also try to do two layers of curd swirls, one in the middle and one on the top, to equalize the curd-to-cheesecake ratio a bit more (one of the reasons I opted for bars in the first place).

Ingredient Notes & Substitutions

Meyer lemon: Meyer lemons are a hybrid between a citron and a mandarin, making it sweeter and less acidic than regular lemons. If you can’t find Meyer lemons, use regular lemon juice cut with a bit of freshly squeezed orange juice which will mimic the flavor of the Meyer lemons.

Lemon cookies: I used Trader Joe’s lemon cookie thins for this crust, but feel free to use another kind of cookie such as vanilla wafers, golden oreos, or graham crackers.

Cream cheese: please use full fat, name brand cream cheese for best results. And don’t forget to leave it out at least an hour before you start baking to ensure it is truly at room temperature (otherwise your cheesecake will either be lumpy or overmixed).

Sour cream: the sour cream lightens the cream cheese to give this cheesecake a super light and silky smooth texture (not pasty in the least). You can also use crème fraîche. I don’t recommend substituting yogurt as it doesn’t have as much fat and won’t be nearly as creamy.