As I promised you all earlier in the week I wanted to share my cheese cake recipe that I made for my daughter’s birthday bonanza last weekend. Hilary had originally requested a lemon cake with cream cheese frosting. But being the persuasive mother that I am I asked her if she would rather have lemon cheesecake, and she said Yes!
Oh and by the way, I also had two graham cracker crust staring at me from my pantry just calling out to be used. See what I mean about be persuasive.
So the ingredient list looks like this:
- 1 graham cracker crust – store-bought or from scratch, whichever you prefer.
- 1 (8oz.) package of cream cheese, softened
- ½ cup sugar
- 1 (8oz.) container of Cool whip, thawed
- 2 tsp lemon juice
- 2 tbsp lemon zest
Blend the cream cheese, sugar, and lemon juice together until smooth. Fold in the Cool Whip and about 1½ tbsp of the lemon zest, save a smidge for a garnishment. Pour the mixture into the graham cracker crust, and sprinkle the remaining lemon zest on top. Chill in the fridge for at least 2 hours. This is a very light and yummy cheese cake.
A few variations of this recipe- some food for thought so to speak:
- You could use lime juice and lime zest.
- Leave out the citrus flavorings all together and garnish with fresh fruit – strawberries or kiwi.
- Use no flavorings in the cheesecake, and top with a thin layer of sour cream.
- This is a great recipe for making individual mini cheese cakes – my niece loves to make these. You can purchase the mini graham cracker crust at your local grocery store.
This a fabulous summertime recipe since there is no oven time required. With spring and then summer just around the corner hang onto this recipe for the warm weather to come.
Happy Friday everyone. Enjoy! P.S. Photo credits to Elaine Zee. Thanks Elaine!
