With less than 5 ingredients, this dreamy light lemon souffle cheesecake is the perfect treat to welcome long-awaited spring!
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You guys love this 3-ingredient soufflé cheesecake. It’s one of the top most popular recipes on the blog, just take a look at the list on the sidebar. And rightly so, because it’s simple, light as air and so, so delicious. Also you just need 3 ingredients. And no, white chocolate isn’t one of them!
Anyway, I decided to add another simple ingredient into the mix for a fun, spring-y/summer-y feel. Nothing screams spring like lemon, right?
I love all things lemon when weather gets nice. Lemonade, lemon cake, lemon cheesecake bars, lemon curd… Oh my gosh, a big, loud YES to lemon curd. Have you tried this homemade version?? It’s the best stuff in the world (after chocolate, of course!). And today we’re adding this lemon soufflé cheesecake into the mix. I hope you love lemon as much as I do.
As mentioned above, you don’t need much for this cheesecake.
I’m sure you’ve seen 3-ingredient souffle cheesecake on the internet, and most of them are made with melted white chocolate. Not this one though. We’re using sweetened condensed milk. It’s a staple in my pantry. And I have an unhealthy obsession with it. Always have! Can you keep a secret? Just as any peanut-butter-lover digging into peanut butter jar in the middle of the night, you can catch me with a can of sweetened condensed milk and a spoon in front of an open fridge any time of the day! I’m blushing as I type this, but it’s sooooo good!
Alright enough with confessions, let’s get back to the cheesecake. You know what’s great about using sweetened condensed milk? No hassle with a double boiler, or worse, working with temperamental white chocolate! I hate melting white chocolate, probably because I’ve seized way too much white chocolate in the past! Besides, sweetened condensed milk is just as sweet and creamy.
Ok, let’s make the cheesecake now! Open your fridge and grab some eggs and cream cheese.✔️ Now get a can of sweetened condensed milk from the pantry.✔️ And I’m sure you have a plump and juicy lemon laying around on your counter, yeah?✔️ Great!
How to Make Lemon Souffle Cheesecake:
This is a souffle cheesecake we’re making, which means we need to incorporate ton of air into the batter. And for that we need to do two things:
- Beat the cream cheese until nice and fluffy, for good 2 minutes. Use softened brick of cream cheese, not the stuff in a tub (Philadelphia is my go-to brand, read this to learn why.) Bringing cream cheese to room temperature is important for a smooth and fluffy batter. Next, we’ll add condensed milk, yolks along with lemon zest and juice and continue to beat for a few minutes. Batter #1 is ready!
- Whip the egg whites until hard peaks form. The key is to use grease-free, preferably stainless steel bowl and utensils. Also be careful not to include even the smallest drop of egg yolk in the whites. It’s crucial, otherwise you’ll never get to that hard peak stage. That cloud-like fluffy mixture is what creates the signature soufflé texture in our cheesecake!
Now very carefully fold the 2 mixture until completely combined, being mindful not to deflate the batter too much. Remember, we need all that air in the batter for tall and fluffy soufflé cheesecake. We’ll bake it low and slow with a water bath in the oven.
Oh, by the way, this cheesecake will rise during baking, but it does go back down to its original height while cooling. So don’t be alarmed. If you use larger than 8-inch pan, your cheesecake won’t be as tall as mine.
And there you have it. Super fluffy, soft and lemon-y cheesecake ready for you to devour!
No matter how full I’m after dinner, I always find room for this creamy deliciousness. And you’ll too, I just know it!
Hope you enjoyed today’s recipe. Thanks so much for stopping by!
Lemon Souffle Cheesecake
Ingredients
- 1 lemon
- 5 large eggs at room temperature
- 8 oz (225g) cream cheese at room temperature
- 14 oz (400g) sweetened condensed milk
- Powdered sugar for dusting optional
Helpful Equipment:
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 325°F (160°C). You will need at least 2.5-in (6cm) deep 8-in (20sm) springform pan. Cut 3.5-inch (9cm)-wide long strip and 8-inch (20cm) round circle of parchment paper. Line the sides and the bottom of the springform pan with the prepared parchment paper. Set aside.
- Zest and juice the lemon. You should get about 1 teaspoon of lemon zest and 2 tablespoons of lemon juice.
- Separate the egg whites and yolks. Set aside.
- In a mixing bowl with paddle attachment, or using a handheld electric mixer, beat the cream cheese until smooth and fluffy, about 2 minute. Add condensed milk and beat for another minute. Then add the egg yolks and lemon zest with lemon juice. Continue to beat until well combined, 2-3 minutes.
- In a separate bowl, beat the egg whites until hard peaks form. Make sure the bowl and the beaters are squeaky clean and free of grease. (Tip: Egg whites at room temperature are easier to beat and reach hard peaks faster.)
- Fold in half of the whipped egg whites into the cream cheese mixture. Then add the remaining egg whites and gently fold until well-combined and no white streaks are visible.
- Transfer the batter into the prepared pan and tap on the counter a few times to release any air bubbles. Place an empty baking sheet on lower rack of the oven and pour about 2 cups of boiling water. Put the cake pan on the middle rack above the rack with water bath. Bake for 45 minutes.
- Turn off the oven and cool the cake in the oven for 30-40 minutes. Remove the sides of the springform pan and gently peel off the parchment paper from the sides. Cool completely on the counter, then refrigerate until ready to serve.
- Before serving, when the cake is chilled and set, gently remove the parchment paper from the bottom and place the cake on a platter. Dust with powdered sugar, if desired. Store the cake in the fridge, covered, for up to 3 days.
Tips & Notes
Nutrition
Delicious! I made it in an 8 inch cake pan, used the parchment paper and it came out perfect! Very easy recipe to follow, love that it is only a few ingredients.
Yay, so happy you tried and loved it, Regina. Thanks for your feedback!
Hi Shinee
Can one pour melted chocolate over the cheesecake after it has cooled? How should one make the the chocolate topping
I think you could. I haven’t tried it on this cheesecake, but you can check out my chocolate cheesecake where I poured chocolate ganache.
Is it possible to double the recipe and use a 10’’ springform pan?
Hi, Kathy. I haven’t tried it, so I can’t give a definitive answer. Let us know if you try it.
Hi, Shinee. Just wanted to let you know that I doubled the recipe and used a 10” pan and it came out perfect. My guests thought it was delicious. I served it with a raspberry sauce and fresh berries. Thank you!!
I was wondering if you have the nutritional information for this recipe. Thank you.
Hi, Kristy. Thanks for reaching out! I just updated the recipe with nutritional information. Hope that’s helpful.
Just made the cake for the first time, came out great! Going to serve it tomorrow evening. Can I keep it in the pan with parchment on it and store in fridge? I feel the parchment will help keep it moist.
Hi, Linda. Thank you for trying my recipe. Yes, you can keep it with the parchment paper on it. Hope you’ll like it. Please let us know what you think.
So is there no crust? I wonder would it work with a crust?
Hi, Julie. No, no crust for this cheesecake. I don’t recommend crust for this type of cheesecake.
Is it possible to make this recipe without eggs? What is the alternative of an egg?
Hi, Jyo. Egg is one of main three ingredients in this cake. And no, I don’t think there’s a good replacement for them.
I tried it. Followed the recipe and it turned out awesome. Great taste, I added extra zest just in case. Texture wise it came out a bit less fluffier than the photo. Did not use sugar but wonder if it would be good to add a citric jam on the side instead. Martin
Hi, Martin. So happy you tried and enjoyed the recipe. I appreciate your feedback! I think citric jam would be a great addition. And if you thin it and drizzle it over, it’d be even better.
Are there any alterations for high altitude? I’ve made it before, at sea level and it came out beautifully. Recently moved to Manitou in Colorado and live above 6000 feet now.
Hi, Jessica. Thank you so much for your feedback. So glad you liked the cheesecake.
Unfortunately, I’m not familiar with high altitude baking, so I can’t give a good advice. But I just found this article with great information: https://www.bettycrocker.com/how-to/tipslibrary/baking-tips/baking-cooking-high-altitudes. I’d suggest the recipe as is, and then adjust from there if you run into any issues.
Hi, so I tried the cheesecake, I used an extra large lemon so I got some extra juice and zest, but other than that I just reduced the cooking time to 30 minutes. It came out a little denser but delicious. Thanks for the link.
Oh that’s great to hear, Jessica! Thank you so much for sharing your experience baking it at high altitute. It’s so helpful!!
Thanks for sharing! Does it freeze well?
Hi, Vanessa. I wouldn’t recommend freezing this cake.
This looks so good! I love that the ingredient list is so simple! Can the lemon be switched for another citrus?
Absolutely. You can use any kind of flavoring! Let me know what variation you try, if you do, Suzanne.