Monday, April 20, 2009

Key Lime Cheesecake



I make too many cheesecakes, I think. Is it because I routinely eschew other desserts for cheesecake? In general, no. Obviously, I enjoy a good cheesecake, to be sure. After making the ricotta one last week, I told myself I was done with these for a while. I don't want to have to change the name of the blog to Clinton Hill Cheesecake.

Then my friend Alejandra came along and encouraged me to make a key lime cheesecake. Why? Who knows? But once the suggestion was planted, I was helpless against its power.



Thankfully, a key lime cheesecake is basically a regular cheesecake with some key lime juice thrown in. The most authentic way would be to juice some key limes yourself, but I decided to just use some key lime juice picked up at Whole Foods.

Key Lime Cheesecake

Ingredients

  • 1 3/4 cups graham cracker crumbs
  • 5 tablespoons butter, melted
  • 1 cup plus 1 tablespoon sugar
  • 3 8-ounce packages cream cheese, softened
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla
  • 1/4 cup key lime juice (I used closer to 1/3rd of a cup and I think you could even go for 1/2 cup if you wanted to push it)
  • 3 eggs
Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F





Make the crust by combining the graham cracker crumbs with the butter and 1 tablespoon sugar in a medium bowl. Stir well enough to coat all of the crumbs with the butter. Press the crumbs onto the bottom and about one half of the way up the sides of a springform pan.

Bake the crust for 5 minutes, then set it aside until you are ready to fill it.





In a mixing bowl, combine cream cheese, 1 cup sugar, and vanilla. Mix with an electric mixer until smooth using the paddle attachment.



Add the lime juice and eggs and continue to beat until smooth and creamy.



Pour the filling into the pan.

Bake for 60-70 minutes, then remove from oven to cool.



When the cheesecake has come to room temperature, put it into the refrigerator.


So, that's it. Nice and easy and delicious. I can only hope Alejandra enjoys the cheesecake made for her benefit.

3 comments:

Alejandra said...

Why Key Lime? Because it's my favorite kind of cheesecake!!
And you already know exaclty how I feel about it, but I'll put it right here for others who might want to try making it:
It's pure, unadulterated Citrusy Heaven.

Thanks *yet again*!!

Brian said...

So glad you liked it! Your comment reminded me to amend the recipe a bit - more key lime juice is welcome.

Anonymous said...

I'm extremely imipressed by it al, including the meatballs. Where do you get the time for the postings.
?
Dad