i'll have mine with a twist of lime, please

this is a summer family favorite! we seem to somehow end up with it at our july 4th celebration bbq almost every year...

And though the usual cheesecake is flavored with lemon - this one gets a hit of real, live keylime juice to give it a soft tang - much more intriguing to the tastebuds than even the typical limes used to create the "regular" lime juice that we buy at the grocery... I really don't even care for traditional keylime pie. It seems to have a bit of a rubber-y texture to me - like it has gelatin in it {I think it really does...}, but I'll take a slice of this on any hot summer day!

KeyLime Cheesecake:

Crust:
2 c. finely crushed graham crackers
6 T. butter, melted
2 T. sugar

Preheat your oven to 350 F. Whiz up your graham crackers in a food processor or coffee grinder until they're really fine. Dump them into the bottom of a 9" round springform pan. and toss with the melted butter and sugar.Shape around the pan and press. {Tip: a highball glass is perfect to shape your crust!! ^_^}

Bake the crust for 5-8 minutes in your preheated oven. Set aside to cool on a rack as you mix up the filling ingredients. Reduce the heat on your oven to 325 F.

Filling:

4 - 8 oz. packages of cream cheese, room temperature 

1/3 c. keylime juice {if using "regular" you must adjust quantities. I don't recommend substituting.}

1 1/2 tsp. vanilla

4 eggs, room temperature

1 1/3 c. sugar

Place the room temp. cream cheese in a large-ish mixing bowl and beat is well. Add vanilla and keylime juice and mix well. Add eggs one at a time beating each addition. Scrape the bowl in between, too, since the texture will change dramatically and any chunks of cream cheese will become hard to incorporate. Beat on medium speed until smooth and creamy.

Pour filling into the prepared crust that you set aside to cool earlier. Bake in a waterbath at 325 F for 60-75 minutes. 

The top should turn just barely brown and the cake will swell up like pictured. Remove from the oven and cool on a rack until it's room temperature. This part's important - if you just toss it into the fridge, the heat will steam up any wrapping you put over it and make the cheesecake slimy. Eeeew. After it's cooled to room temp, then put it in the fridge to cool. Serve chilled with whipped cream and garnished with lime slices. I usually make cheesecake a day before I plan to serve it!

And while I'm on the subject of whipped cream, I'll share my recipe. ^_^ No substitutes for the real thing...

Whipped Cream
2 c. heavy whipping cream, chilled
1/2 c. powdered sugar
2 tsp. real vanilla
Pour the heavy cream into a mixing bowl and add the powdered sugar and vanilla. Whip on high speed with an electric mixer until it's light and fluffy. Easy peasy. ^_^

Just as a reminder, all of the ingredients used in my recipes are all natural and organic. We believe it's important for our bodies and the earth! And don't forget - if you're interested in more of my recipes, check under the "Food Love" tab up on top. There's a link there to all the recipes that I've posted so far on my blog!