Try this Key Lime Pie Cheesecake recipe
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 3 eggs
- 1 cup sugar
- 6 tablespoons butter melted
- 2 tablespoons greek yogurt
- 2 cups vanilla wafer crumbs (or graham cracker crumbs)
- 3 (8oz packages) brick cream cheese softened at room temperature
- 6 oz blackberries (optional)
- zest from two limes
- 6 tablespoons lime juice (you will need 3-4 limes depending on h
- Carbohydrate 1.84796249997734 g
- Cholesterol 19.7795312578421 mg
- Fat 7.22882981546035 g
- Fiber 0 g
- Protein 1.31096840626249 g
- Saturated Fat 4.57457706437482 g
- Serving Size 1 1 -12 slice (77g)
- Sodium 5669.10408168708 mg
- Sugar 1.84796249997734 g
- Trans Fat 0.500066731457242 g
- Calories 77 calories
Step-by-step
- Preheat oven to 350. Since we will be baking this cake in a water bath, cover the bottom outside of the spring-form pan with aluminum foil to create a watertight barrier. Also find a roasting pan or other deep baking tray that will hold the spring form pan.
- In a medium bowl mix together Nilla cookie crumbs with melted butter. Press into 8-inch spring form pan. Press slightly up the sides of the pan, about half inch. Bake at 350 for about 5 minutes to help set. Set aside.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer, beat together cream cheese and sugar. Beat well until creamy and smooth. Beat in vanilla, lime zest and lime juice. Add eggs one, at a time, beating after each addition. Finally, gently stir in yogurt until just combined.
- For water bath: heat a kettle full of hot water - about 1 L (4 cups) or more.
- Pour cheesecake mixture into prepared crust. Place spring-form pan into the roasting pan and place whole thing in the oven. Once the water in the kettle is ready, carefully pour the hot water into the roasting pan so that it surrounds the cheesecake. Bake for 40-45 minutes. Cake should be firm but still slightly jiggly at the top. Turn off the oven and allow the cake to cool in the oven for about 30 minutes, then remove from oven and cool completely on a wire rack.
- Refrigerate several hours or overnight before serving. Garnish with thinly sliced limes and fresh blackberries if desired.
Standard ingredient lists omit the physical chemistry required to transition cream cheese from a dense dairy block into a silky, cohesive custard. Combining chilled dairy with warm eggs introduces thermal shock, which separates emulsions and incorporates unwanted air bubbles.
Thermal regulation is the singular factor determining whether a cheesecake emerges velvet-smooth or rubbery and cracked. Enclosing a springform pan in heavy-duty aluminum foil and placing it inside a roasting pan creates an insulating moisture shield. Pouring four cups of boiling water into the outer roasting pan surrounds the batter with gentle, indirect steam heat. This ambient moisture prevents the surface from drying out and contracting faster than the interior, halting structural fissures before they form.
Overbeating introduces excess air that expands under heat, causing the center to balloon during baking and subsequently deflate into a crater. Incorporating eggs individually at low speed preserves the delicate protein matrix. Baking at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for 40 to 45 minutes yields a center that remains slightly jiggly, signaling that the proteins are set without being over-coagulated. Allowing the cake to cool inside the turned-off oven for 30 minutes prevents sudden thermal contraction.
Substitutions alter structural integrity significantly. Replacing vanilla wafer crumbs with denser graham cracker crumbs requires adjusting the melted butter ratio by an extra tablespoon to maintain crust cohesion during slicing. Chilling the finished dessert for several hours or overnight allows the starches and fats to fully recrystallize.
