I hadn’t made cheesecake in a little while so I was glad that this month’s Daring Bakers Challenge would give me a chance to make one of my favorite desserts.The April 2009 challenge is hosted by Jenny from Jenny Bakes. The cheesecake was delicious! I used a mixture of oreo crumbs and melted butter for the base, and then added a lime’s juice and zest to the batter. I then topped it off with a few chopped pistachios.
Lime Cheesecake with Pistachios
3 sticks of cream cheese, 8 oz each (total of 24 oz) room temperature
1 cup / 210 g sugar
3 large eggs
1 cup / 8 oz heavy cream
1 lime, juice and zest
1 tbsp. vanilla extract (or the innards of a vanilla bean)
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (Gas Mark 4 = 180C = Moderate heat). Begin to boil a large pot of water for the water bath.
Mix together the crust ingredients and press into your preferred pan. You can press the crust just into the bottom, or up the sides of the pan too – baker’s choice. Set crust aside.
Combine cream cheese and sugar in the bowl of a stand-mixer (or in a large bowl if using a hand-mixer) and cream together until smooth. Add eggs, one at a time, fully incorporating each before adding the next. Make sure to scrape down the bowl in between each egg. Add heavy cream, vanilla, lime juice and zest, and blend until smooth and creamy.
Pour batter into prepared crust and tap the pan on the counter a few times to bring all air bubbles to the surface. Place pan into a larger pan and pour boiling water into the larger pan until halfway up the side of the cheesecake pan. If cheesecake pan is not airtight, cover bottom securely with foil before adding water.
Bake 45 to 55 minutes, until it is almost done – this can be hard to judge, but you’re looking for the cake to hold together, but still have a lot of jiggle to it in the center. You don’t want it to be completely firm at this stage. Close the oven door, turn the heat off, and let rest in the cooling oven for one hour. This lets the cake finish cooking and cool down gently enough so that it won’t crack on the top. After one hour, remove cheesecake from oven and lift carefully out of water bath. Let it finish cooling on the counter, and then cover and put in the fridge to chill. Once fully chilled, it is ready to serve.
Pan note: The creator of this recipe used to use a springform pan, but no matter how well she wrapped the thing in tin foil, water would always seep in and make the crust soggy. Now she uses one of those 1-use foil “casserole” shaped pans from the grocery store. They’re 8 or 9 inches wide and really deep, and best of all, water-tight. When it comes time to serve, just cut the foil away.
Enjoy the read!
Mary
April 27, 2009 at 3:23 pm (15 years ago)This is a beautiful presentation! It must be very hard to come up with an original way to present a dish that so many people work on simultaneously. You do it repeatedly. Which came first, the cooking or the photography?
Sara
April 27, 2009 at 4:03 pm (15 years ago)Oooh, I have never thought to combine lime and pistachios, but it sounds divine! Yum. Gorgeous photo. 🙂
Justin Schwartz
April 27, 2009 at 5:03 pm (15 years ago)lime cheesecake! that sounds great, and the photo is fantastic.
5 Star Foodie
April 27, 2009 at 5:53 pm (15 years ago)Those cheesecakes look incredible and I love the presentation in the cups!
Coco Bean
April 27, 2009 at 7:41 pm (15 years ago)There was alot of lime cheesecake with Oreo crusts being made around Montreal this month eh! I wish I had done mine in cups, they look so beautiful! Oh, and there is one cupcake left for you, but it won’t be here for long.
Scratch that, its gone.
Elissa
April 27, 2009 at 8:03 pm (15 years ago)I love your presentation! Pistachio is such an elegant flavor, and I love the light colors it produced. This looks delicious.
Engineer Baker
April 27, 2009 at 9:27 pm (15 years ago)So wonderful – lime and pistachio and chocolate? That just sounds delicious! Beautiful too 🙂
GrilledShane
April 27, 2009 at 11:01 pm (15 years ago)I am not much of a baker but I am a big fan of pistachios and cheesecake. This looks absolutely awesome! Great dessert AND photography.
Lauren
April 27, 2009 at 11:56 pm (15 years ago)Mmm, your cheesecakes look amazing!! I love your flavour choices =D.
Elyse
April 28, 2009 at 2:18 am (15 years ago)Mmm, I love a good oreo cookie base. And lime juice is so perfect for the season. It totally cuts the heaviness of the season. And yay for pistachios making a come back after the little scare earlier in the season. I’m loving this cheesecake!
Rosa's Yummy Yums
April 28, 2009 at 2:26 am (15 years ago)What a great combination of flavors! These cheesecakes look mighty delicious and so refreshing!
Cheers,
Rosa
Y
April 28, 2009 at 2:46 am (15 years ago)Oo those look tasty! Lime is a great flavour for cheesecakes 🙂
Room design studio
April 28, 2009 at 4:49 am (15 years ago)this is easy and elegant! Love it
Anonymous
April 28, 2009 at 8:11 am (15 years ago)Why are your c/cakes small ? you mention nothing regarding your choice of containers…I prefer them small…george
Chocolate Shavings
April 28, 2009 at 8:22 am (15 years ago)Anonymous: The Daring Bakers recipe calls for using a spring form pan, but I divided my batter into smaller containers – the recipe stays the same, you should just check on your cheesecake to make sure not to overcook it!
Lori
April 28, 2009 at 8:27 am (15 years ago)I love thee pistachio and lime combination. They look and sound delicious,
Jo
April 28, 2009 at 9:34 am (15 years ago)Great job on your challenge and the flavours are delish. Love the presentation and the pics as well.
stephchows
April 28, 2009 at 9:57 am (15 years ago)the lime and pistachio combo sounds delicious!
Laura
April 28, 2009 at 10:20 am (15 years ago)It looks delicious and I love the color of the cups!
Koruklu
April 28, 2009 at 11:06 am (15 years ago)Mouth-watering!!!
veggie wedgie
April 28, 2009 at 12:26 pm (15 years ago)this looks amazing!
Marija
April 28, 2009 at 1:50 pm (15 years ago)So beautiful and angelic looking!
nicole
April 28, 2009 at 6:00 pm (15 years ago)Ooo, I never would’ve thought of pistachios with cheesecake, but that looks so good!
Dragon
April 28, 2009 at 7:23 pm (15 years ago)Your cheesecakes are gorgeous. Great job on this month’s challenge.
Hannah
April 28, 2009 at 8:32 pm (15 years ago)Now I wish I had thought to use pistachios with my cheesecake too, it sounds like it would pair beautifully with lime! Gorgeous, as always.
unconfidential cook
April 28, 2009 at 8:40 pm (15 years ago)Beautiful. Love that oreo base.
creampuff
April 28, 2009 at 10:18 pm (15 years ago)You know, reading cheesecake late at night is a baaaaaaaaad idea! I want one of these … now!
MaryBeth
April 28, 2009 at 11:02 pm (15 years ago)This looks so decadent and delish!!
Jude
April 29, 2009 at 10:10 pm (15 years ago)So intrigued with all of the individual serving cheesecakes. I’ve never tried making it that way.
Zoe Francois
April 29, 2009 at 11:24 pm (15 years ago)These are lovely and the flavors are such a great match! My son just asked for key lime pie, but I think he’ll love this even more!
Lauren
April 30, 2009 at 2:41 am (15 years ago)wow! great presentation and flavor combination!
gine
April 30, 2009 at 6:30 am (15 years ago)lime pistachio cheesecake … that sounds superdelicious :-)! Yum!
Ingrid
April 30, 2009 at 2:12 pm (15 years ago)Did you bake the cheesecake in those little ramekins/cups? The cheesecake looks so pretty in there and it’s a pefect serving size. (portion control!)
~ingrid
peasepudding
May 6, 2009 at 2:40 am (15 years ago)How did I miss your DB challenge! It looks great and I love your photography, it is so clear and crisp…very jealous I have lots to learn! Thanks for your comment on my figs
Jenny
June 4, 2009 at 11:54 am (15 years ago)I love this flavor combination. I have always felt this cheesecake paired really nicely with citrus, but the twist of pistachio and chocolate is interesting.
I’m late in commenting, but thanks for being a part of this challenge!
Jenny of JennyBakes
Anonymous
March 20, 2012 at 11:56 am (12 years ago)I have never seen the two paired together before especially like this! Just gorgeous. I would love a plate of this beautiful dessert right now! Thanks for the post.