I have one word
Delish.
You must make this,
and eat the entire thing,
and then immediately go find your elastic waist sweats and put them on.
{well, I guess you could switch the order of the last two}
Let's just get right into cooking so you can stop drooling
First, we'll start with the crust.
My Florida family sent us home with a gigantic bag of pecans that my mom was so gracious to share
{probably because she knew she'd get a piece of this baby}
so I decided to make the crust out of pecans instead of traditional graham crackers.
Also, let's just get one other thing straight,
if this cake hadn't been for hubby,
you can bet your booty I would have put coconut in the crust.
But, since this was for hubby, and it was his birthday,
I was a nice wifey and decided to leave it out.
If you're crazy and don't like coconut either, you should leave it out too.
Gather your ingredients
Place pecans in processor and pulse until they look like small crumbles
Add in melted butter and sugar
and pulse until mixture is moist
press into a 9 inch springform pan and bake at 350 for 12-15 minutes
Easy, huh?
Let's get to the filling.
Gather ingredients
{I use 2 packs of reduced fat cream cheese and 2 packs of regular and you can't taste a difference}
Place the softened cream cheese, lime zest, cornstarch and sugar in a mixer
and beat until nice and fluffy
Next, add the eggs one at a time, and then the lime juice.
Pour mixture into prepared crust
{that should have coconut in it}
no, I'm not bitter
and bake at 325 for about an hour.
Garnish with more lime zest and a few lime slices!
{I also made home made whipped cream to go over the top...it goes great with the tangy-ness of the cake}
Super easy, right?
Now, I know cheesecakes can be intimidating,
and everyone seems to think that you can't make a cheesecake without cracking,
so I'll let you in on my 3 tips for preventing cracks
first - do not overmix. Simple as that. As soon as each ingredient is combined, turn the mixer off.
second - I set a pyrex {or other oven-safe dish} on the bottom rack of the oven and fill it with water. The steam from the water helps cook the cheesecake gently and you don't have to deal with a traditional water bath.
third - After the cheesecake is done baking, turn the oven off and crack the door, but leave the cheesecake in the oven for at least 3 hours. This helps the cheesecake cool slowly instead of super fast, which can result in cracks.
Ok...those are my tips!
So go whip up a crack-free cheesecake now!
Your whole family will thank you.
{that is, if you decide to tell them about it and not hog the entire thing for yourself}
Pecan Crust Recipe:
Place pecans in food processor and pulse until they resemble course crumbles. Add in melted and butter and sugar and continue to pulse until the mixture is moistened.
Press mixture into a 9 inch springform pan
Bake at 350 for 12-15 minutes
Cheesecake Recipe:
32 {4 8oz packs} ounces cream cheese, softened
1 cup white sugar
1 tablespoon cornstarch
3 eggs
1 tablespoon grated lime zest
1/2 cup key lime juice
In a large bowl, beat with an electric mixer the cream cheese, sugar, lime zest, and cornstarch until smooth and fluffy. Beat in eggs one at a time, blending just until smooth. Add key lime juice with mixer on low. Finish mixing by hand. Do not overbeat. Pour batter into prepared crust.
Bake at 325 degrees for about an hour, or until set. To reduce cracking, place a shallow pyrex dish half full of hot water on lower rack during baking.
Turn oven off, and crack the door, but leave the cheesecake in the oven for 3 hours.Remove from oven. Refrigerate cake overnight.
