Key Lime Cheesecake

From the kitchen of One Perfect Bite...My family has been arriving in stages for our annual summer reunion and our older grandsons have been helping in the kitchen. They are both at an age where they love to cook and they've really started to master some of the simpler dishes that are our family favorites. Let me hasten to add, that the boys aren't terribly keen on the cheesecake I'm featuring today. They'll happily assist in making it, but when it comes to desserts, they are traditionalist and nothing will ever beat their favorite blueberry or lemon meringue pies. I am, however, determined to get them to try at least a bite of this before they leave. It is delicious and if I can't convince them to try it, perhaps I can talk you into it. While the cake is a bother to make, its taste more than makes up for the time and effort involved in getting it to the table. If you like cheesecake, this one must be tried. I've taken lots of short cuts with the recipe, but this still remains a 24 hour dessert. It truly needs a full day to set and mellow. While this is lovely when made with fresh key limes, the bottled product is perfectly acceptable and makes much better use of your time. I've also included whipped cream in the ingredients list for those who feel a key lime dessert is not complete without it. I'm not sure that a cake that uses a full pound of cream cheese really needs to be covered with two cups of whipped cream, but I let you decide. I hope at least a few of you will try this luscious dessert. Here's the recipe.

Key Lime Cheesecake...from the kitchen of One Perfect Bite

Ingredients:
Crust
2/3 cup butter, melted
1-3/4 cups sugar, divided use
2 cups graham cracker crumbs
Filling
1 envelope unflavored gelatin
3/4 cup key lime juice
4 eggs, at room temperature
2 egg yolks, at room temperature
2 tablespoons grated key lime zest
1 pound cream cheese, at room temperature
2 egg whites, at room temperature
Pinch of salt
Optional: 2 cups sweetened whipped cream

Directions:
1) In a mixing bowl, combine melted butter, 1/4 cup sugar and graham cracker crumbs. Mix well. Press crust firmly over bottom and 2 inches up side of a greased of a 9-inch spring form pan. Set aside.
2) In a saucepan dissolve gelatin in key lime juice, about 5 minutes. Combine 1-1/4 cups of sugar, eggs, egg yolks, and lime zest in a separate bowl and mix well. Add some hot gelatin mixture and whisk to combine. Pour mixture back into saucepan. Mix well. Over medium heat, cook until mixture thickens and is pudding-like, about 7 to 8 minutes. Remove from heat.
3) In bowl of an electric mixer, fitted with a paddle attachment, beat cream cheese until smooth. With mixer running, add lime mixture slowly and beat until smooth. Remove mixture and turn into a bowl and cool completely. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate until chilled, stirring every 10 minutes.
4) In a bowl of an electric mixer with a whip attachment, place egg whites and remaining 1/4 cup of the sugar. Whip on medium high until stiff peaks form. Remove lime and cheese mixture from the refrigerator. Fold egg whites into lime mixture and blend thoroughly. Pour mixture into prepared crust. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate until set, about 4 to 24 hours.
5) When ready to serve remove from refrigerator. Run a sharp knife along the sides of pan and remove the spring-form. If using, spread whipped cream evenly over top of the cake. Cut cake into individual servings. Yield: 10 to 12 servings.









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Frozen Key Lime and White Chocolate Pie

From the kitchen of One Perfect Bite...It's embarrassing to admit that a dessert this easy to make helped build my reputation as a cook and is an often requested favorite of family and friends. Its initial creation was borne of harried necessity and I never dreamt that this combination of ingredients could possibly make a memorable dessert. It came about when I was in the middle of my "only from scratch" phase of cooking and had lost a race with time. That meant that dessert would have to come from outside my kitchen or be assembled with semi-homemade ingredients from the grocer's shelves. Refusing to bring a stranger's food into my home, I ran to the store to grab the ingredients I needed to make the creation that was forming in my head. I grabbed key lime juice, a couple of limes and heavy cream from the "real" food aisles. My cart also contained several not so real items, such as a ready-made graham cracker crust, sweetened condensed milk and a container of whipped topping. My plan was to create a key lime pie that would be made my own with the addition of a topping made from a mixture of heavy cream and white chocolate. I decided to make a frozen pie because I had no time to work with eggs and I'm not a big fan of gelatin desserts. That made my pie filling simple in the extreme. I mixed bottled lime juice with sweetened condensed milk and whipped topping and added some lime zest for extra flavor. I poured that layer of filling into the graham cracker crust and put the pie in the freezer. I then began to work on the next layer. I melted white chocolate in a bit of cream and brought it to body temperature before folding it into lightly beaten whipped cream. Be forewarned, that the cream will collapse if the chocolate is too warm or you attempt to beat it into the heavy cream. Folding is the prime directive here. I then spread the cream over the lime base and let the pie sit in the freezer while I went to work. About 8 hours later, I cut the pie into serving pieces before transferring it to the refrigerator where it sat for an hour or so before dessert was served. I cut the pie while frozen to assure clean slices. I refrigerated it to allow the filling to soften slightly before my guests had a go at it. Lovers of citrus desserts will adore this, though pipe and horn players should be warned that this is incapacitating and attempts to pucker-up may actually be painful. I do hope that, despite its humble ingredients, you'll give this pie a try. It takes all of 30 minutes to prepare and it is pure ambrosia for tired palates. Here is the recipe.

Frozen Key Lime and White Chocolate Pie...from the kitchen of One Perfect Bite

Ingredients:
1 graham cracker pie crust
Filling
1 (14-oz.) can sweetened condensed milk
6 ounces whipped topping
Zest of 2 limes
1/2 cup bottled key lime juice
Lime slices for garnish
Topping
4 ounces white chocolate
1-1/4 cup chilled whipping cream, divided use

Directions:
1) To make filling: Mix condensed milk with whipped topping and beat until well-blended. Add lime zest and juice and blend well. Pour into crust and freeze.
2) To make topping: Combine white chocolate and 1/4 cup cream in a small bowl. Set over simmering water and stir until chocolate melts and is smooth. Remove bowl and allow chocolate to cool to body temperature. Beat reserved 1 cup cream until soft peaks form. Fold in chocolate mixture. Spread over top of lime filling. Return pie to freezer. Freeze for 8 hours.
3) To serve: About 1 hour before serving, remove pie from freezer and cut into serving slices. Place pie in the refrigerator until ready to serve. Garnish with lime slices if desired. Yield: 8 servings.

You might also enjoy these recipes:
Key Lime Pie - Chaos in the Kitchen
Key West Lime Bars - One Perfect Bite
Lemon Yogurt Cake - Delish
Meyer Lemon Bars - Tasty Easy Healthy Green
Lemon Tart Brulee - Sticky Gooey Creamy Chewy
Lightened Up Lemon Bars - Half Baked

Key West Lime Bars

From the kitchen of One Perfect Bite...My family loves citrus desserts. We don't always agree about which is our favorite and arbitration is sometimes required. Last night I lost the coin toss. The winner, who shall remain nameless, insisted on key lime bars. We have a Mexican grocer in town who will juice key limes if the request is made at a convenient time, he is in good humor and Mercury is in conjunction with Venus and Mars. It also helps if he likes you. I've learned it never hurts to flirt with or be especially solicitous of the butcher, fishmonger and sundry grocers. These days I probably remind them of their mothers, but it could be far worse and I do still get special attention. So, with a source for fresh lime juice at my disposal, I had no excuse not to make these. If you are not as fortunate as I am, key lime juice is now carried by most large supermarkets. These bars are really tart, so I wouldn't recommend trumpet practice following dessert. Recipes for them abound. I use a shortbread crust and a custard that uses sweetened condensed milk to lightly cover the cookie base. The bars also work well with a graham cracker crumb base. These are really easy to make and if you like your dessert really tart you are in for a treat. Here's the recipe.

Key West Lime Bars...from the kitchen of One Perfect Bite

Ingredients:
Crust
1/2 pound unsalted butter, at room temperature
1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/8 teaspoon salt
Filling
4 large eggs
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1 (14-oz.) can sweetened condensed milk
1 to 2 tablespoons grated lime zest
2/3 cup freshly squeezed lime juice
2 tablespoons flour
Confectioners' sugar for dusting

Directions:
1) Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
2) For crust, cream butter and sugar until light in bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment. Combine flour and salt and, with mixer on low, add to butter until just mixed. Dump dough onto a well-floured board and gather into a ball. Flatten dough with floured hands and press it into a 9 x 13 x 2-inch baking pan, building up a 1/2-inch ledge on all sides. Chill. Bake crust for 15 to 20 minutes, until very lightly browned. Let cool on a wire rack. Leave the oven on.
3) For the filling, whisk together the eggs, sugar, sweetened condensed milk, lime zest, lime juice, and flour. Pour over crust and bake for 20 to 25 minutes, until the filling is set. Let cool to room temperature. Chill for at least 2 hours. Dust with confectioners' sugar before serving. Yield: 20 squares.

You might also enjoy these recipes:

Cold Lime Souffle - One Perfect Bite
Key Lime Sherbet - One Perfect Bite
Key Lime and White Chocolate Cake Squares - One Perfect Bite