Baked Lime Cheesecake with Lime Curd

 When we moved into our house, I got quite a few fruit trees as house warming gifts. Of these, my most prolific producer is my lime tree. Over the years I have pickled limes, made juice, dried them for cake decorations, used them for making lime tea and so on.  I never ventured into the realm of making lime curd.  For some reason the word lime curd, lemon curd - conjured up a complicated process that was best handled by professional chefs. 

When I was requested to bring dessert for a family lunch, I finally broke that ceiling that has controlled me for a long time now. I must say I was pretty pleased with myself though quite nervous. I worked on the lime curd a week before and make sure no "skin" formed on the surface, spoiling the creamy texture of the curd.  After a week, when I was convinced I had a good lime curd, I worked on the cheesecake.

My recipe inspiration was a baked lemon cheese cake by https://www.instagram.com/asweetpantry/ 

I still have work to do on my biscuit base that was thicker than what I would have liked.  However, the cake itself was moist and not cloyingly sweet - and had a refreshing zing of fresh lime through it.

Ingredients for the Cheesecake:

250 g Plain sweet biscuits (I used 250 g of Arnott's Arrowroot biscuits)

120 g Unsalted butter, melted

750 g Cream cheese, softened, room temp

100 g Caster sugar

1 tsp Vanilla extract

3 Large eggs

Zest of one lime

Juice of one lime

Method: 

Pre heat the oven on to 150 degrees Celsius.

Using a food processor, blitz biscuits into crumbs. 

Add melted butter and mix until it resembles the texture of wet sand.

Line the base of a 20-22cm spring-form tin by placing a sheet of baking paper larger than the base, press the ring on top then clip it tight so that the edges of the paper hangs outside of the tin. Press the biscuit crumb mix into the tin to form the cake crust. Chill it in the fridge for at least 30mins.

Next prepare the filling:

Using an electric hand mixer, beat cream cheese, sugar, vanilla and lime zest and lime juice on low-med until smooth.

Add in eggs one at a time and mix to incorporate each one before adding the next.  The batter should be smooth with no lumps.

Pour the filling mixture into the chilled crust and bake for approximately 1 hour.  Mine took 1 hour and 10 minutes to get the edges done.

The cake is done when the edges are firm but the centre is still jiggly.

Switch oven off and leave the cake to cool in the oven but keep the oven door slightly ajar. Do not open the door of the oven too quick or the cake will get cold and cracks will form on the top. 

After an hour or so of resting in the oven, take the cake tin out wrap the cake and tin with glad wrap so that it does not dry out once it is in the fridge.

Chill cheesecake in the fridge overnight.  Unmould it.

Just before serving, take the cake out and place it on a serving dish. Smooth out the lime curd on top of the cake and decorate with fruit / flowers.

Lime Curd 

(takes about 30 minutes to make; and can be made up to a week in advance and kept in the fridge.)

Ingredients:

2 Eggs

2 Egg yolks

100-120 g Caster sugar

2 Lime Zest and juice

100 g Unsalted butter at room temperature

Method:

In a saucepan, add eggs, yolks and sugar. Whisk to combine.

Add lime juice and zest and butter.  Continue to whisk.

Cook over low heat, whisking constantly until it thickens. I whisked for about 10 minutes in low heat and when it started to thicken, I used a wooden spoon and continued to stir for another 10 minutes. Eventually, the mixture will start coating the spoon and you know that the curd is ready.

You will know it is ready when the mixture is thick and glossy with very small bubbles, and coats the back of your spoon.

Strain through a sieve to remove lime zest. Pour into a container.

Put a piece of cling wrap directly onto the curd to prevent a skin from forming. The curd will thicken more as it cools.  Place it in the fridge.  

The curd can be made in advance and kept in the fridge until you are ready to spread it over the cheesecake.

Spread cooled lemon curd onto the chilled cheesecake.

 

Note: Lime curd can be stored in the fridge for up to one month.  It can be frozen for up to one year. To use frozen lime curd, thaw by placing in the fridge for 24 hours.