Monday, April 27, 2009

Lime Cheesecake with Pistachios



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.

36 comments:

  1. 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?

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  2. Oooh, I have never thought to combine lime and pistachios, but it sounds divine! Yum. Gorgeous photo. :)

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  3. lime cheesecake! that sounds great, and the photo is fantastic.

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  4. Those cheesecakes look incredible and I love the presentation in the cups!

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  5. 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.

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  6. I love your presentation! Pistachio is such an elegant flavor, and I love the light colors it produced. This looks delicious.

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  7. So wonderful - lime and pistachio and chocolate? That just sounds delicious! Beautiful too :)

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  8. 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.

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  9. Mmm, your cheesecakes look amazing!! I love your flavour choices =D.

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  10. 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!

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  11. What a great combination of flavors! These cheesecakes look mighty delicious and so refreshing!

    Cheers,

    Rosa

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  12. Oo those look tasty! Lime is a great flavour for cheesecakes :)

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  13. Why are your c/cakes small ? you mention nothing regarding your choice of containers...I prefer them small...george

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  14. 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!

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  15. I love thee pistachio and lime combination. They look and sound delicious,

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  16. Great job on your challenge and the flavours are delish. Love the presentation and the pics as well.

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  17. the lime and pistachio combo sounds delicious!

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  18. It looks delicious and I love the color of the cups!

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  19. So beautiful and angelic looking!

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  20. Ooo, I never would've thought of pistachios with cheesecake, but that looks so good!

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  21. Your cheesecakes are gorgeous. Great job on this month's challenge.

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  22. 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.

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  23. You know, reading cheesecake late at night is a baaaaaaaaad idea! I want one of these ... now!

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  24. This looks so decadent and delish!!

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  25. So intrigued with all of the individual serving cheesecakes. I've never tried making it that way.

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  26. 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!

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  27. wow! great presentation and flavor combination!

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  28. lime pistachio cheesecake ... that sounds superdelicious :-)! Yum!

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  29. 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

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  30. 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

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  31. 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

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  32. 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.

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