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Key Lime Cheesecake

This is a decadent cheesecake, both tart and sweet! This recipe uses a water bath to cook your cheesecake, which sounds intimidating, but it is much easier than it sounds! Do not forget to allow time for chilling overnight.
Course Dessert
Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 1 hour
Total Time 1 hour 15 minutes
Servings 12 slices
Author Adapted from Dorothy Kern's recipe at Crazy for Crust

Ingredients

  • 2 cups graham cracker crumbs
  • 1/4 cup brown sugar
  • 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 8 Tablespoons unsalted butter melted
  • 2 8 ounce packages of cream cheese softened to room temperature
  • 3/4 cup sugar
  • 1 cup sour cream room temperature
  • 3 eggs room temperature
  • 2 Tablespoons all purpose flour
  • 3 Tablespoons key lime juice I substituted regular lime juice because I could not find key lime
  • Zest of 2 key limes I substituted regular limes because key limes were not in season
  • 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • Lime Curd see blog post, link above
  • Three thin lime slices quartered and dipped in sugar, for garnish

Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 350ºF.
  2. Wrap the bottom of a 9 inch springform pan in 3 layers of aluminum foil, making sure all seams of the pan are fully covered,
  3. Make the crust by combining the graham cracker crumbs with the brown sugar, cinnamon, and salt.
  4. Add melted butter and combine until all crumbs are moistened.
  5. Press the mixture into the bottom of the pan and up the sides, pressing hard to compact crumbs, and form crust.
  6. Place pan containing crust into refrigerator to cool.
  7. Heat a pot of water on the stove until boiling (this will be for your water bath).
  8. In a stand mixer (or with a hand mixer), beat cream cheese with sugar until smooth.
  9. Add sour cream while continuing to beat.
  10. Beat in eggs, one at a time, until fully incorporated.
  11. Add flour, lime juice, lime zest, and vanilla extract, scraping the sides of the bowl as you go,
  12. Take crust out of the refrigerator.
  13. Pour cream cheese mixture into crust.
  14. Set the foil wrapped cheesecake into a roasting pan.
  15. Place roasting pan containing the cheesecake into your preheated oven.
  16. Pour boiling water (from the pot on your stove) into the roasting pan until it goes approximately halfway up the cheesecake.
  17. Bake for 60 minutes, cheesecake should be just slightly jiggly in the center,
  18. Turn off the oven and allow the cheesecake to sit in the warm oven for an additional hour.
  19. Remove cheesecake from the oven and allow to cool completely.
  20. Cover and refrigerate cheesecake overnight.
  21. When ready to serve, remove cheesecake from refrigerator, remove ring of springform pan and place cheesecake on a serving plate.
  22. Decorate with lime curd and slices of sugar dipped lime.