Key lime pie fusion of Cheese Cake

I love cheesecake thanks to the ancient Greece its popular. My memories of cheesecake started with my sister and aunt, can't decide who was first. I still remember the day I saw the red strawberry jelly on top of that creamy texture, I wanted it just for the strawberry jelly on top, and I loved it.

Years later I discovered its called cheesecake and wondered, where the hell is the cheese in this dessert? All types of cheese is salty and mild. But then, I knew cream cheese existed and its Philadelphia. Obviously I was so young to know those kind of information about food, 10 or 9 perhaps?

I found this recipe online, and gave it a shot. One of the steps in making this cheesecake is poaching the lime a day ahead in water, sugar and mint syrup and add the sliced lime and cook for 10 minutes and let the flavors infuse over night. Myself, I didn't like the smell and the taste of the syrup and decided not to use the syrup and squeezed the limes, this gave them this odd shape. At least I used it for decoration.

 

Overall, it taste very good. I wasn't a fan of the filling but it tastes like cheesecake but without that punch or kick of that "REAL" cheese cake.

Recipe:

Serves 8-10
Preparation time: 1 day in advance for the poached lime slices, + about 35 minutes, + chilling
Cooking time:  35-45 minutes

For the poached lime slices

• ½ cup superfine sugar
• ½ cup water
• 1/3 cup fresh mint  
• 4 limes, finely sliced

For the base

• 3½ cups crushed graham crackers
• ¼lb plus 1 tbsp (11/8 sticks) unsalted butter, melted, plus extra for greasing

For the filling

• 4 large eggs, separated   
• 2½ cups condensed milk
• finely grated zest and juice of 4 limes
• ¼ cup superfine sugar

For the topping

• 2/3 cup whipping cream
• confectioners' sugar, for dusting

The day before making the pie, prepare the poached lime slices for the decoration. Place the sugar in a pan with the water and bring to a boil. Simmer until the sugar has melted, then add half the mint leaves and all the lime slices. Poach the lime in this minty syrup for about 10 minutes, then allow to cool and infuse overnight. 

To make the base, mix the graham cracker crumbs with the melted butter and press into a buttered deep 10 inch removable-bottomed, preferably fluted, tart pan. If you don't have one of the latter, use a springform pan of the same size and just press the crumbs two-thirds of the way up the side. Let the base rest for another hour in the refrigerator.

Preheat the oven to 350ºF. 

Line the crumb shell with waxed paper and half-fill it with ceramic pie weights or uncooked dried beans. Bake in the preheated oven for 10-15 minutes. Remove the weights and cook for another 5 minutes until the base has darkened slightly in color. Remove from the oven and cool.

For the filling, beat the egg yolks in a bowl until light and fluffy, then beat in the condensed milk and lime zest and juice.

In another bowl, whisk the egg whites and superfine sugar until firm, then gently fold into the lime mixture, using a large metal spoon.

Completely fill the crumb shell with the lime mixture and bake in the preheated oven, at the same temperature, for 20-25 minutes until set and lightly browned around the edges. Allow to cool. It will sink slightly, so don't worry.  

Loosen the edges of the tart, remove the pan and transfer to a serving plate. Finally, whip the cream until it peaks, spoon into a pastry bag, and pipe around the edge of the cold tart. Dust the top with confectioners' sugar, then decorate with the poached lime slices and some of the syrup, discarding the cooked mint and adding the remaining fresh mint leaves.


Shaikha x