Of all the sweets that I make, this is definitely my favorite. It is simple, creamy, and refreshing. Can cheesecake be refreshing? This cheesecake is tart with just a hint of sweet. Just how I like it. It is also so simple that it is easily changed to your liking without much effort. It is so easy, and so good.

I was first inspired to make this by Paula Deen, but I have simplified her recipe and changed it to my taste. I still haven't perfected my technique but I had just had to share it with all of you.

As with most of my recipes, these measurements do not have to be exact and since there are no eggs in this recipe you can easily adjust the level of tartness to sweetness without fear of salmonella.

Ingredients

2- 8 oz pkgs of Cream Cheese (softened)
1/4 C sugar
1/2 C Key Lime juice
1 tsp Lime zest (optional)
1/2 C butter
20 cracker sheets of Graham Crackers

Crush the graham crackers into crumbs with a food processor or place them in a baggie and use a rolling pin to break them up into a fine crumb. I have a 3 cup food chopper which I use for this part. It makes things go so much easier.

Melt the butter and mix it into the crumbs. In an 8 inch springform pan, press the mixture into the pan evenly. Bake at 350 degrees for 8-10 min. Remove from the oven.

Mix the cream cheese, lime juice, sugar, and zest (if you used it) in a bowl on high until the mixture is creamy and smooth. I've found that if I take the time to mix this well instead of leaving it lumpy like cottage cheese--and I've done that--then it doesn't crack while I bake it. You also won't have lumps of cream cheese in any of your bites. When it is creamy, smooth it onto the crust and bake for about 40-45 minutes. It's been so long since I've made a cheesecake this large that it startled me that it was still bubbly under the top skin after the full 45 min so I put it in for another 5 minutes. Don't do this. Just trust that it is done. Cool. I left mine to cool overnight before I cut into it. It took all of my will power to do this.


As you can see, this doesn't make a very thick cheesecake but I think it is the perfect ratio of crust to filling. It doesn't leave an overpowering taste in your mouth nor is it crust-heavy.
This recipe can easily be adapted to make cheesecake bites by putting it into a foil-lined 9x9 pan and cutting the cake into 1 inch squares or by putting it into a paper cup-lined mini muffin pan and reducing the baking time. If you go the mini muffin pan route you can substitute whole mini Nilla Wafers for the crust instead of the graham cracker crust if you're in a hurry.

If you like this, and decide to make it, we'd love to hear about it. Send us a link of your post and link back to Bumblebliss on your blog and send us some blog lovin.

I linked up to
DIYbyDesign
Marni's Organized Mess
DebbieDoos Newbie Party
                    

                
                                           Eve