Doing what we do best... dining

Tuesday, May 18, 2010

The glory that is cheesecake





I LOVE cheesecake. All types of cheesecake. When I was growing up, I thought it sounded weird. I mean, I liked cheese.... and I liked cake.... but cheese+cake? No thanks. It was probably high school before I discovered the glory that is cheesecake. Brian, on the other hand, grew up eating cheesecake. Both his mother and father love it - so he tried it and loved it pretty early on.

We've (Brian) has made many cheesecakes since we've been together. Vanilla, dark chocolate, key lime, etc... He's used the very richest fillings (cream cheese & sour cream) to the lighter, fluffier (Ricotta) styles. They are all great. Toppings have ranged from melted chocolate to pureed fruit. Yum.

Obviously, this isn't one of our healthier posts... but I warned you in advance.

This particular recipe was what he made for Mother's Day this year.

Lemon Cheesecake with Key Lime Whipped Cream

You'll need:

Crust:
2 cups graham crackers crumbs
1 stick butter (melt)

Filling:
2 -8oz. bricks cream cheese (room temp)
15oz. ricotta cheese
1/2 cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/3 cup fresh squeezed lemon juice
Zest of 1 lemon
4 egg whites, lightly beaten
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup sour cream

First, preheat oven 325. Mix graham cracker crumbs & melted butter together. Press into the bottom of a spring-form pan. Bake for 7-10 minutes or until golden brown. Remove & set aside.

Next, combine cream cheese & ricotta. Mix until smooth. We use a Kitchen Aid mixer for this and the following steps.
Add all remaining ingredients, beat until smooth.

Put the spring form pan onto a backing sheet. Pour about an inch of water onto the baking sheet. This will prevent the cake from cracking. Pour mixture on top of crust. Bake for 50-60 minutes or until cake is firm.

While it's cooling - onto the Key Lime Whipped Cream:

You'll need:
2 cups heavy whipping cream
2/3 cup sugar
1/4 cup key lime juice

Pour all together & mix. Beat until peaks are formed. We used the Kitchen Aid again, but a hand mixer works fine too.


Try NOT having a piece every day when you have it in the house. Then tell me how you did it, if successful. I FAILED. Enjoy!

1 comment:

  1. As the mother/mother-in-law who got to enjoy this on Mother's Day, I can vouch for this ... EXCELLENT!!!

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