Essence of Lime Cheesecake ~ TWD
31 Dec
Did the holidays send you whirling in a blur of red and green mixed with a little bright white light? My older brother and I played with little brightly painted wooden tops when we were kids. He carefully wrapped a string around in just the perfect way so that when the top was whirled to the ground it spun around and around, hence the blur. [SinglePic not found]
This holiday season was a baking marathon and the finish line was Christmas Day. “Friends” asked me to bake for their holiday events, as well as an impromptu lunch at my table for my neighbor “girls.” Just a little extra excitement! How about your world? EEeeek! There is a certain amount of fun living on the edge of a challenge, and the bonus is in the accomplishment. I’ve loved reading other blogs and still enjoy the view through the looking glass of their writing. Observations made of other blogs tell me that like everything else in life, most of what you get out of the experience is directly linked to the time and effort put forth. Is that really true? Of course it is. Even in baking, each project/recipe builds on another, teaching us fun new shortcuts and better techniques. The experience of a new recipe and the sharing of information learned or the time put into the effort makes a difference in the outcome. I love that we get to experience Dorie’s wealth of information as well as the wisdom of those who have been down a few of these roads as well. Isn’t that so neat? [SinglePic not found]
This recipe selection chosen by Anne of Anne Strawberry is from Dorie Greenspan’s, Baking From My Home to Yours, is very similar to a Cheesecake I have made numerous times over the years. By the way, thank you for being such a sweet one and choosing this dessert. Who doesn’t love cheesecake? Once you make one or two and realize how simple and impressive they are, you will want to add them to your repertoire. There were just a few differences in recipes, one being salt, more sugar, no flour, fewer eggs and a little more cream/sour cream. Because this felt pretty familiar I just couldn’t resist the urge to vary the flavoring a bit. Most of the time when I bake a cheesecake it goes out to someone else and I miss the fun. This time I got to try the crust made with gingersnaps. Usually I don’t bring the crumb crust up the sides of the pan but this time I thought I would give it a whirl. No real objection, I just happen to think a flat thin layer is a cleaner looking slice. It was simple to press it into place with the back of a rubber spatula. Then I flattened the bottom with the back of a measuring cup. I like using citrus zest for flavoring and Dorie taught us to rub the zest in the granulated sugar to release the essence of the zest, which I did before adding to the beaten cream cheese. It was a lovely aroma. I had larger limes, which was my citrus of choice, so I added the juice of only one lime which measured out to 1/3 cup. My usual recipe uses 1 cup of heavy cream, however I used 1 cup of sour cream and 1/3 cup of heavy cream. So this cheesecake has a nice hefty sweet tang that marries nicely with the lime. The rest of the project mixed together beautifully. I gently brought up the sides of 2 sheets of heavy duty aluminum foil, always leaving space between the sides of the pan and the foil. If crimped tightly to the sides of the pan it can break the foil open for seepage. That’s disappointing. I baked according to Dorie’s instruction, 325 degrees for 1 1/2 hours, and it all went well. I used my favorite model of Kaiser’s 9 inch springform pan and there was enough batter remaining for a small ramekin. From there into the refrigerator it went for the night. A common practice for all cheesecakes. A nice feature for a do ahead dessert. [SinglePic not found]
Many cheesecake successes to us all. Its a great dessert, with a little creativity and fun can be as simple or layered with favorite flavors and textures as you can dream up. Thank you Dorie for the inclusion in Baking From My Home to Yours and Anne of Anne Strawberry for choosing this lovely dessert. If you click on her link she has a recipe of her version of the cheesecake on her blog. Take a look and see the magic she has created. Its Fun![SinglePic not found]
Just a little note I learned from another baker: after you remove the ring/sides, if you use a pan without the little lip you can slide an offset spatula between the pan and the cake, carefully sliding around as you rotate the pan in a circle. Once the cake is released from the pan’s bottom, you can slide the cake “carefully” onto your serving piece.
Gingersnap crust great idea it sounds great paired with the lime flavor of the cheesecake. Your cake came out perfect great job!
The essence of lime sounds perfect – I am soooooooooo ready for spring. I wish I could just borrow that piece off your page.
Love your cheesecake! You have so much respect for your ingredients and the process and it shows in the beauty of the finished product. I bet the lime really gave it a nice fresh taste! Thanks for the great tips on making the crust!
Beautiful cheesecake! I adore Dorie, and was lucky to meet her a few years back when she was touring with “Baking from My Home…” She did a signing event/sit down tea here in Philly and we had a chance to chat for quite a while. She’s just like she sounds in her writing.
lovely and perfect-looking cheesecake!! seems you are a cheesecake expert already
have a wonderful new year!
Thanks for the tip for removing the bottom of the pan. After the leak (minor) I had issues with the pan removal. The resulting mess has been in the freezer ever since, and we’ve been rationing pieces of this delicious disaster! Yours is stunning – you should be proud!!
Nancy
it looks delicious! glad you got to enjoy this one yourself! happy new year!!
I’m so glad you got to sample some of your efforts, AmyRuth! The cheesecake looks smashing and I’m enjoying the last little bit as I catch up on my google reader! Happy New Year!
Amy Ruth, I hope you had a wonderful holiday and Happy new year!! Your cheesecake looks so pretty and elegant. I like the addition of lime. The top is perfect.
Amy Ruth, your cheesecake looks beautiful! You are totally right…we learn with our experiences in trying things over and over. This was only my second cheesecake…the flavor was vastly improved now I just need to work on making it look like this!!
What a beautiful cheesecake…and I love lime but never would have thought to do that variation. I too have learned so much from reading about other bakers’ attempts – and enjoyed reading about your cheesecake. Happy New Year!
That looks perfect! I love the tip about removing it from the pan, and the flavors you used sound wonderful. Now I’m dying to make it again!
Your cheesecake is perfect! The lime version sounds fantastic!
Your cheesecake is beautiful! I loved this recipe, it’s definitely in my favorites
beautiful job! I love viewing and getting inspiration from the work of the other TWD bakers as well. It really helps me learn new things.
Looks delicious and beautiful!
Happy New Year!
Looks fabulous! I used just about the same cream:sour cream ratio as you did and I loved it. And isn’t that technique with rubbing the zest with sugar incredible?
Rainbowbrown,- I love how fragrant the zest rubbed in the sugar is and I really think it made a difference in the intensity of flavor along with the juice. In the past I used heavy cream but I just thought I would try a different approach with the sour cream. Overall, I really liked the tangy flavor.
AmyRuth
Lime sounds like a wonderful addition. And gingersnap crust is delicious. =) Thanks for the kind words on my blog.
Amy Ruth, your cheesecake is just perfect! I love the addition of lime, and I LOVE the gingersnap crust! I completely agree with you — it is wonderful to get to learn from other bakers. I hope that you had a great Christmas, and a very happy New Year!
Lime and gingersnaps – yummy yum! This looks fabulous, and I am sure that your neighbor was very pleased to be able to share this with you. I’m a cheesecake lover too.
Lime & Ginger: Yummmy! I love cheesecake too – so much that I had to skip it this time as I had nowhere to bring it but my own fridge – way too much temptation for me & husband alone. But I am so glad I found your version – I’m going to try it soon.
It looks great!
I agree, I didn’t care for the amount of crust when it went up the sides – but I love your gingersnap idea!
Lime sounds like a great variation, beautifully done!
Happy & healthy new year. Beautiful cheesecake, looks picture perfect. Also, thanks for your blog comments.
Lime cheesecake sounds delicious (even for a non cheesecake lover like me). Your cheesecake looks pefect!
Happy New Year and thanks for stopping by.
Your cheesecake is beautiful!
Happy baking in 2009!
I bet the lime was perfect.
thanks for the tip at the end. yours looks gorgeous!
Holy smokes, that looks and sounds divinely good! Happy New Year and may you make many more such wonderful dishes!
Gingersnaps and lime — so nice! I’m in Paris now and last night a French woman asked me how to make a cheesecake and how an American cheesecake — a “real” American cheesecake — should look. I think she should see yours!
Mmmm, I’ll bet it was wonderful with a touch of lime.
It is Lovely!
wow i’m jealous as to how perfectly your cheesecake turned out. mine was too brown on top! i also appreciate the tip about removing it from the base – i always have trouble with that!