Key Lime Cheesecake~The Perfect Way to End our Week!

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This weeks dessert is Key Lime Cheesecake. I love cheesecake-pretty much any kind of cheesecake. But Key Lime Cheesecake just sounds like the perfect hot weather treat. Doesn't it?
And it's HOT, and I would love a treat!!!

  We will start with our crust. I made a mini cheesecake.

Sometimes, it's not a good idea to have left over dessert 

at my house! The ingredients are for the mini size. If you want to 

make a full size cheesecake, multiply the recipe by 4.

Crust

3 oz. Graham Cracker Crumbs

1 1/2 oz chopped Macadamia Nuts

1 1/2 teaspoons Sugar

1 1/3 oz.  Butter

In a bowl, mix together the graham cracker crumbs,

the macadamia nuts, and the sugar.

Melt the butter, and add it to the bowl. Mix together.

Scoop the crust mix into the cheesecake pan.

Tamp the mix all around the bottom of the pan.

Set aside while we make the filling.

 Key Lime Filling

6 oz. softened Cream Cheese

3 1/2 oz. Sugar

2 oz. Sour Cream

2 1/4 teaspoons Flour

1 Egg

1 3/4 oz. Key Lime Juice

1/4 teaspoon Vanilla Extract

Cream together the sugar and cream cheese.

Add in the flour and sour cream.

Add the egg and mix well.

Add the lime juice and vanilla. I used fresh

key limes for my juice. To juice the key limes I...

rolled my cutting board over the lime several times

to loosen the juice and pulp. Then...

cut the limes in half,...

take the seeds out,...

hand squeeze the key limes into a measuring glass,

making sure to remove all seeds that fall in.

Taste the batter to make sure you are happy with the

amount of key lime taste. If you want more, add more juice.

Pour your filling mix into the springform pan.

Bake for about 30 minutes.

When a toothpick poked into the middle of the

cheesecake comes out clean, take it out of the oven

and let it cool on a cooling rack.

After the cheesecake is cooled, take a stick or

knife around the edges to loosen them.

Loosen the pan handle and remove the ring.

Remove the cheesecake from the base of the pan.

Top the cheesecake with sliced strawberries.

Enjoy!!

Thanks for joining me today!

I hope to see you tomorrow for 

something special!

See you then!

Key Lime Mousse Shooters

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This weeks dessert is one I have made several times. At one time I was a pastry chef for a catering company. This was a dessert we made for several special occasions. It is a great recipe for a large gathering. There are not many ingredients, it looks like you went to a lot of work, and it tastes wonderful and refreshing. It is a dessert meant to impress. So give it a try!

Key Lime Mousse Shooters 
Makes about 17

(adapted from Taste of Home website)

4 ounces Cream Cheese, very soft

2/3 cup Sweetened Condensed Milk

15 Key Limes

1/2 cup Heavy Whipping Cream

plastic shot glasses
mini spoons

Place soft cream cheese and sweetened condensed

milk in mixing bowl.

Remember the post I did about hand juicers? 

That is what I used here.

Juice your key limes until you fill the 1/4 cup. 

It took 11 key limes to make a 1/4 cup. I double checked 

this by pouring into a glass measuring cup. It 

measured a bit more in the glass cup, but I left it in. Because

I have made this recipe before, I knew it would be ok.

(This just solidifies what I was saying with Mondays 

appetizer fiasco!)

Pour the juice into the bowl and mix.

Now we need to make the whipped cream. This means we
need to put our key lime batter in another bowl for a few minutes.
You could make the whip cream before the key lime mix,
but there are two reasons that I didn't. First, once I mix
whipped cream, I don't usually like to move it a lot.
I worry about it falling when it is getting jostled around,
plus this recipe calls for the whipped creme to be folded in
with the key lime mixture. That presents another opportunity

for the whipped creme to fall flat.

Whip your whipped cream until stiff peaks appear.

Fold the whipped cream into the key lime mix.
Do this by gently putting your spatula under the mix
and then turning it over. Do this several times.

Place the mix in a pastry bag.
Line up your shot glasses.

 Pipe the mix into the shot glasses.
I did not use a decorating tip. I only used the coupler
that I inserted in the bag.

As you fill the shot glasses, leave a little room at the top.
Make some more whipped cream. Use about 1/2
cup of heavy whipping cream, and 2 tablespoons
of confectioners sugar. Whip until stiff peaks appear.
Add more sugar if you think it needs it.
Then pipe the whipped cream on top of the
mousse filling. Use the coupler with no tip.

Thinly slice the key lime, and then cut the slices in half.
Garnish each cup with the key lime slice.

  Don't they look great?

They are a treat you will be proud to serve.
Enjoy!

Thanks for joining me this week for
our mini's menu.

Join me tomorrow for the culinary word of the week!
Remember~Any questions or you are not sure about a recipe,
please comment here, or email me at thefreshmancook@hotmail.com! 

See you tomorrow!