Summer is in full swing with long, hot days and cookouts with family and friends. There’s nothing like topping off an afternoon of grilling out with a dessert that’s both sweet and tart! The perfect dessert for any summertime gathering is Key Lime Cheesecake…it’s one delicious summertime treat!
Ingredients:
- 2 cups graham cracker crumbs
- ¼ cup white sugar
- ½ cup butter, melted
- 3 8-oz. packages of cream cheese, softened
- 1¼ cups sugar
- 3 large eggs
- 1 8-oz. container sour cream
- 1½ tsp. grated lime rind (lime zest)
- ½ cup Key Lime Juice (recommend Kermit’s Key Lime Shoppe juice; order online only)
Preparation:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Stir together first three ingredients and firmly press onto the bottom and 1 inch up the sides of a greased 9-inch springform pan.
Bake crust at 350 degrees for 8 minutes; cool completely. Reduce oven to 325 degrees.
Beat cream cheese at medium speed with an electric mixer until fluffy; gradually add 1¼ cups of sugar, beating till blended. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Stir in sour cream, rind and juice. Pour batter into cooled crust.
Place in 325 degrees oven and bake for 1 hour and 5 minutes; turn the oven off. Partially open the oven door; let stand in oven for 15 minutes. Remove from the oven and immediately run a knife around the edge of pan, releasing the sides.
Cool completely in pan on a wire rack; cover and chill 8 hours. Garnish with strawberry slices, blueberries and lime rind.
Strawberry Sauce
Ingredients:
- 1 lb. fresh strawberries, rinsed, hulled and thickly sliced
- cup sugar
- 1 Tbs. lemon juice
Instructions:
In a medium saucepan, combine sliced strawberries, sugar and 1 Tbsp. lemon juice. Place over medium heat and bring to a boil, reduce heat, stirring to prevent from burning. Strawberries will release juice without any mashing required.
Reduce heat to low-medium and simmer 20-30 minutes or until the sauce has thickened, continuing to stir occasionally. Remove from heat and cool to room temperature. Keep in mind sauce will thicken up slightly as it cools and even more with refrigeration.
Drizzle over the top slices of the cheesecake when serving.
Raspberry Sauce (alternate)
Ingredients:
- ½ jar seedless raspberry jam
- ½ cup fresh raspberries, halved
- 1 Tbsp. lemon juice
Cook all ingredients over medium heat, stirring constantly, so the sauce cooks but doesn’t stick. Once the jam turns into a liquid, remove from heat and cool, then refrigerate. Drizzle over slices of cheesecake when served.
