Lemon and lime cheesecake

It has been a busy few weeks and I’m a bit behind on my blog posts, so today I’m posting twice to catch up. It certainly isn’t going to get any quieter between now and Christmas and my calendar is filling up fast. Plus there is still a lot of baking and cooking to do and write about before Christmas.

This lemon and lime cheesecake has been a favourite of mine for a few years now. I have made it for many an after show party and dinner party. It is also one of the recipes that I have been asked to put up on my blog. So here it is.

The original recipe, from the 2010 season of My Kitchen Rules, only used two limes. However I have added more citrus (a lemon) to cut through the richness of the 3 packs of cream cheese. I always taste it as well before I pour it into the tin, and if it isn’t tart enough for me, I will add some more lemon or lime zest. If you don’t like your citrus desserts tart, just use two limes. However, for me this cheesecake is a perfect balance of rich creaminess and tart citrus flavours.

Lemon and lime cheesecake

Serves 8-10

Equipment – You need a 22cm or 23cm non-stick springform tin for this recipe

Ingredients

• 750g cream cheese (3 packets) – softened
• 220g caster sugar
• ¼ teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 limes – zest and juice
• 1 lemon – zest and juice
• 3 eggs
• 1 egg yolk
• 125ml single/pouring cream

For the base:

• 250g pack plain sweet biscuits (I use either Nice or Granita biscuits)
• 2 tablespoons firmly packed brown sugar
• 125g unsalted butter – melted

Method

1. Prepare the base by processing the biscuits and brown sugar in a food processor until fine crumbs form. Add the melted butter and process until combined. Press into the base of the tin and smooth with a palette knife or the bottom of a clean glass. Cover and chill for an hour.
2. Preheat oven to 220C (200C fan forced).
3. Using an electric hand whisk or the beater attachment of a stand mixer, beat the cream cheese, caster sugar, vanilla, lemon and lime zest and juice in a bowl until smooth. Add the eggs one at a time, beating until just combined each time. Add egg yolk and beat until just combined.
4. Stir in the cream and pour mixture into the tin over the base.
5. Bake on the lowest shelf for 10 minutes then reduce the oven temperature to 150C (130C fan forced) and bake for a further 25-30 minutes. The cheesecake is done when the mixture appears to be just set.
6. Cool the cheesecake in the oven with the door ajar then cover and refrigerate overnight or for at least 4 hours. I always try to make this the day before to allow it time to set in the fridge.
7. Slice and serve.

Note – make sure you remove the cream cheese from the fridge a few hours (depending on temperature) before you need it to allow it to soften, otherwise you will end up with lumps of cream cheese in your cheese cake.

Adapted from Lime cheesecake – My Kitchen Rules 2010