This Key Lime Cheesecake is so creamy and always a crowd-pleaser! The base is a graham cracker crust and the cheesecake filling is made with lime juice and lime zest, which provides plenty of lime flavor. If you love key lime pie and cheesecake, you have to try this great recipe!
Ingredients
For the Crust:
- 2 cups graham cracker crumbs
- 1/3 cup sugar
- 8 tablespoons butter, melted
For the Key Lime Cheesecake:
- 5 blocks of full-fat cream cheese (40 ounces total), softened to room temperature
- 1 and 1/2 cups granulated sugar
- 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- 2 teaspoons lime zest, finely grated
- 5 large eggs plus 3 egg yolks, at room temperature
- 1/4 cup heavy cream
- 1/2 cup key lime juice
Instructions
For the Crust:
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees (F).
- Lightly spray a 9″ springform pan with non-stick spray.
- Wrap the bottom and sides of the pan with heavy duty tinfoil. I recommend doing several diligent layers here to ensure no water creeps through when you place the pan in the water bath. Set pan aside.
- In a large bowl, combine graham cracker crumbs, sugar, and melted butter; stir well to combine. Firmly pat the mixture into the prepared pan.
- Bake in preheated oven for 10 minutes. Place partially baked crust on a cooling rack and set aside while you prepare the filling.
- Reduce oven to 300 degrees (F).
For the Key Lime Cheesecake:
- In the body of a high power blender, food processor, stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, or in a very large bowl using a hand held mixer, beat the softened cream cheese until completely smooth, scraping the bowl as needed.
- On medium speed, add sugar, vanilla, and lime zest and beat smooth, scraping down the sides and bottom of bowl as needed.
- On low speed, add in the eggs and yolks, one at a time, beating on low until just combined. Do not over mix here or the batter will rise and fall in the oven!
- Add in the cream and beat until it’s just incorporated in the batter. Finally, fold in the lime juice until it’s evenly combined.
- Pour filling into prepared crust and, using a silicone spatula, smooth the top.
- Place the cheesecake pan into a large, deep pan. Fill the pan with 2 inches of hot water. This is your water bath and will help ensure your cheesecake comes out crack free.
- Carefully place the pan in the oven and bake for 1 hour and 25 minutes. Then turn oven off and let the cheesecake sit, undisturbed, for 30 minutes, inside the oven with the door shut. The cheesecake should be still slightly wiggly.
- Remove cake from oven and gently run a knife very around the edge of the cake. Place the cheesecake on a cooling rack and cool completely, then loosely cover the pan with saran wrap and chill for at least 6 hours.
- Cheesecake will keep, covered in the fridge, for 5 days. Cheesecake may be frozen for 2 months. Thaw overnight before slicing.