Lime Cheesecake with Gingernut Crust

Happy St Paddy's Day! While I did make this today, the fact that it is actually St Patrick's Day was just a happy coincidence. We were supposed to be having friends over for curry but a burst water pipe (at their place) and 2 screaming kids who missed their nap (at our place) put an end to our dinner plans.

Luckily there was still a cheesecake to be eaten, and cheesecake makes just about anything better!

This is a variation on Dorie Greenspan's Tall and Creamy Cheesecake from Baking: From My Home to Yours. I first made it for Tuesday's with Dorie a few years ago and it has been my go-to cheesecake ever since, with a different flavour each time.

I love the combination of lime and ginger here. While it doesn't have the same zing as my Key Lime Cheesecake which includes a layer of lime curd, when topped with a pillowy cloud of whipped cream this is creamy cheesecake heaven. Enjoy!

Lime Cheesecake with Gingernut Crust

For the cheesecake:
500g (2 boxes) cream cheese
1/3 cup sour cream
1/3 cup cream
2 large eggs
2/3 cup rice malt syrup (or white sugar)
Juice and zest of 2 small limes
1 ts vanilla

For the crust:
1 pack gingernut biscuits
100g melted butter

To decorate:
1 cup whipped cream
Zest of 1 lime

Preheat the oven to 180 degrees celsius / 160 degrees fan-forced. Lightly grease a 20cm springform pan and line the base with baking paper.

To make the crust, place the biscuits in the food processor and blitz until fine crumbs. Add the melted butter and pulse until well combined. Bake for approx 10 minutes. It should smell toasty and fragrant. Remove and allow to cool, then wrap the outside of the pan in 2 layers of alfoil.

Reduce oven temperature to 160 degrees celsius / 140 degrees fan-forced.

To make the cheesecake filling, first wipe out the bowl and blade of the food processor (no need to wash it as long as there are no crumbs left). Add the cream cheese and process until smooth. Add the rice malt syrup and process for 1 minute, add the cream and sour cream and process for 1 minute, add the eggs and process for 1 minute, then add the lime juice and zest  and vanilla and process for 3 minutes.

Pour into the prepared base. Place the springform pan into a large roasting dish. Pour boiling water into the roasting pan until it comes halfway up with sides of the springform pan. It can be safer to do this once the roasting pan is already in the oven.

Bake for approximately 50 minutes or until the top is lightly golden brown and the cheesecake is set with just a slight wobble in the middle. Turn off the oven, prop the door open with a wooden spoon and leave for 1 hour. Remove from the oven, remove the cheesecake from its water bath and place it on a rack to cool to room temperature then refrigerate for at least 4 hours or overnight. Just prior to serving, smooth the whipped cream over the top and sprinkle with lime zest.

Serves 8-10.

Oh and as we ended up having to freeze most of this, I can personally vouch for the fact that this cheesecake tastes AMAZING frozen!