For the crust: 3 lg Eggs
1 1/2 c Fine graham cracker crumbs 3/4 c Key lime juice
2 tb Sugar 1 ts Vanilla
1/4 c Unsalted butter, melted and 1 dr Green food coloring, if
Cooled Desired
For the filling: Whipped cream for garnish
1 1/4 lb Cream cheese, softened Lime slices, quartered for
3/4 c Sugar Garnish
1 c Sour cream Mint sprigs for garnish
3 tb All-purpose flour
Make the crust: In a bowl stir together the crumbs and the sugar and
stir the butter in well. Pat the mixture evenly onto the bottom and
1/2 inch up the side of a buttered 10-inch springform pan and bake
the crust in the middle of a preheated 375F oven for 8 minutes.
Transfer the pan to a rack and let the crust cool.
In a bowl with an electric mixer, beat together the cream cheese and
the sugar until the mixture is smooth; beat in the sour cream, the
flour, the eggs, 1 at a time, beating well after each addition, the
lime juice, the vanilla, and the food coloring, and beat the mixture
until it is smooth. Pour the filling over the crust. Bake the
cheesecake in the middle of a preheated 375F oven for 15 minutes,
reduce the temperature to 250F, and bake the cheesecake for 50 to 55
minutes more, or until the center is barely set. (The cheesecake
will continue to set as it cools.) Let the cheesecake cool on a rack
and chill it, covered, overnight.
Remove the cheesecake from the pan and transfer it to a cake stand.
With a pastry bag fitted with a decorative tip, pipe the whipped
cream into rosettes on the cheesecake. Garnish the cheesecake with
the lime slices and the mint sprigs.
Yields
1 cheesecake