Key Lime Cheesecake

6 degrees of separation between key lime cheesecake and the college cheating scandal:
Key lime cheesecake is my favorite flavor at The Cheesecake Factory.

Andrew watched an Eater video that proves The NBA Loves Cheesecake Factory.

Andrew is convinced that we saw Dallas Mavericks NBA player, Ryan Broekhoff (#45, small forward, 6’7”), while shopping at Central Market the other day. 

If we photoshopped Andrew’s head on Ryan’s body, maybe Andrew could get accepted to USC.

If you cheat to get into college (or lie or generally behave badly to try and get ahead in life), bad things will happen.  

If you don’t follow the instructions when baking, like not putting in the right amount of baking soda, it results in wacky, hollow chocolate chip cookies and that’s bad because I really wanted a cookie.

You can learn life lessons from baking: follow the rules because karma is a b*tch.

Key Lime Cheesecake

Buddy vs. Duff.  
Hands down: Duff.

Ingredients

Crust:

• 1 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs (about 14 rectangle graham crackers, crushed)
• 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
• 6 tablespoons butter, melted

Filling:

• 3 packages (24-ounces total) cream cheese, softened to room temperature 
• 1 cup granulated sugar 
• 1 tablespoon cornstarch 
• 1/2 cup key lime juice 
• 3 large eggs 

Topping (adapted from the mixed berry sauce for French Toast Waffles)

• ½ pint (1 cup) fresh strawberries, sliced
• ½ pint (1 cup) fresh raspberries
• 1/8 cup granulated sugar
• 1/8 cup water
• 1 heaping tablespoon raspberry preserves
• ½ tablespoon fresh lemon juice

Instructions

For the crust:

Preheat the oven to 300 degrees F. Position one oven rack just above the middle position and another is in the bottom third of the oven. Lightly grease a 9-inch springform pan.

In a medium bowl, stir together the graham cracker crumbs and sugar. Add the melted butter and mix until the graham cracker crumbs are evenly coated in sandy in texture. Press the mixture into the bottom and 1/2-inch or so up the sides of the prepared pan.

Bake the crust for 15 minutes. Remove from the oven and let cool while you prepare the filling.

For the filling:

In a large bowl with an electric mixer, whip the cream cheese, sugar, cornstarch and lime zest together until smooth and creamy, 1-2 minutes, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed. Add the lime juice and mix until combined. Add the eggs and mix until just combined (over mixing can cause the cheesecake to crack while baking thanks to all the extra air beat into the filling).

Pour the cheesecake filling over the crust and spread evenly. Place a metal 9X13-inch or similar-sized pan on the bottom rack of the oven and pour in 2-3 cups of boiling water. Immediately place the cheesecake on the upper rack and bake for 50-65 minutes until the cheesecake is set around the edges. A slight jiggle in the center of the cheesecake is fine.

Turn the oven off and prop the oven door open about 4 inches. Keep the cheesecake in the oven for 30 minutes. Remove and let cool completely.  Refrigerate the cheesecake overnight.

For the topping: 

Combine the strawberries, raspberries, sugar and water in a medium saucepan, bring to boil and cook, stirring occasionally, until the berries are soft, about 10 minutes. Remove from the heat and let cool for 5 minutes. 

Transfer the berry mixture to a blender or food processor, add the raspberry preserves and lemon juice and blend until smooth. Transfer to a bowl and let cool to room temperature. The sauce will keep in the refrigerator stored in a container with a tight fitting lid for 1 week.

When ready to serve, serve the berry mixture with each slice (pour it on top of the slice of cheesecake or on the plate under the slice or on the side) and maybe even add a little whipped cream.