key lime cheesecake with strawberries and blueberries

Birthday season is upon me. It seems I can only befriend Tauruses and Geminis. It makes sense, the Tauruses keep things steady and loyal while the Geminis spice up my rather fret-y and practical Virgo disposition. My good friend Jen's birthday on May 13th is the kick-off point, so I decided to go big. If anyone deserves some extra effort it's this girl. She loves key lime pie and cheesecake and I found a recipe that included both. Why not?

It was my first time making a cheesecake, so I was a little nervous but I hear it turned out alright. I had to drive to Des Moines this weekend (for another birthday party), so I wasn't able to try it. But don't feel too bad for me, I'm going out to dinner with Jen tonight and she promised to give me a piece afterward.*

The recipe called for mango ribbons, but that sounded incredibly hard with such a slippery fruit and also I just wasn't sure if Jen like them, so I opted for blueberries and strawberries instead. Feel free to try whatever. Also, I used bottled Key lime juice.

*Update: I did get to try the cheesecake and it was awesome. The crust turned out to be my favorite part, but I definitely recommend making this recipe.

Key Lime Cheesecake with Blueberries + Strawberries 

lightly adapted from Gourmet/May 2002

For crust
1 1/4 cups fine graham cracker crumbs (5 oz)
3 tablespoons sugar
1/2 stick (1/4 cup) unsalted butter, melted

For filling
2 (8-oz) packages cream cheese at room temperature
1 cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar
3/4 cup fresh Key lime juice (strained from about 1 1/2 lb Key limes) or bottled
1/2 cup sour cream
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
2 1/2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
3 large eggs

For topping
1/2 c blueberries
1/2 c strawberries, sliced 1/8"
1 tablespoon fresh Key lime juice (strained) or bottled
1/2 cup chilled heavy cream
1 tablespoon sugar
 

Make crust:
Preheat oven to 350°F and butter bottom and side of 9"-9 1/2"spring-form pan.

Stir together crumbs, sugar, and butter in a bowl with a fork until combined well, then press evenly onto bottom and one-third up side of pan. Bake crust in middle of oven 8 minutes and cool in pan on a rack.

Make filling:
Reduce oven temperature to 325°F.

Beat cream cheese with an electric mixer at medium speed until fluffy, then beat in sugar. Add lime juice, sour cream, and vanilla and beat until smooth. Mix in flour and salt at low speed, scraping down side as needed, until just incorporated, then add eggs all at once and mix just until incorporated.

Pour filling into crust and set springform pan in a shallow baking pan. Bake cake in middle of oven until set in center, 1 hour to 1 hour and 10 minutes. Cool completely in springform pan on rack. (Cake will continue to set as it cools.)

Run a thin knife around edge of cake and remove side of pan. If desired, transfer cake with a large metal spatula to a serving plate.

Make topping:
Gently toss blueberries + strawberry slices with lime juice.

Beat cream with sugar in a bowl until it just holds stiff peaks, then spread over top of cheesecake. Arrange fruit decoratively over cream.