Monique's Lime & Ginger Cheesecake Recipe

This zesty lime & ginger baked cheesecake shared by Tui team member Monique is easy to assemble and impresses when served!

Use gingernuts for a slightly softer chewier base or combine malt biscuits with ground ginger for a more traditional option. This recipe uses a water bath but don’t let this put you off. We’ve suggested an easy option to make baking a breeze.

INGREDIENTS

Base

1 packet of Gingernuts (250g) OR 1 packet of Malt biscuits (250g)

60g butter, melted

1 tsp of ground ginger (to be used if making the base with Malt biscuits).

Cheesecake

• 500g traditional cream cheese
• ½ cup caster sugar
• 60g traditional sour cream
• 1/3 cup lime juice
• 2 tsp of lime zest
• 1 tsp of vanilla extract
• 2 eggs (at room temperature)

METHOD

1. One hour before you are planning to prepare your cheesecake, take your cream cheese out of the fridge to soften.
2. Pre-heat your oven to 180 degrees. Place a rack in the centre of the oven, and another underneath – allowing enough space to insert a baking dish of your choice. This will be used for the water bath.
3. Line a 20cm springform tin with baking paper.
4. For the base: Using a clean sealable bag and a rolling pin, crush the gingernuts (or malt biscuits) in batches of 5 or 6 until they become a fine crumb. Place into a mixing bowl.
5. Once crushed, add the melted butter and mix well. Squeeze a small handful of crumbs together and to check that they bind together. If the mix is still crumbly, add a little more melted butter.
6. Press the crumb firmly into your tin, lining the bottom and sides of the tin as high as the crumb will reach.
7. Bake in oven for 8 mins to help set the base.
8. For the filling: Using a benchtop or handheld mixer on medium speed, beat the cream cheese and caster sugar until smooth and creamy.
9. Add the sour cream, lime juice, lime zest and vanilla extract. Beat until combined.
10. Add one of the eggs and beat until combined.
11. Add the second egg and beat until combined.
12. Pour the cheesecake mix into the prepared base and place on the upper rack in your oven.
13. Fill a baking dish (whatever size you have available is fine) with 3cm of boiling water. Place this on the lower oven rack. This water bath keeps the cooking environment moist, and helps to prevent the cheesecake from splitting or drying out.
14. Bake for 60-70 mins, or until the cheesecake looks mostly set. The middle should still wobble slightly.
15. Allow to cool gently at room temperature and then refrigerate to fully set (ideally overnight).
16. To serve: Remove the cheesecake from the springform pan and remove the baking paper. Slide the cheesecake onto your serving platter and garnish as desired. Use a clean, warm knife to slice, serve and enjoy!

Allowing your cream cheese to soften ahead of mixing, and having your eggs at room temperature ensures that your cheesecake batter mixes easily. This prevents lumps from forming. 

Use traditional cream cheese and sour cream. Lite or spreadable versions can result in a looser batter which may not bake or set as needed.

You can change up the flavour of your cheesecake by swapping the lime for lemon, or other citrus of your choice. The sharpness of lime or lemon works wonderfully with the richness of the cheesecake.