Lime Cheesecake Bites Food

KEY LIME CHEESECAKE I

Steps:

• Combine cookie or graham cracker crumbs with butter or margarine. Press into bottom and partially up sides of 9 inch springform pan. Refrigerate.
• In a large bowl, beat with an electric mixer the cream cheese, sugar, lime peel, and cornstarch until smooth and fluffy. Beat in eggs one at a time, blending just until smooth. Add key lime juice with mixer on low. Finish mixing by hand. Do not over beat, or cake will crack during baking. Pour batter into prepared crust.
• Bake at 300 degrees F (150 degrees C) for 55 to 65 minutes, or until set. To minimize cracking, place a shallow pan half full of hot water on lower rack during baking.
• Turn oven off, and let cheesecake stand in oven 30 minutes with the door open at least 4 inches. Remove from oven. Refrigerate cake overnight, and up to three days.

WATERMELON LIME CHEESECAKE BITES

Steps:

• Make the lime cheesecake filling:
• To a bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a whisk attachment (hand mixer works here as well), add cream cheese, lime zest, lime juice, and vanilla extract. Whisk on medium/high speed until combined. Turn off the mixer and add the powdered sugar. Whisk on the lowest speed until sugar is fully incorporated into the cream cheese mixture. Increase the speed to medium/high and mix until fluffy, about 40 seconds. Add the heavy cream in 3 parts, allowing the heavy cream to thicken after each addition before adding more heavy cream. Mix until thickened, about 30 seconds. Transfer the lime cheesecake to a large piping bag fitted with a round or star tip and place in the freezer while you prepare the watermelon rounds.
• Prepare the watermelon rounds:
• Cut the watermelon into disks about 2 inches thick. Using a 2 inch round cookie or biscuit cutter, cut about 5-6 cylinders out of each watermelon disk. Remove any seeds (seedless watermelons aren't exactly seedless) with tweezers. With a small cookie scoop (or the small end of a melon baller), hollow out the center of each watermelon round a bit, but not all the way through. Place the watermelon rounds (hollow side down) onto paper towels to drain any excess watermelon juice, about 15 minutes.
• To assemble:
• Remove piping bag containing lime cheesecake from the freezer. Pipe the lime cheesecake filling inside each watermelon indentation until you reach the very top. Garnish with lime slices and serve immediately.

LIME CHEESECAKE BITES

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 425 degrees F (220 degrees C). Grease a 12-cup muffin tin with cooking spray.
• Melt butter in a saucepan over medium-low heat, about 3 minutes.
• Place vanilla wafers in a food processor; blend until crumbly but not powdery. Pour into a bowl; add the melted butter, 1/2 cup sugar, and butter flavoring. Mix with a fork; let set until crumbs soften, about 2 minutes. Tightly pack pinches of the crumb mixture over the bottoms of the muffin cups.
• Bake in the preheated oven until starting to brown, about 4 minutes. Reduce oven temperature to 325 degrees F (163 degrees C). Let crusts cool.
• Mix cream cheese, condensed milk, and egg yolks together in a bowl using a fork until smooth. Let set, about 1 minute. Juice 2 limes into the mixture. Peel the green rind off the third lime; zest the white rind into the mixture. Juice the lime into the mixture. Mix until smooth.
• Whip the egg whites in a bowl using clean beaters until foamy. Gradually add 1/4 cup sugar and cream of tartar, continuing to beat until stiff peaks form. Fold cream cheese-lime mixture into the whipped egg whites gently with a flat spatula until thoroughly blended. Spoon into the crusts; fill muffin cups to the rim.
• Bake in the hot oven until edges start to brown, 13 to 14 minutes. Let cool, at least 15 minutes.

INDIVIDUAL LIME CHEESECAKES

Steps:

• In a medium mixing bowl, beat the cream cheese and sugar with an electric mixer until creamy. Beat in the lime curd on low speed until just combined.
• Spoon the mixture into the graham cracker crusts. Place on a small baking sheet in the freezer for 10 minutes. Serve with a dollop of whipped topping and 1/4 of a slice of lime that has been sprinkled with sugar.