Lime Cheesecake with Ginger Graham Cracker Crust and Blackberry Tequila Sauce

I think the person who said/wrote "Patience is a virtue" must have been trying to make a cheesecake!  It's not so much about it being a difficult process, but more so a time consuming one.  I tried my first attempt at cheesecake for 4th of July weekend, and was very happy with the results.  It is now my special occasion dessert of choice..."Oh you are having us over for dinner?  I'll bring the cheesecake!"  The first cheesecake I made was a lemon zest cheesecake with blueberry topping.  It knocked my socks off!  So, when I started to think of more flavor combos I thought of a drink I had at Cafeteria (a restaurant in New York City).  In February I had their Blackberry Cardamom Margarita..so delicious!  The more I thought about it, the more I realized that this could translate well into a cheesecake flavor combo!  And so, this recipe was born unto us...

To Make the Filling
1. Leave out 2 blocks of cream cheese to soften.  Once they are soft (usually in about an hour), blend them with 3/4 cup of sugar.

2. Beat in 3 eggs one at a time.  I know it seems ridiculous to mix them in one at a time, but there is a reason!  If you try beating in all of the eggs at once, you will end up with a big old slimy mess.  Add the eggs one at a time and make sure they are well incorporated into the filling!

3. Beat in 16 oz of sour cream and mix well.

4. Add 1/2 tablespoon of vanilla extract

5. Add lime.  You have a few options here: 1.) Add the zest of two limes.  Unless you have a grater, zesting is painstakingly difficult!  For those of you that have not zested before, this means you are going to grate the lime to use the skin of it, but you do not want a lot of the white rind...the rind will taste bitter instead of like the fruit like the skin does!  2.) Squeeze the juice of two limes into the filling.  Just be sure to not add the seeds hehe!  3.) Buy pre-squeezed lime juice and add 2 tablespoons to your filling.

Grated lime zest

Lime zest and fresh squeezed lime juice

To Make the Crust
1. Pour two cups of graham cracker crumbs into a bowl.  You can find pre-crumbed crumbs in the baking aisle of your local grocery store!
2. Add 1/2 teaspoon of salt to the crumbs.
3. Add 1/2 teaspoon of ginger to the crumbs.  I had every intention of using cardamom here, but it is EXTREMELY expensive.  It is actually one of the most expensive spices at any grocery store, only to be beat out by saffron!  Cardamom and ginger actually come from the same spice family, and when in a pinch, can be used interchangeably.  Cardamom just has a slightly more savory flavor than ginger.  
4. Melt 4 tablespoons of butter (either on the stove or in the microwave), and mix it into the crumbs using a fork.  It will take a minute before the butter evenly spreads amongst the graham cracker crumbs.

5. Time to prepare your baking pan!  I like using a spring form pan when I make cheesecake, mainly because it is easy to present, and also cut and serve.  A spring form pan has a latch on the side of it that allows it to open by approximately an extra half inch around the entire circumference around the pan.  I bought mine as a set of 3 from Ross for $9.99, but they can also be found at Bed Bath & Beyond, Walmart, Target, etc.  If you do not have a spring form pan, you can use a cake pan.  You will need to wrap your pan in aluminum foil.  This helps prevent the crust from burning, and also helps the cheesecake cook more evenly!

Inside spring form pan

The buckle - aka business end - of the spring form pan

6. Spray the inside of your aluminum wrapped pan with Pam or another type of non-stick spray.
7. Pour your graham cracker crumbs into the pan.  (If you are using a shallow cake pan you will only need about half of the crumbs you prepared).  Press them into the bottom and sides of the pan to create a layer of crust.

8. Put the pan in the fridge for 15 minutes or longer so the buttered crumbs have time to set and hold the shape of the pan.

To Bake the Cheesecake
1. Pre-heat your oven to 350 degrees.  
2. Get your pan out of the fridge and pour the filling into the crust gently.  Again, if you are using a shallow pan, you will not need all of the filling.  You will only need to fill the pan about half way with the filling.

3. Bake your cheesecake for just over 1 hour.  You will need to keep an eye on it...if you open the oven and it has risen and no longer jiggles, your cheesecake is done.  Bring it out of the oven and let it cool to room temperature before putting it in the fridge! Don't panic, as it cools it will shrink down to half the height it was when you pulled it out of the oven!

Fresh out of the oven!

After the cheesecake cools

To Prepare the Sauce
1. Mix a pint of blackberries with a cup of sugar and 1 tablespoon of cornstarch over medium heat in a pan. The cornstarch will help thicken up this mixture so it has the consistency of a jelly when it is done cooking.
2. Add tequila to taste, and cook off the alcohol.  A note on the tequila: because the tequila will be playing a major flavor role in the sauce, I recommend splurging on a nip of a good brand such as Jose Cuervo.
3. If you want to, separate the seeds from the sauce buy pushing the sauce through a mesh colander (sieve) before chilling the sauce.   If you don't use all of the sauce, it stores nicely in the fridge or freezer in a resealable container!

Blackberry Tequila Sauce cooking down

The cheesecake out of the spring form pan

Ready to eat!

I like playing with the flavors of my cheesecakes, so don't feel obligated to stick to this suggestion!  Have fun with it and make it your own!