Margarita Cheesecake

Last week the fiancé and I were tasked with cooking dinner for one night at our family shore house in beautiful Ocean City, New Jersey. Before I even thought about what I’d make for the main dish (post coming soon…), I thought long and hard about what to bake for dessert – my favorite course of any meal. With the abundant sunshine and beachside location, I thought a Margarita Cheesecake would be perfect for this occasion and hoped our family would enjoy it. You start out with a recipe for a traditional, creamy cheesecake with a graham cracker crust as a base and then add tequila, triple sec and lime in true margarita style. The cheesecake is finished with a thin layer of tangy sour cream topping. It’s light, refreshing and a fantastic variation on a timeless favorite. By the end of the night, the whole cheesecake was devoured… except for the piece I hid for myself 😉

Margarita Cheesecake

Ingredients

For Crust
5 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted, plus more for pan
12 graham crackers (3-by-5 inch)
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt

For Filling
3 8-ounce packages cream cheese, room temperature
2 cups sour cream, divided
1 1/4 cup sugar, divided
3 tablespoons Triple Sec
3 tablespoons gold tequila
3 tablespoons freshly squeezed lime juice, divided
2 1/2 teaspoons grated lime zest, divided
4 large eggs
Very thin lime slices (garnish)

Directions
Make crust: Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter a 9″ springform pan. In a food processor, pulse graham crackers until fine crumbs form. Add melted butter, sugar, and salt, and pulse all until combined. Press crumb mixture into bottom and about 1 inch up side of pan. Bake for 12 – 15 minutes or until set and just golden. Let cool completely on a wire rack.

Make filling: Beat cream cheese until light and fluffy in an electric mixer. Add 1 cup of sour cream, 1 cup of sugar, Triple Sec, tequila, 2 tablespoons lime juice and 2 teaspoons lime zest and beat all until smooth. Gradually add eggs and beat until combined. Pour filling into cooled crust.

Bake until softly set, about 50 minutes. Maintain oven temperature. While baking, make sour cream topping. Mix remaining 1 cup sour cream, 1/4 cup sugar, 1 tablespoon lime juice and 1/2 teaspoon lime zest in small bowl. Pour over cheesecake. Using spatula, gently smooth top. Bake cheesecake 5 minutes longer. Transfer pan to rack and cool completely.

Refrigerate until chilled, at least 4 hours or overnight. Run a hot knife around edge of pan to release. Garnish cake with thinly sliced lime slices.

Margarita Cheesecake

 

Author:

Janelle

Recipe type: Dessert

Cuisine: Mexican

Serves: 10-12

Prep time: 20 mins

Cook time: 15 mins

Total time: 35 mins

Print

 

A refreshing, tangy and creamy Margarita Cheesecake.

Ingredients

For Crust

• 5 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted, plus more for pan
• 12 graham crackers (3-by-5 inch)
• ¼ cup sugar
• ¼ teaspoon salt

For Filling

• 3 8-ounce packages cream cheese, room temperature
• 2 cups sour cream, divided
• 1¼ cup sugar, divided
• 3 tablespoons Triple Sec
• 3 tablespoons gold tequila
• 3 tablespoons freshly squeezed lime juice, divided
• 2½ teaspoons grated lime zest, divided
• 4 large eggs
• Very thin lime slices (garnish)

Instructions

Make crust:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter a 9″ springform pan. In a food processor, pulse graham crackers until fine crumbs form. Add melted butter, sugar, and salt, and pulse all until combined. Press crumb mixture into bottom and about 1 inch up side of pan. Bake for 12 – 15 minutes or until set and just golden. Let cool completely on a wire rack.

Make filling:

1. Beat cream cheese until light and fluffy in an electric mixer. Add 1 cup of sour cream, 1 cup of sugar, Triple Sec, tequila, 2 tablespoons lime juice and 2 teaspoons lime zest and beat all until smooth. Gradually add eggs and beat until combined. Pour filling into cooled crust.
2. Bake until softly set, about 50 minutes. Maintain oven temperature. While baking, make sour cream topping. Mix remaining 1 cup sour cream, ¼ cup sugar, 1 tablespoon lime juice and ½ teaspoon lime zest in small bowl. Pour over cheesecake. Using spatula, gently smooth top. Bake cheesecake 5 minutes longer. Transfer pan to rack and cool completely.
3. Refrigerate until chilled, at least 4 hours or overnight. Run a hot knife around edge of pan to release. Garnish cake with thinly sliced lime slices.

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