Key Lime Swirl Cheesecake Bars
Author: 
Recipe type: Dessert
Prep time: 
Cook time: 
Total time: 
Serves: 20 bars
 
These cheesecake bars are perfect for serving a crowd!
Ingredients
Lime Curd
  • 8 Tbsp unsalted butter, softened
  • 1 cup sugar
  • 2 large eggs
  • 2 large egg yolks
  • ⅓ cup plus 4 Tbsp fresh lime juice (about 7 limes)
Crust
  • 3 cups graham cracker crumbs
  • 12 Tbsp unsalted butter, melted
Cheesecake Filling
  • 24 ounces (3 bricks) cream cheese, softened
  • ¾ cup granulated sugar
  • 3 large eggs
  • 1½ egg whites (1 egg white plus 15-20g)
  • ¾ cup sour cream
  • 1½ tsp vanilla
  • 3 Tbsp all-purpose flour
  • 1⅛ cup prepared lime curd, divided
  • Liquid green food coloring
  • Liquid yellow food coloring
Instructions
Lime Curd
  1. Beat butter and sugar in a large bowl using an electric mixer. Add the eggs and yolks, one at a time. Pour in lime juice and mix again. The mixture will look curdled, this is normal.
  2. Pour into a medium skillet and cook over medium heat until the mixture becomes smooth. Increase the heat and cook, whisking constantly, until thickened. If you have a kitchen thermometer, cook to 170° F. If not, cook for 6-8 minutes.
  3. Remove curd from heat, transfer to a large bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Cover so that the plastic wrap is touching the surface of the curd; this will prevent a skin from forming. Transfer the curd to the refrigerator to cool.
Crust
  1. Preheat oven to 325° F. Butter or grease a 9x13 baking pan, then line with parchment paper. Mix the butter and graham crackers together and press firmly into the bottom of the pan. Bake for 5 minutes, then remove pan to wire rack and allow to cool completely.
Cheesecake Filling
  1. Remove the lime curd from the refrigerator, tint with the liquid food coloring until neon, lime green. I used 13 green drops and 6 yellow drops to achieve this. Set lime curd aside.
  2. In a large bowl, beat cream cheese and sugar on medium speed until smooth. Beat in eggs and egg whites on low speed, 1 at a time. Add sour cream and vanilla, then flour, and beat until just blended. Remove 1.5 cups of batter and reserve in a separate bowl. Pour the rest of the batter over the crust. Use a spatula or another utensil to spread the batter evenly in the pan.
  3. Mix ¾ cup of the lime curd with the reserved batter. Use a spoon to place dollops of this mixture on top of the plain batter in the pan in a random fashion. Then dollop the remaining ¼ + ⅛ cup of lime curd across the previous mixture. Finally, use a skewer (something larger than a toothpick, preferably) to swirl the surface of the cake to the desired degree.
  4. Bake for 35 minutes at 325° F. Let cool completely in pan, then refrigerate overnight (or at least several hours). Remove from fridge and lift from pan by grabbing parchment paper. Cut into bars (or triangles, or octagons, or zig zags) before serving.
  5. Enjoy!
Recipe by hOhm Cooking at https://hohmcooking.com/2015/12/29/key-lime-swirl-cheesecake-bars/