Yes, I did indeed make three different types of cheesecake for my birthday this year. And no, I will absolutely not apologize for it. It was absolutely delicious! None of the cheesecakes were bad. They're all variations of my favorite New York Cheesecake from The Joy of Cheesecake by Dana Bovbjerg and Jeremy Iggers. Although I do have to admit that this particular Margarita Cheesecake w/ Tequila & Lime is probably my favorite of the trio this year. I added freshly squeezed lime juice and zest to the batter, made whipped cream infused with tequila, candied limes, and simply syrup with more tequila to drizzle on top. While this concoction does contain tequila and absolutely is not recommended for children, it's still not enough to get you intoxicated on anything but the sugar rush and was absolutely as delicious, if not more so, than it looks.
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Variations of Margarita Cheesecake
Cheesecake is one of my favorite things to make. It's my go-to for just about any holiday dessert. It's one of those things that you can find everywhere, but isn't necessarily the best quality. For whatever reason, the vast majority of store-bought and restaurant cheesecakes opt for an overly whipped and fluffy version, rather than the decadently dense New York-style cheesecake. Which does tend to make it a crowd favorite because it's much rarer a find!
This New York-style Margarita Cheesecake consists of cream cheese, sour cream, lime, and tequila on a vanilla wafer crust with candied limes, tequila whipped cream, and simple syrup made from tequila and limes.
Heavily coat a springform cheesecake pan with butter. Set aside.I am a purist when it comes to cheesecake. I do not recommend spraying it with olive oil or attempting a cheesecake in anything other than a cheesecake pan! It will not have the same flavor and it will not come cleanly out of any other type of pan.
Add vanilla wafers to food processor and process for 1-2 minutes, or until the wafers turn into fine crumbs.You want 1 1/2 cups of vanilla wafer crumbs, so you'll need to add about twice as much whole vanilla wafers to reach this amount. I find it easier to just weigh out 200 grams, which is the equivalent of 1 ½ cups. It's also okay if it's slightly more or slightly less. This isn't the kind of cake where 205 grams is going to matter.
Add butter and sugar to vanilla wafer crumbs and process for 2 minutes, or until the mixture is fully incorporated and begins to form a ball.
Add wafer mixture to the springform pan and firmly pack down.
Bake for 10 minutes.
Remove from oven and set aside.
Filling
Turn the oven up to 425 degrees Fahrenheit. Place a large baking dish on the bottom rack of the oven and fill with water.DO NOT SKIP THIS STEP. An essential part of making cheesecake is creating steam in the oven.
Add cream cheese, sour cream, and sugar to a food processor. Process for 2-3 minutes, or until smooth.
Add eggs gradually, along with vanilla extract and cornstarch. It’s best to add 1 egg at a time and process until barely incorporated, about 10-15 seconds per egg.
Candied Limes
Slice the limes to 1/8th-inch thick, or as thinly as you can evenly cut them.
Add the sugar, water, and lime juice to a saucepan. Stir constantly and bring to a simmer.
After the sugar has completely dissolved and the syrup has begun to simmer, add the lime slices.
Continue to simmer the lime slices for at least 15 minutes. Making sure to rotate at least once during the cooking process.
Remove lime slices and let cool enough to handle.
Arrange the lime slices on the cheesecake.I cut one slice halfway into the lime and flare the sides out to make little pinwheel-type shapes. Although you can arrange them however you like!
Add tequila to the leftover syrup and drizzle over the cheesecake.
Tips, Tricks, & Notes
Cheesecake will keep for 2-3 days in an airtight container in the refrigerator. It will technically keep for longer and is still fine to eat. However, after a couple days in the refrigerator the butter will begin to separate, so I advice eating it sooner rather than later!
This Page Contains Edited Images
As a general rule, I don't like to edit images. Food styling, editing, alteration, and even faking entirely is just as rampant a problem in the recipe realm. Cooking is a very visual art and you can tell when a lot of foods are cooked based on the color. So, when this is altered and you can't use the coloration as a gauge, it makes it quite difficult to follow some recipes. I have an entire article about Food Styling and Unrealistic Expectations of Recipes. My place has very warm lighting, though. So, sometimes my camera overcompensates and ends up with an unnatural hues. I've adjusted the hues, levels, and/or cropped the following images:
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