Green Tea and Lime Cheese Cake

 I love cheese cake, especially Key lime cheese cake. I have been wanting to make a green tea cheese cake with lime.
Green tea powder gives the cheese cake nice lime color, but does not really give you too much strong green tea flavor.

I tried this for the first time and this came out perfect in taste, sweetness/tartness, color and texture.
You can make this 2-3 days ahead of time, keep refrigerated.

Ingredients For Crust: 

• 2 cups of Graham Cracker crumbs (about 18 whole graham crackers, I used honey graham crackers)
• 1/2 cup Organic Coconut Sugar (I found this at Costco and I love this product, but you can use regular light brown sugar, if you can't find this)
• 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted

Ingredients For Filling:

• 4 (8-oz) Packages of cream cheese (I used Neufchatel cheese) softened at room temp
• 1 and 1/2 cup of granulated sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon of salt
• 5 large eggs
• 3 tablespoon of fresh lime juice from (2 large limes)
• 1 table spoon of grated lime peels
• 2 table spoons of Matcha tea powder
• 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract

Ingredients For topping:

• One 16 oz container of sour cream
• 1/2 cup of granulated sugar
• 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract
• Juice for one small lime or 1/2 large lime
• 1 tablespoon of grated  lime peels for garnish
• 1 teaspoon of Matcha tea powder for garnish
• Thinly sliced lime for garnish if desired

Method:

• Grate the lime peels from the limes that you are going to use the juice from and set aside.
• In a food processor crumble and grind the graham crackers to thin powder form.
• Melt the butter in 10 x 13 pan, I used Silicone pan, I just melted it in microwave.

• Preheat the oven at 350 degrees F.
• Mix  graham cracker and coconut sugar.
• Pour the powder in the pan and mix well until moistened.
• Press crumb mixture evenly in the bottom of pan and press it with back of measuring cup to pack firmly.
• Bake it in preheated oven for 5 min and take it out of oven.
• Maintain the oven temp at 350 degrees F.

• Whisk the eggs in mixture bowl.
• Add  sugar, salt and mix well.
• Add vanilla, lime juice  and grated lime.
• Add green tea powder.
• Mix and blend well until no lumps.

• Mix it in the electric mixture at medium speed for good 3-4 min intermittently. 
• Pour the filling on to the baked graham cracker crust.
• Place the baking dish in another baking pan and pour some water in this baking pan around the baking dish where the cheese cake is. Place the baking pan with baking  dish in the preheated oven.
• Bake it at 350 degrees F for 45 min or until all set and not puffed.

Prepare topping:

• While to cake is baking you can prepare the topping as follows:
• Stir/mix sour cream and sugar in mixing bowl. 
• Add  lime juice and vanilla.  Blend and mix until smooth.

 

• Take out the baked cake out of oven but maintain the oven temp at 350 degrees F.
• Pour the sour cream topping over the hot baked cheese cake and smooth top with spatula.
• Place it back in the oven with temperature maintained at 350 degrees F.
• Bake for additional 10 min.
• Cool for 10 min.
• Sprinkle grated lime and green tea powder on top.
• Run knife around side of pan to loosen.

• Cool the cheese cake completely.
• Cover and refrigerate.  (I chilled it for about 3 hours before serving but definitely taste better next day when chilled overnight in the fridge)
• Cut in to desired size squares and garnish with lime slices, serve cold. 

Enjoy !!

Recipe adapted by Surekha from a recipe at www.epicurious.com
Photographs by Surekha.

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