Key Lime Cheesecake

     Last week I said that when life gives you lemons, make lemon bars. But what do you do when life gives you limes? The possibilities are endless! So today I just happened to have a giant bag of key limes  (which are 1/4 of the size of regular limes) because that's totally normal for me now. Originally, I was going to make a regular key lime pie, but I decided to be more adventurous and make it into a cheesecake instead. I made it in a 6-inch springform pan, which may be an unusual size, so just double the recipe and bake it a little longer for a 12-inch pan. Also, I didn't get fancy with the presentation on this one. There are all kinds of tricks to prevent this and you can call me crazy, but I actually like the look of a plain cheesecake with a few cracks in the top. It makes it look homemade, not like it came straight from the Cheesecake Factory. If presentation is super important to you, (and calories aren't) top it off with some fresh whipped cream!

INGREDIENTS:
1 cup graham cracker crumbs
6 tablespoons butter, melted
12 oz (1 1/2 blocks) cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 tablespoon cornstarch
2 eggs
1/3 cup fresh key lime juice (But you could probably cheat and use regular limes.)

DIRECTIONS:
1. Preheat oven to 300 and spray a small 6-inch springform pan with Pam.
2. In a medium bowl, stir the melted butter into the graham cracker crumbs. Then use your hands to press this into the bottom of the pan and up the sides a little. Bake for 10-12 minutes.

3. Juice the limes into a small bowl until you get about 1/3 cup. Using the tiny key limes, this took about 15 of them for me. Strain the juice when you're done to remove the seeds.

These limes are much smaller than they appear.

4. Use an electric mixer to blend the soft cream cheese with the sugar and cornstarch. Add the eggs one at a time. Add the lime juice in last, and make sure the mixture is very smooth.

5. Pour the batter into the crust and bake for about an hour. Use the toothpick test to check for doneness.

As always with cheesecakes, chill this very quickly, let it set for a few hours in the fridge, and dress it up any way you want! Later this week, I'll need to use up the rest of my little limes, so I'll probably make a classic key lime pie.