Tequila for the Kids, Key Lime Cheesecake with Patrón Sauce
Call off the Department of Social Services. The kids don’t actually drink tequila in this story. For the third year in a row, I had the tremendous honor of making dessert for the East Central Court Appointed Special Advoctes (CASA) Fire & Ice gala in Brookings, S.D. The fundraising event benefits children who have been victims of abuse and neglect.
The menu description for my Key Lime Cheesecake with Patrón Sauce: Like a margarita sitting in the sand, tart Key lime filling nestles into a graham and vanilla crust. The cheesecake is topped with whipped cream and served with juicy Key lime cream spiked with Patrón Silver 100% Blue Agave Tequila.
Two years ago for Fire & Ice I made raspberry white chocolate truffle cheesecakes, and last year I made Italian Tuxedo Trifle Parfaits stacked full of amaretto brownies, silky white chocolate cream and fresh strawberries. This year we went tropical and from what I could tell, these babies were a hit. It might have something to do with the pre-gala Bel Brands VIP Reception — it added an extra hour of wine drinking before the meal. *Wink. Wink*
On the other hand, how often do you eat cheesecake with a shot of juicy Key lime Patrón sauce drizzled over the top?
The sauce is simple to make — a sweet mix of sour cream, sugar, Key lime juice, lime zest, and tequila.
People often ask me how I make baby cheesecakes. The cuteness comes from these Chicago Metallic mini cheesecake pans.
The first 50 or so didn’t turn out so well. I believe weather can sometimes affect your baking. This happened…
…because this happened on baking day:
So to ease my frustration, I went outside and took pictures of a female woodpecker that knocked herself into a no-fly zone after hitting her head on our French doors. The pesky robin kept photobombing the picture!
And then I went back in the house and baked more than 260 beautiful baby cheesecakes.
I want to give a shout out to Mike, Ben, Chris, and Evan at the Hy-Vee grocery store in Brookings. Mike (not pictured) is the produce manager and for the last three years, he has hooked me up with fresh, juicy raspberries, strawberries, and Key limes for my Fire & Ice desserts. When I went to pick up my limes this year, Mike was gone and Chris, Evan, and Ben (pictured from left to right) made sure I had the best-looking bunch of Key limes. So I took their picture – the best looking bunch in the produce section. You know the tune, “Where there’s a helpful smile in every aisle.”
I had so many limes leftover that we ate Lime Chicken Street Tacos for a few days and now we’re crunching through a batch of our favorite Chicken Black Bean Salsa.
Thank you also to the Brookings High School Honor Society and the event staff from SDSU Catering. The kitchen was a harmonious frenzy that night and you helped pull off the dessert presentation and service with swift and gracious style.
Lastly but most importantly, to Julie Wermers, Executive Director East Central CASA, and Darilyn Odegaard, President East Central CASA, and to the East Central CASA Board of Directors, staff, volunteers and Fire & Ice committee — thank you for giving a voice to children who would otherwise be unheard, and for giving them hope for the future.
Sweet wishes,
Key Lime Cheesecake with Patrón Sauce
Equipment
- 1 9-inch springform pan
Ingredients
Crust
- ¾ cups vanilla wafer crumbs
- ¾ cup graham cracker crumbs
- 3 tablespoons sugar
- 5 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
Cheesecake Filling
- 24 oz cream cheese, softened to room temperature , 3 (8oz) packages
- ¾ cup sugar
- 5 tablespoons sour cream, room temperature
- 5 teaspoons all-purpose flour
- 4 eggs, large, room temperature
- 1 egg yolk, room temperature
- ½ cup frozen limeade concentrate, thawed to room temperature
- ⅓ cup Key lime juice
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- Key limes for garnish
Sugared Patrón Sauce
- 1 cup sour cream
- 1 tablespoon sugar
- 2 tablespoons Key lime juice
- 1 teaspoon Key lime zest
- 2 teaspoons Patrón Silver 100% Blue Agave Tequila, or tequila of your choice
Instructions
Crust
- Heat oven to 350°F. Lightly grease springform pan.
- Mix crushed wafer and graham cracker crumbs with sugar and melted butter. Stir until well combined. (I use the food processor.) Press crust evenly into pan. Bake 10 minutes. Remove from oven.
Cheesecake Filling
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with paddle attachment, beat the cream cheese until smooth.
- Add the sugar and sour cream, beating until smooth. Beat in the flour. At this point, make sure the cheesecake filling is creamy.
- With the mixer on low speed, beat in the eggs and egg yolk, one at a time, gently scraping down the sides after each one.
- Add the limeade concentrate, Key lime juice, and vanilla. Mix well.
- Pour the filling over the crust. Bake at 350°F 15 minutes. Turn down the oven to 200°F and bake for another 60-70 minutes. The center should be a little jiggly but shouldn't look wet.
- Cool to room temperature. Place in refrigerator for at least 12 hours for the best flavor. Serve topped with tequila sauce.
Key Lime Patrón Sauce
- Whisk together the sour cream, sugar, Key lime juice, lime zest, and tequila. Top with whipped cream and tiny slices of Key limes and zest.
Notes
Nutrition
All text and images © Staci Mergenthal • Random Sweets
Hi.. I just tried to make these. While they’re in the oven, they look delicious, but once I take them out of the oven, they fall and become a bit hollow. I’ve tried to just turn of the oven and leaving them in there to cool a bit, but that didn’t make any difference.
Do you have any idea what it is that I am doing wrong?
Regards,
Katharina
Hi Katharina – the good thing is, you made this cheesecake and even if they sunk a little, they will taste great! Just hide it with a little whipping cream. I swear the weather can have something to do with how these turn out. (Just look at the picture of mine when they sunk. It had to do with the blizzard.) A couple other things it could be – be really gentle with the eggs. Don’t over beat the batter once you add the eggs. If the batter is beaten too much after the eggs are added, there is too much air in it and the cheesecakes could sink or crack. It’s also important with the mini cheesecakes to bake at only 250 degrees. Otherwise, it gets too hot and they rise and then sink. Watch them closely when they are in the oven – the middle needs to look just set and then they are done. If we bake them too long, they will puff up and sink down. I hope this helps and you give it another try. 🙂 Staci