Margarita Cheesecake

Is this making anyone else hungry?

I really love cheesecake. Always have and always will, I'm sure of that. Any kind of cheesecake - it really doesn't matter what's in it. And I've had a lot of cheesecake in my life. But never margarita cheesecake. Until now. Why, oh why didn't anyone alert me of this sooner?

Please make this for your next get-together. Or for just your family. Or just yourself. And don't forget to come back later and thank me.

Happy Spring to everyone!



Margarita Cheesecake
(from Good Housekeeping magazine)

7 Tbsp. butter or margarine, cut up
5 limes
1 orange
8 ozs. (65 wafers) vanilla wafer cookies
4 packages (8 ozs. each) cream cheese, softened
1 and 1/4 cups granulated sugar
1/4 tsp. salt
4 large eggs
1 container (8 ozs.) sour cream
1/4 cup orange-flavor liqueur or orange juice
Orange and lime slices, for garnish

1. Preheat oven to 350° F. Wrap outside of 10" by 2 1/2" springform pan with foil to prevent leakage. While oven preheats, melt butter in springform pan in oven.

2. Meanwhile, from limes, grate 1 Tbsp. plus 2 tsp. peel and squeeze 1/2 cup juice. From orange, grate 1/2 tsp. peel. In food processor with knife blade attached, pulse vanilla wafers and 2 tsp. lime peel to make fine crumbs (you should have about 2 and 1/2 cups crumbs). Stir crumbs into melted butter in springform pan, then press onto bottom and 2 inches up side of pan to form crust. Bake crust 15 minutes. Cool completely in pan on wire rack.

3. In large bowl, with mixer at medium speed, beat cream cheese until smooth, occasionally scraping bowl with rubber spatula. Gradually beat in sugar and salt until blended. Reduce speed to low; beat in eggs, 1 at a time, sour cream, liqueur, orange peel, lime juice, and remaining 1 Tbsp. lime peel just until blended and smooth.

4. Pour cream-cheese mixture into crust, making sure to scrape any peel on beaters into batter. Bake cheesecake 45 minutes (cheesecake will still jiggle slightly in center). Turn oven off and leave cheesecake in oven 1 hour to cool slightly and set.

5. Remove cheesecake from oven and cool completely in pan on wire rack. Cover and refrigerate cheesecake at least 6 hours, until well chilled or up to 2 days.

6. To serve, carefully remove outside of springform pan. Let cheesecake stand at room temperature 30 minutes for better flavor. If you like, arrange orange and/or lime slices on top of cake for garnish.