dairy fast, over!

About 7 months ago I had to cut dairy out of my diet to help my little guy's problem spitting up. Apparently the lactation consultants were wrong when they told me I could eat whatever I wanted and it wouldn't affect my milk. There was a direct correlation to the amount of dairy I ate and how much he spit up. I read that the protein from cow's milk can be found in human breastmilk and it's very hard for a lot babies to digest. They usually grow out of it by about 8 months - so I've slowly been adding dairy back in this last month and he's doing quite well and is even eating yogurt all on his own!

Well, maybe that's all a little too much back story just to lead up to a recipe I want to share with you. I knew one of the things I wanted to indulge in once I could, was a little cheesecake! I've decided that I don't really LOVE cheesecake, unless it's this recipe for Lime-Almond Cheesecake. I love the tartness of the lime with that hint of almond in the sour cream glaze. I'm always looking for a gathering to take this to - because if it were at my house I'm afraid I would eat all of it. By. my. self. (as a side note, I wish I were a food photographer. Then I would have all the equipment for taking gorgeous pictures at night in my poorly lit kitchen, oh well.)

This was a hit evidenced by the measley 5 slices that were left. One of which I ate on the way home.

I think the secret is to make it 3 days in advance and let it sit in the fridge. And resist the urge to eat it early. I found great instructions for slicing it too - I love google. This recipe is courtesy of my friend Lisa that I knew back when I just graduated from college. I've tweaked the crust part a little bit to solve some of the baking issues I had. And this time I lined the bottom with parchment paper which made removing it from the pan a breeze. Parchment paper holds a special place for the part of me that hates messy clean-up.

Lime Almond Cheesecake
Crust
1/2 stick unsalted butter
2 C vanilla wafer cookie crumbs
Melt butter. Combine with crumbs and press into a 12" springform pan.

Filling
4 - 8oz. blocks cream cheese (I used the Neufchatel - 1/3 less fat - but still tasty!)
1 1/2 C sugar
1 1/2 Tbsp Lime juice (I used fresh squeezed)
pinch salt
4 large eggs
Whip cream cheese for 5 minutes (seriously, I set the timer, turn on my Kitchen Aid and juice the lime or empty the dishwasher or something while I wait).
Add sugar and whip 2 more minutes. Add lime juice and salt - blend thoroughly.
Add eggs one at a time on lowest speed of mixer just until eggs are incorporated into the batter. Pour into prepared crust. Bake at 350 for 55 minutes. Take out of oven and let rest 10 minutes while you prepare the glaze.

Sour Cream Glaze
2 C sour cream
1/4 C sugar
1 tsp pure almond extract

Mix together. Spread glaze over cheesecake - spreading to the edges (I used one of those offset handle spreading spatulas). Return cake to oven for 10 more minutes. Remove cake, cover and put it directly into the fridge.

Hints for making your cheesecake taste the best:

1. Prepare cheesecake 3 days in advance.
2. Remove cake from fridge one hour before serving.
3. Let the cake sit out for 10 minutes before removing from the pan.

This would be a great holiday dessert offering for a large group. Oh yeah, I just remembered - if you have a hankering you can make a smaller batch. I halved the recipe once and made mini cheesecakes in my muffin pan. I just put a nilla wafer at the bottom of the muffin cup and then topped it with the filling. If I remember correctly I halved the baking time too. I can't remember if that made a dozen or a two..... They were just as delicious - plus they were smaller portions and finger food friendly.

Bon Apetit!!

Challenge update: My mom and I both got our workouts in today. Go us!!! Now let's go have some cheesecake!