Anything made with key limes just scream 'summer' to me! That's why it's no wonder I included these Key Lime Cheesecake Bars in my menu for our recent Latin Inspired Independence Day feast. They were absolutely perfect all around and definitely a favorite among my guests!

A good cheesecake recipe to me is one that carries the flavors well, has a silky, creamy texture and the crust holds its own without falling apart. This recipe is exactly that and the flavor of key limes is unmistakable. The crust is a traditional graham cracker crust but also includes a bit of fresh lime zest for extra zing. The cheesecake filling itself has more lime zest and I used real key lime juice (Nellie & Joe's is my preferred brand). Regular lime juice can be substituted but I much prefer the brighter, tarter flavor of key limes. This cheesecake requires baking with a water bath, which prevents it from cracking and contributes to it's creamy texture. You can bake this in a traditional springform pan, but for the party, I made these in a 13x9 pan.

Crust:
2 cups graham cracker crumbs
1 stick butter, melted
2 Tablespoons sugar
Zest of 1 lime
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Cheesecake:
3 sticks of cream cheese, 8 oz each, room temperature
Zest of 1 lime
1 cup sugar
3 large eggs
1 cup heavy cream
3 Tablespoons key lime juice

Preheat oven to 350. Begin to boil a large pot of water for the water bath.

Mix together the crust ingredients and press into your preferred pan. You can press the crust just into the bottom, or up the sides of the pan too - baker's choice. Set crust aside.

Combine sugar and lime zest and mix with the cream cheese in the bowl of a stand-mixer (or in a large bowl if using a hand-mixer) and cream together until smooth. Add eggs, one at a time, fully incorporating each before adding the next. Make sure to scrape down the bowl in between each egg. Add heavy cream and key lime juice and blend until smooth and creamy.

Pour batter into prepared crust and tap the pan on the counter a few times to bring all air bubbles to the surface. Place pan into a larger pan and pour boiling water into the larger pan until halfway up the side of the cheesecake pan.

Bake 45 to 55 minutes, until it is almost done - this can be hard to judge, but you're looking for the cake to hold together, but still have a lot of jiggle to it in the center. You don't want it to be completely firm at this stage. Close the oven door, turn the heat off, and let rest in the cooling oven for one hour. This lets the cake finish cooking and cool down gently enough so that it won't crack on the top. After one hour, remove cheesecake from oven and lift carefully out of water bath. Let it finish cooling on the counter, and then cover and put in the fridge to chill. Once fully chilled, it is ready to serve.

To garnish, top with freshly whipped cream and a slice of fresh lime.