Tropical Cheesecake!

Happy Easter everyone!!

It's a family tradition to have a cheesecake for easter, or a carrot cake...just some kind of home made dessert :P So this year my mom let me make my own cheesecake! A few days prior to going home I was looking up recipes...SOOO many recipes!! until I finally found the one. I wanted to do something different but that still had a nice and fruity flavour. Something perfect for spring. I found a recipe for a mango-pineapple-lime cheesecake! I know, even just sounds delicious.

So here's what you'll need!

For the base

-1 package of ginger snap cookies

-handful of macadamia nuts

-2 tlbsp unsalted butter

-3 tblsp golden brown sugar

For the filling

-1 package 1kg bakers cream cheese. (or 3-4 8oz Philadelphia cream cheese)

-1 cup of sugar

-5 eggs (whole)

-3 limes

-lime skin- minced.

-1 medium pineapple ripe

-1 mango

-3-4 kiwis

Directions

-Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Have a 9" springform pan and generously butter it. All along the sides as well.

-In a food processor (if you have one) combine all the base ingredients and blend until crumbly. (NOT smooth)

-If you don't have a food processor, you can put the ingredients in a large plastic bag and use a meat tenderizer to crush it.

-Pressed the crumbs into the dish and use a spoon or a heavy utensil with a flat surface and press the crumbs into the pan until tightly packed together.

-Put in the oven for 8 minutes. Remove and let cool.

-Meanwhile, in a large bowl add the cheese and sugar and beat with a hand mixer until light and fluffy.

-Take 1 lime and with a cheese grater or hand grater, grate off the rind of whole lime and chop further until very very fine

-cut each of the limes in half and hand squeeze all of them into the bowl with the sugar and cheese mixture and add the rind. Mix well for another minute.

-Add each egg one at a time and mix by hand (with a spoon) only until incorporated. (they don't have to be completely blended in)

-It might seem a bit watery/thin but it'll be nice and fluffy. Pour into the spring form pan (on top of the crumbs) and put back in the oven. Heat still at 350 degrees and back for about an 1hour and 20minutes. Turn the oven off but leave the cake in to cool slowly. About 4-5 hours. This limits cracking. It might still crack but don't worry it will still be good! :)

-put in the fridge overnight.

-peel and cut pineapple, mango, and kiwi into small slices. Layer on top of cake with pineapple outside, kiwi next and mango in the middle. (Or however you want to layer it)

This may seem like a lot of steps but it's not as hard as it may look and it turns out delicious!

Enjoy!!

(all photos were taken by my sister Amanda :) )