Key Lime Cheesecake

This is a super easy and a nice summer treat. Buy a gram cracker crust. Mix three ingredients in a mixer. Pour into crust and chill. You can make the whipped cream topping if you feel like it. It's only slightly more complicated, but it's fine if you just stop with the key lime filling. One thing to note is that Key Lime Juice is not lime juice. Key lime is sweeter. Don't bother looking for fresh key limes. (a lemon, a lime and a key lime in link) I doubt they sell them in very many places. Garnish with strawberries.

Key Lime Cheesecake

INGREDIENTS

For filling:

An 8-ounce package cream cheese, softened (low fat & fat free work well)

A 14-ounce can sweetened condensed milk (low fat works here also)

1/2 cup fresh or bottled Key lime juice

1 teaspoon vanilla

For the whipped cream topping:

1 cup well-chilled heavy cream

1 tablespoon sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla-I just use a drop in the cream

Make filling

In a bowl with an electric mixer beat together filling ingredients until smooth and pour into a prepared gram cracker crust. Chill cheesecake at least 1 hour or up to overnight.

For the whipped cream topping:

In another bowl with cleaned beaters beat cream with sugar and vanilla until it holds soft peaks and spread evenly on cheesecake. TIP: If you make the whip cream ahead of time and place it in the refrigerator in a coffee filter lined sieve, the whip cream will not collapse. See my video. It will hold for at least a day and a half, probably more. The most I ever tried is a day and a half.

Also, it's good without the whipped cream.