CHOCOLATE LIME CHEESECAKE
 NIGELLA
Photograph by Francesca Yorke
INGREDIENTS

200g Double Choc Maryland cookies (in the purple packet)
75g unsalted butter
750g Phildelphia cream cheese
200g caster sugar
4 whole eggs
2 yolks
juice of 4 limes
20-21cm springform cake tin
kitchen foil
Serving Size : Serves 8
METHOD

1.Place a large overlapping piece of foil over the bottom of the springform tin, and then insert the pan ring over it. Fold the foil up and around the sides of the tin and place the whole thing on a second piece of foil, also folding it and pressing it securely up around the tin so that you have a water-tight covering. Actually, I sometimes find some water dribbles out from this supposedly secure casing on unwrapping, but it doesn't seem – as long as you unwrap the outer layer straightaway – to cause any sogginess.
2.Process the biscuits until they are like crumbs, then add the butter and pulse again. Line the bottom of the springform tin, pressing the biscuits in with your hands or the back of the spoon. Put the tin in the fridge to set, and preheat the oven to 180°C/ gas mark 4.
3.Beat the cream cheese gently until it's smooth, and then add the sugar. Beat in the eggs and egg yolks, then finally the lime juice. Put a full kettle on.
4.Pour the cream cheese filling onto the chilled biscuit base, place the tin in a roasting tray and pour hot water from the recently boiled kettle around the foil-wrapped cheesecake to come about halfway up the sides of the springform; don't overfill as you'll only spill it on the way to the oven. Transfer it as steadily as you can to the oven and cook for 1 hour or so, checking after 50 minutes. It should feel set, but not rigidly so. You want to be able to detect, below the skin, the slightest, sexiest hint of a quiver within.
5.Take the roasting tin out of the oven, then gingerly remove the springform from its water-filled tin, stand it on a rack, peel off the outer layer of foil, tear away the side bits of the first layer of foil and leave it to cool. When the cheesecake's cooled down completely, place it in the fridge and leave it there till 20 minutes or so before you want to eat it.
6.Transfer to the plate you're going to serve it on (it will need to be one without a lip, or a cakestand) and unclip. The underneath bit of the first layer of foil, along with the base of the tin, are going to have to stay in place, unless you like living really dangerously. I don't mind a bit of risk in the kitchen, but fiddling about with something as desirably lacking in solidity as this dreamlike cheesecake is beyond even my clumsily impatient foolhardiness.
7.It makes life easier if, when you cut it, you heat the knife and cake slicer (and I find I need to use both, the one to cut, the other to lift up and ferry slice to waiting plate) under a very hot tap first.



REVIEWS

I made this for a family party a few years ago, everybody loved it and said it was the best cheesecake ever! I think I'll need to make it again very soon...

Nickki

Utterly delicious although a calorific car crash. Worth cooking just to you can check for "the slightest, sexiest hint of a quiver within", and to see your guests faces when you tell them that!

elleypelley

This is my UTMOST favorite cheesecake recipe ever!!! Thanks Nigella for it!

Krakra58

Absolutely. It's time we escaped the tyranny of the Graham Cracker crust. The world is full of things that crumble (never more than now!?) for quirky and delicious cheesecake crusts. Thank you, Nigella.

Lindberg

Awesome cheese-cake!!!. Light and fluffy and very refreshing. I put a layer of baking paper over the foil base which made cutting and lifting very easy. thanks :)

CookieMonsta

Excellent recipe. my whole family loves this everytime i make it for our BBQ,s. We like it so much, we are using it as our wedding cake!!

cazz133

Lovely chesecake, but quite heavy on the cheese and for my money the London cheesecake is far superior.

djsyclopz

I made this on the weekend, and it turned out really great and very delicious.

sanjo

Not sure about this myself-- the cheese seems to be dominant with the chocolate struggling to come through and no sign of the Lime-- not to my taste anyway, nice texture and easy to make though-- can anyone give me an idea what may be wrong?

BeefShank

BeefShank Your findings here are similar to mine. The cheese is very overwhelming. If you want chocolate to dominate try her chocolate cheesecake - just lovely and if you want less cheese, try the London cheesecake - sheer bliss.

djsyclopz

The filling was lovely, with an amazing taste of lime. The bottom layer of the cheesecake went incredible fat (with fat dripping out of the form) - seems like noone experienced a problem like this. I can't really figure out what went wrong to cause this...

katjajonsson

I had a real notion to make this the other day, as it's my favourite cheesecake recipe, but as it was an impulse-bake, I was ill-prepared. I only had 450g of Philadelphia and no limes, so had to supplement the squidgey element with 350g yoghurt and 50g double cream and use a couple of lemons instead. It was still fab. It is a magic recipe. Thanks a lot for sharing.

Julie31

This is the easiest and most delicious cheesecake i have ever made it does the rounds at our house on a regular basis and i haven't met a friend or family member yet that doesn't like it!!!! If you haven't made this your missing tangy heaven!! xo

wannabchef
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