Jello Recipes
Vanilla Key Lime Rum Cheesecake Recipe
This delicious no bake key lime cheesecake is made with a graham cracker crust, a lime jello flavored filling and a vanilla cream frosting. It is decorated with candied lime, which you can buy or make.
To make your own candied lime for this key lime cheesecake recipe or a similar recipe, bring four cups of sugar and two cups of water to a boil, stirring until the sugar dissolves, then take it off the heat. Put the julienned zest of six limes in another pan with some cold water and bring it to a boil. Drain and rinse the zest and start again with more cold water. Repeat this one last time. Put the zest in a pan with an inch of sugar water and bring it to a boil. Let it simmer for ten minutes, then drain the zest and toss it in sugar. Candied lime zest keeps for about four weeks in an airtight container. Store them at room temperature.
The following key lime rum cheesecake recipe is simple to make and it looks really elegant too. If you like the tangy flavor of lime, this is one of the nicest and most refreshing jello recipes to finish off a meal with.
Key Lime Cheesecake Recipe with Vanilla Frosting
Ingredients -
5 tablespoons melted unsalted butter
⅓ cup plus 2 tablespoons white sugar
1 ½ cups graham cracker crumbs
8 oz softened cream cheese
1 package lime jello
Zest from 1 lime
2 teaspoons light rum (optional)
1 cup boiling water
10 ice cubes
¾ can evaporated milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
8 pieces candied lime
For the Frosting:
½ cup powdered sugar
½ teaspoon vanilla extract
¼ cup butter, at room temperature
¼ cup solid vegetable shortening
2 ½ tablespoons all purpose flour
½ cup milk
Preparation:
Mix the jello with the boiling water, stirring until it dissolves, then add the ice cubes.
Leave the jello in the refrigerator until it is set.
Combine the graham cracker crumbs with the melted butter and 2 tablespoons of the sugar and press this mixture over the base of a 9 inch spring form pan.
Refrigerate it for 20 minutes.
Beat the cream cheese with the vanilla, evaporated milk, lime zest, rum and the rest of the sugar.
Beat in the jello and pour the mixture on to the crust.
Chill the cheesecake for an hour while you make the frosting. Whisk the milk into the flour in a saucepan, and then cook it over a low heat, stirring all the time, until you have a smooth, thick mixture.
Cover and refrigerate the frosting until it is cool.
Cream the butter and shortening, then beat in the vanilla and powdered sugar until the mixture is fluffy.
Add the milk and flour mixture and beat it for 10 minutes or until the frosting is like whipped cream.
Spread half of it over the top of the cheesecake and pipe the rest around the cheesecake edge.
Garnish with the candied lime pieces.
(Serves 8)
Photo Description:
This no bake key lime cheesecake looks great and tastes even better. The lime jello flavored filling really goes well with the lime zest to give the right color and flavor to this key lime cheesecake. The rum is optional but it tastes good in the finished cheesecake. The candied lime makes a nice decoration on top of the frosting but if you do not have any or you do not like it, you can use glace cherries, chocolate candies or anything else you like. A slice of strawberry makes a nice decoration too.
What is a Key Lime?
Key limes are a type of lime, which are, cultivated in the Florida Keys, hence the name. These limes are also known by other names, including bartender's lime, West Indian lime, Mexican lime, Tahitian lime, and Omani lime.
The Mexican lime is a slightly different variation and is darker green and thicker skinned than other key limes. Key limes are one or two inches in diameter. They have more seeds, a more acidic flavor, a thinner skin, a stronger smell, and a smaller size than the other main type of lime, which is a Persian lime.
Some Facts About Key Limes
Key limes are prized for their bitter, tart flavor and they are used in key lime pies and to make an authentic key lime cheesecake recipe. These limes grow on a sixteen-foot tall, thorny, and shrubby tree. There are also dwarf varieties of the key lime tree and you can grow these in cooler climates indoors. There are lots of braches all over the trunk and the trunk is often twisted. The leaves on the key lime tree resemble orange leaves and there are pale yellow flowers on the plant with purple edges. Most limes grow on the tree between May and September.
The next time you make a delicious key lime cheesecake, you might want to impress your guests with some facts about key limes. They are thought to have originated in southeast Asia and from there made their way via the Middle East, North Africa, Sicily, and Andalusia in southern Spain. They then made their way to the West Indies and the Florida Keys with the Spanish explorers. Key limes were also cultivated in parts of North America, Florida and Mexico and finally California. A lot of key limes these days are grown in Central America and Mexico, as well as California and Texas, which is largely due to the North American Free Trade Agreement.
The word lime comes from the Persian word "limu" or the Arabic word "lima" and the word key was added after this type of lime became popular in the United States, to differentiate it from the Persian lime. The Miami hurricane in 1926 destroyed a lot of key lime plantations in the United States. These days, there are plenty of recipes for limes and recipes for key limes, including no bake key lime cheesecake and various pies and jello recipes.
