Coconut Key Lime Cheesecake Bars
These Coconut Key Lime Cheesecake Bars are a heavenly mix of lime and cheesecake, with whipped topping--spread onto a graham cracker crust.
Ingredients
Coconut Graham Cracker Crust:
- 10 crushed graham crackers
- ½ c toasted coconut
- ¼ tsp salt
- 4 Tbsp butter, cut into cubes and chilled plus 1 Tbsp room temperature for greasing
- 2 ½ Tbsp coconut oil
- ¼ c dark brown sugar
Creamy Cheesecake Filling:
- 16 oz cream cheese, room temperature
- 1 14 oz can sweetened condensed milk
- 8 oz crème fraîche, room temperature
- 5 eggs, room temperature
- ½ c key lime juice, about 21 limes
- 1 Tbsp pandan extract
- 1 tsp vanilla extract, or 2 tsp if not using pandan
- 2 tsp key lime zest
- ½ tsp kosher salt
Whipped Cream (purple):
- ¾ c whipped cream
- ¼ c confectioners sugar
- Pinch of salt
- 1 tsp ube extract, or purple food coloring, or simply vanilla extract optional
Garnish:
- 1-2 limes to garnish, cut into rounds, half moons, and quarters
- 2 Tbsp toasted coconut, sprinkle for garnish
Equipment
Instructions
Whip the cream (purple):
- Using a stand mixer or hand mixer, combine the cream, sugar and salt. Whip the cream until soft peaks form. Refrigerate until ready to use.
- NOTE: If you plan to use Ube extract (or purple coloring) and want to swirl purple and white whipped cream together, remove about ⅓ cup of whipped cream before mixing in the purple ube extract.
Make the coconut-graham cracker crust:
- Preheat oven to 375 and grease a 9x13 baking dish with butter. Set aside.
- In a food processor, combine the crackers, sugar, and coconut. Pulse together until finely ground—about 45 seconds. Pulse in the butter and coconut oil until the crust resembles wet sand and, when squeezed together in your fist, holds its shape, but still crumbles around the edges.
- Sprinkle the loose crust around the edges of the pan. Using a measuring cup, press the crust into the edges of the pan and up the sides 1-2 inches. Fill in the center with the remaining crust, and press until the bottom of the dish is covered.
- Bake crust for 5-8 minutes, then remove and allow to cool completely before adding the filling.
Make the cheesecake mixture (green):
- Lower the oven to 325 degrees.
- With a stand mixer, beat together the cream cheese, sweetened condensed milk, crème fraîche, eggs, pandan extract, vanilla salt, lime juice, and zest. Mix until smooth, scraping down the sides 2-3 times to ensure all the cream cheese is mixed in.
- Pour the filling into the cooled crust and transfer to oven. Bake for 35-45 minutes, or until the edges of the cake are firm and set, but the center of the cake has a slight jiggle. Remove from the oven and allow to cool at least 12 hours (preferable overnight) before serving.
Assemble the Coconut Key Lime Cheesecake Bars:
- To assemble, dollop the purple whipped cream into the center of the cake. Use the back of a large spoon to swirl and push the whipped cream towards the edges, making sure to leave a 3’’ border between the whipped cream and the edge of the pan.
- Dollop on the white, and swirl it into the purple.
- Cut the bars into 12 pieces. Garnish with the sliced lime, sprinkle with toasted coconut, and serve chilled.
Notes
Reposted from August 2021 on Reluctant Entertainer.
- Is ube a yam or a sweet potato? First of all, ube is a purple yam and you pronounce it "ooh-bae.” It is a staple in Filipino desserts. Ube has a dark, purple skin and is vibrant purple inside. I looked it up and ube grows above ground on vines (while sweet potatoes grow underground, like a potato).
- What does ube taste like? Ube has a nutty, vanilla-like flavor—on the nuttier side. It’s creamy and pairs well with coconut.
- Buy panda, HERE. [affiliate link]
- Buy ube, HERE. [affiliate link]
- Zest the limes before you juice them.
- Don't have pandan? Pandan adds beautiful green color and vanilla flavor. If you don’t have pandan, simply add 2 tsp vanilla extract.
- Don't have ube? If you don’t hav ube, you can use purple coloring, or skip the coloring all together.
- Making sure the ingredients are room temperature is key to achieving a smooth mixture with no lumps.
- The bars get better as they sit, so making them the day before is highly recommended.
Nutrition Facts
Calories: 349kcal, Carbohydrates: 21g, Protein: 6g, Fat: 28g, Saturated Fat: 17g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g, Monounsaturated Fat: 7g, Trans Fat: 0.2g, Cholesterol: 130mg, Sodium: 406mg, Potassium: 160mg, Fiber: 1g, Sugar: 10g, Vitamin A: 872IU, Vitamin C: 3mg, Calcium: 86mg, Iron: 1mg