Featured Recipe: White Chocolate & Lime Cheesecake Bars from Lindsay Bohl
Posted: March 31st, 2009 | Author: Emma | Filed under: Recipes | Tags: bake-off, bars, cheesecake, chocolate, lime, Lindsay Bohl, oreo, white chocolate | Comments: Dork out with us! »
This week we are featuring the five winners of the 2009 New World Symphony Bake-Off, which took place on Sunday. We asked each winner to answer a few questions and share their recipes (if they so choose).
Our first featured baker is Lindsay Bohl, 2nd-year violist in the New World Symphony. Lindsay was the winner in the “Cookies & Bars” category with her White Chocolate & Lime Cheesecake Bars. They were super delicious. Sweet, but subtle, and the hint of lime that goes a long way. The oreo cookie crust is the cherry on top of the sundae!
We asked Lindsay a few questions about this recipe:
Where did you get the recipe? I got this recipe from epicurious.com. I love anything with lime which is why I tried it.
Does this particular recipe have any special or sentimental meaning to you? Obviously since I got it off the internet, it has no sentimental meaning to me, although it might now since it lead me to the coveted golden spoon.
Would you change anything if you baked this again? Or is there something you’d like to try differently? When I made this the first time, I used Lindt white chocolate with coconut. For the bake-off, I used plain white chocolate. I think that the coconut chocolate gave it a delicious hint of coconut and added a bit more complexity. I fed it to several tasters and even the ones who weren’t coconut fans liked it. I think if I were to do it again, I would probably go with the coconut.
What was your overall favorite dish at the bake-off? My favorite dish at the bake-off was Rachel’s white-chocolate raspberry cheescake. And I don’t even like white chocolate!
(On a side note – Rachel’s cheesecake was, as they say, “to die for”. And her cake decorating skills are right up there with the pros. I wish I had a better photo of it, but you can kind of see it here.)
Well, here’s the recipe!
White Chocolate & Lime Cheesecake Bars
7 ounces high-quality white chocolate (such as Lindt), chopped, plus white chocolate curls (optional garnish)
27 chocolate sandwich cookies (about 11 ounces)
1/2 cup chilled whipping cream
1 8-ounce package cream cheese, room temperature
3 tablespoons sugar
3 tablespoons fresh lime juice
1 tablespoon finely grated lime peel
Lime slices or lime twists (for garnish)
Line 8x8x2-inch square baking pan with foil, extending over all sides. Stir chopped white chocolate in small metal bowl set over saucepan of barely simmering water until melted and smooth. Remove bowl from over water. Finely grind cookies in processor. Add 2 tablespoons melted white chocolate and blend until mixture clumps together. Firmly press mixture onto bottom of prepared pan. Chill while making filling.
Beat whipping cream in medium bowl until peaks form. Beat cream cheese, sugar, lime juice, and lime peel in large bowl until smooth. Beat in remaining melted white chocolate. Fold in whipped cream in 2 additions; spread over prepared crust. Chill until filling is slightly firm, at least 2 hours. Using foil as aid, lift cheesecake out of pan. Cut into 9 bars. Garnish with chocolate curls, if desired, and lime slices or twists.
Some things Lindsay did differently:
1) In addition to the white chocolate in the crust, I also added about 3 tablespoons of butter to make it stick better. Otherwise I think it would be too crumbly.
2)I added an extra tablespoon of lime juice and about an extra 1/2 tablespoon of lime zest to make it more limey. I personally think it would not have been enough lime without the extra.
