No bake Lime Cheesecake

Hi guys!

I don't know about you, but the weather in Switzerland has been crazy the past few days. It's been more than 30°C (or above 90°F) - in the shade that is -, bright sunshine included. Dont' get me wrong, I'm not complaining. I am super happy the good weather started once I was done with my exams so I could enjoy the sunshine on a couple of days off before starting my summer job. I don't have any special tips and tricks for those hot summer days, but I know one way how to get a refreshment and it is better tasting than pool or lake water... I first baked or rather prepared this cake for a friend's birthday in August - a very hot summer day and as I saw herself and her family indulge in the cake I knew it was a hit. Especially as they have been asking me to make it for them every time I visit. The recipe comes form a book called "Neue Torten" or "new cakes" and it includes a lot of very yummy looking cakes. Some of them are rather advanced, but I promise you, this cake isn't. And you don't have to have an oven - just room in your fridge. 

Here's the recipe:
For the base:
100g (3.5 oz) unsalted butter
250g (9 oz) biscuits like ladyfingers or Leibniz biscuits if you can get hold of them

For the filling: 
6 sheets white gelatin (10g) 
350g (12.3 oz) cream cheese
150g (5.3 oz; 2/3 cup) white sugar
2 eggs
2 organic limes
300g (10.5 oz) whipping cream

lime quarters and lemon balm, to decorate (optional)

1) Grease a 26cm (10 inch) spring tin. Place the butter for the base in a saucepan or small pot and melt it over low heat. Place the biscuits in a freezer bag and crush with a rolling pin. Add the crumbled biscuits to the melted butter and fill in the tin. Try to level as evenly as you can and press with your hands. 

2) Place the spring tin in the fridge for about 1 to 2 hours. 

3) Soak the gelatin sheets in a little cold water. Grate the zest from the limes and squeeze the juice in a small pot. Add the cream cheese and sugar to a large bowl and mix. One by one, add the eggs and lime zest. In a separate bowl, whip the cream until stiff. 

4) Squeeze the soaked gelatin and place it in the pot with the lime juice. Dissolve the gelatin in the lime juice over low heat, constantly stirring. 

5) Add the lime juice with the dissolved gelatin to the cream cheese-mixture while stirring or with the motor of your kitchen machine running. Fold the whipped cream into the rest of the filling. Put the filling on the cold bottom and try to level it creating a smooth surface. Put the cake back in the fridge for at least 2 to 3 hours until completely set. Decorate with quartered limes and lemon balm, if you like to.

Yield: 12 to 16 slices, depending on how you cut
Active preparation time: about 30 minutes
Total preparation time: 5 hours 30 minutes
© Copyright: Neue Torten, Zabert Sandmann, p. 20.

Here's how the cake looks:  

I am sorry, the picture was taken at night as I had friends over for a belated birthday party and as we wanted to dig right in, I couldn't get hold of a better picture, but trust me, this cake is absolutely amazing. The recipe I shared with you is my slightly adjusted version. The original recipe calls for letting the cream cheese mixture with the added gelatin sit for 30 minutes before folding in the whipped cream. When I tried it this way, the cream cheese mixture had started to firm up and folding in the whipped cream was not an option. So the version I share with you in this post, is my tried-and-tested version of it. I hope you have fun trying this recipe and relish eating it as much as my friends and I did.

Have fun trying and enjoy!