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mango lime cheesecake bars with macadamia nut crust
My friend’s husband recently begged her to start making cheesecake more often. Anna, this recipe is for you.
I used brown sugar when I was testing this out and taking pictures. However, when I was using the leftover batter to make little mini cheesecakes, I just threw together a new crust and used regular sugar. I liked it much better. So that’s why the recipe says granulated sugar, when the picture shows brown sugar.
Speaking of the “extra batter,” I used an 8 inch pan to make mine, though I am sure a lot of people out there may have a 9 inch pan. Whether you have an 8 inch or 9 inch, when you fill in the batter, make sure it doesn’t come more than three-fourths up the sides of the pan. I once had a cheesecake rise too quickly and then spill over the top into the bain marie. It was a mess.
And while we’re on that subject, I think that cake I referred to above rose too quickly because I am at high altitude. But I think it was also because I used boiling water in the bain marie (“Bain marie” just means a little hot water bath that you cook custards in. You basically just place the custard [or cheesecake or whatever] into a larger pan that’s halfway filled with water. It’s supposed to help whatever you’re baking cook more evenly and slowly.). This time I just made up my bain marie with cool water, and I avoided the erupting cheesecake fiasco. Be my guest to try it with boiling water. This was just how it worked for me.
mango lime cheesecake bars with macadamia nut crust
2/3 cup (112g) raw unsalted macadamia nuts (mine were from the health food store)
2/3 cup (125g) granulated sugar
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
2/3 cup (100g) unbleached all-purpose flour
6 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
3 8 ounce (226g each package) packages cream cheese
3/4 cup (145g) granulated sugar
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 tablespoon lime juice
1 tablespoon lime zest
pinch kosher salt
2 tablespoons unbleached all-purpose flour
3 tablespoons heavy cream
3 eggs
for the topping:
1 ripe mango, cut into 1/2 inch pieces
juice and zest of 1 lime
1/3 cup (65g) granulated sugar
1. Preheat oven to 350 (180 degrees celsius). Line a 9 inch square pan with a strip of 9″x14″ parchment paper. (If paper keeps falling down, use metal clips to keep it in place). Set aside. In a food processor fitted with the steel blade, pulse together macadamia nuts, sugar, salt and flour until it resembles coarse meal. Pour in the melted butter and process until the mixture comes together. Press nut mixture into the pan and bake for 20 minutes, just until the edges barely begin to brown. Remove from oven to let cool.
2. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat together cream cheese and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in vanilla extract, lime juice, zest, salt, flour, and cream and beat until well incorporated. Add in eggs, one at a time, incorporating each well after each addition. Pour cream cheese mixture on top of the macadamia nut crust. Place a clean kitchen towel in the bottom of a large casserole dish or a roasting pan, and place the cheese cake on top. Pour cool water in the roasting pan, directly on the dish towel, until it comes to about halfway up the sides of the cheesecake pan. Bake for 25-30 minutes, or until the center of the cheesecake is almost not jiggly. Turn off the oven, and keep the oven door partially open while the cake cools. Remove after about 30 minutes, and allow to cool completely, then transfer to the refrigerator for at least 2 hours, or overnight. Cover with plastic wrap only after cake is completely cold.
3. Prepare the topping. To cut the mango, make a slice on either side of the pit. Take each large piece, and with a sharp paring knife, cut into the flesh vertically and then horizontally to break up the fibers. Flip the piece inside out so that the squares of mango splay out. Use your knife to slice off the pieces of mango. Repeat with the other side, then peel off the skin from the middle section of mango and slice off as much of the fruit from around the pit. Cut into small pieces.
4. In a small saucepan, bring sugar and lime juice to a boil. Swirl the pan if necessary to help the sugar dissolve. Boil for 1-3 minutes, or until the some of the water evaporates and the syrup thickens. Allow to cool for a few minutes, then pour into a bowl and mix in the mango pieces and lime zest.
5. When cheesecake has set, use the sides of the parchment paper to gently lift the cake from the pan. With a warm knife, cut the cake into rectangles, cleaning the knife after each cut. Top each bar with mango topping.
21 Responses to “mango lime cheesecake bars with macadamia nut crust”
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Is this toothsome treat photographed with your new duds? The pictures (as always) look phenomenal, but maybe just a little more so that ever.
Aren’t you lovely? Yes. You are.
I adore this dessert already. It’s a combination of all my favorite things. From one of my favorite people.
Ok, how the heck do you take photographs with both your hands in the picture. Are you magic? I’ve suspected as much.
Looks great, as usual!
I’ll let you know how it turns out. Thanks.
@Brooke Why, yes, as a matter of fact, it is a photograph taken with my new camera!
@Connie Not magic. Well, not yet, anyway. One day, I hope. I just finally got a new tripod and used the timer.
@Shannon Good luck!
Beautiful cheesecake bars….ok got cheesecake envy now
My gosh girl, your blog posts just keep getting better and better! Nice job with these!!
Looks amazing & cheesecake is my boyfriend’s favorite dessert. I am definitely going to try this. Thanks!
Oh wow Jaime! There goes my diet. . . .
These look amazing! Cheeesecake is the fave here. I will have to show my hubby and tell him this is the dessert I want for Mother’s day. Yummy!
I love cheesecake! Once I used brown sugar and the crust got soggy on me. The mango and lime sound like a great combination!
They look wonderful and great step by step photos!
Jamie,
All I can say is when will you come out with a cookbook? You are an amazing photographer, my husband thinks they are taken professionally. Delicious looking food and I am so making the marbled cake this week! Keep up the good work!
Becki…my husband says the same thing to her all the time!
oooooh!!!! omg! yummms:)
Yippeee! A cheesecake recipe for me! Spencer will be thrilled. I just saw my name in print and it looks good (:
Those mango cheesecake bars look so good! I really like the sound of the macadamia nut crust!
I had bookmarked this to save it for my hubby’s birthday in September, because he loves cheesecake AND mangoes. However, a family member has celiac disease, so I try to make celebratory desserts gluten-free when possible. How critical is the flour in the crust? In the cheesecake, is it a thickener/stabilizer? Could I use a little cornstarch in the cheesecake instead?
The flour is a thickener for both parts of the recipe. In that case, corn starch would be a fine substitute. For the crust, you may be able to leave it out entirely. Another good flour you might want to use is tapioca flour, which I use instead of wheat flour quite often, but make sure the person with celiac disease is fine with it. I am pretty darn sure it has no gluten, but it’s always better to know ahead of time.
I made a gluten-free version of this recipe over the weekend, and wanted to share my results in case anyone else is interested.
I omitted the flour from the crust. It held together fine, but was way too buttery. Next time, I would cut the butter down to 4 tablespoons.
In the cheesecake, I substituted cornstarch for the flour. In the original recipe, the amount of cornstarch should be half the flour, so 1/2 tablespoon. In my case, I forgot to buy the heavy cream. I deduced that since I would be omitting said cream, I should decrease the thickening agent, too. I used 1 teaspoon of cornstarch and it worked beautifully.
Very yummy. Everyone loved it!
What lens do you use for all of you food shots? Your pictures are beautiful!
I am in search of a cheesecake with mango somewhere in it…Done and done! This truly looks divine. I can’t wait to make it!
[...] see instructions on how to cut mangoes, please click here to see my mango lime cheesecake, where I have pictures on how to do [...]