She is an absolutely incredible cook and I have learned so much from her. I remember when my grandma made this cheesecake for my brother’s high school graduation. It was such a big hit and everyone loved it. My brother was actually sad when he learned that there were no leftovers.

If you like the tartness of limes, the creaminess of cheesecakes and the sweetness of strawberries, then this Key Lime Cheesecake with Strawberry Sauce recipe is perfect for you.

Yield: 12 servings

Ingredients:

• 2 cups graham cracker crumbs
• 1 1/2 cup sugar, divided
• 1/2 cup butter
• 3- 8 oz. pkg. cream cheese, softened
• 3 large eggs
• 1- 8 oz. pkg. sour cream
• 1 1/2 teaspoons lime rind, finely grated
• 1/2 cup Key Lime juice

Directions:

1) Stir together the first three ingredients. Firmly press the mix onto bottom and 1 inch up the sides of a greased 9 inch spring-form pan. Bake at 350° for eight minutes; cool.

2) Beat cream cheese at medium speed with an electric mixer until fluffy; gradually add 1 1/4 cups sugar, beating until blended. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Stir in sour cream, rind, and juice. Pour batter into crust.

3) Bake at 325° for one hour and five minutes; turned oven off. Partially open oven door; let stand in oven 15 minutes. Remove from oven, and immediately run a knife around edge of pan, releasing the sides.

4) Cool completely in pan on a wire rack; cover and chill eight hours. Garnish if desired and serve with strawberry sauce.

Strawberry Sauce-

• 1 1/4 cups fresh strawberries
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1 1/2 teaspoons grated lime rind

1) Process all ingredients in a food processor until smooth, stopping to scrape down sides. Drizzle bits of the strawberry sauce over your cooled cake. Serve and enjoy.

As you can imagine, this recipe is a great way to enjoy an original key lime cheesecake with strawberry sauce anytime you would like; eat up! The combination of flavors is truly divine and one that your taste buds will not soon forget.

They alter cheese types; usually between cream cheese (most popular), ricotta cheese, cottage cheese, and Neufchatel. They also use different mix-ins to flavor the cake, like chocolate, fresh fruit, or special liquors.

But beyond the changes we make in our cheesecakes today, what about the changes people made in the ancient times; especially ancient Greece. The first appearance of cheesecakes came in 2,000 B.C. when anthropologists found cheesecake molds in ancient Greece. From there cheesecakes moved into the Olympics.

In 776 B.C, on the Isle of Delos, it has been recorded that cheesecakes were served to the first Olympic athletes during competition. As times changed so did the cheesecake.

Soon the fall of ancient Greece came, and the secret of the cheesecake fell into Roman hands. The Romans then took Greece’s recipe for the special cake and gave it a new name…placenta or libum. These forms of cheesecake were usually baked on a pastry base or in a pastry case. The cakes were then used as temple offering to the gods. Slowly the cheesecake was spread across Europe by Romans.

Again, the times would change. Immigration became popular, especially to America, and the traveling of the cheesecake began continuing to create the cheesecake history. The cake followed immigrants into America where it became popular. Americans took the recipes and altered it even more, changing the cheese type from Neufchatel, to cream cheese thanks to Mr. James L. Kraft.

In 1912, Kraft invented cream cheese, which led to the creation of Philadelphia Cream Cheese, the most popular cheese used for making cheesecake today.

So from ancient Greece, to Rome, to America, and beyond; the adventures of the cheesecake are far from over.

Restaurants continue to develop new ways to enjoy the special cake, and who knows where the cheesecake history will go from here.

To most people a cream cheese brownie is a regular chocolate brownie with a surprise swirl of cream cheese found in every bite! The cream cheese, as expected, is very similar to the taste of cheesecake so it’s like you have two desserts in one! Really, what could be better.

This cream cheese brownie recipe has an amazing balance of richness (from the brownies) and lightness (from the cream cheese filling). It’s an excellent choice for any occasion and my family loves them! My mom calls them simply decadent.

Yield: 16 brownies

Ingredients:

Brownie Base-

• 2/3 cup (3 1/3 ounces) unbleached all-purpose flour
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• ½ teaspoon baking powder
• 2 ounces unsweetened chocolate, chopped
• 4 ounces bittersweet or semisweet chocolate, chopped
• 8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter, cut into quarters
• 1 cut (7 ounces) sugar
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 3 large eggs, at room temperature

Cream Cheese Filling-

• 8 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature
• ¼ cup (1 ¾ ounces) sugar
• ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 egg yolk

Directions:

1) For the brownie base: Adjust the oven rack to be in the middle-lower position and heat the oven up to 325 degrees. Spray a 9 x 13 inch pan with non-stick cooking spray, coating it lightly. Also, if non-stick spray isn’t really your thing, you could also use parchment paper to line the pan. It gets the job done just the same, but without the grease.

2) Mix the flour, salt, and baking powder in a small bowl. Set the mixture aside.

3) In a medium heatproof bowl set over a pot of almost-simmering water, melt the chocolates and butter, stirring occasionally until it’s smooth. Remove the melted chocolate mixture from the heat.

4) Mix in the sugar and vanilla and then let it sit and cool slightly. Mix in the eggs (one at a time) mixing thoroughly after each addition.

5) Continue mixing until the mixture is completely smooth and then add the dry ingredients, mixing until just barely incorporated.

6) For the cream cheese mixture: In a small bowl mix the cream cheese, sugar, vanilla, and egg yolk until blended.

7) Pour half of the brownie batter into the prepared pan. Drop half of the cream cheese filling atop the brownie batter in the pan. Top that with some brownie batter and continue layering until all of the batters are gone.

8) Use the blade of a knife to gently swirl the two mixes together. All you need to do for that is to place the knife in the batter and move it around in an “S” motion. Be sure not to swirl it too much or you’ll get a brownie, where you can’t tell the difference between the cream cheese and the chocolate! If you do this right, it will create a marbled effect in your brownies.

9) Bake your brownies until the edges have slightly puffed up, about 50-60 minutes. When a toothpick is inserted, it should come out with many crumbs adhered to it…then you know the brownies are done!

10) Cool the cream cheese brownies for at least 5 minutes and then place them on a wire cooling rack and wait until they have reached room temperature.

11) Refrigerate for at least 3 hours (or 1 ½ hours in the freezer).

12) Remove from the refrigerator cut, serve, and taste the decadence!

13) Place the leftovers, if there are any, back in the refrigerator!

14) Enjoy!

This cream cheese brownie recipe is a favorite with the kids and the unique combination of “brownie meets cheesecake” will surprise your taste buds!