NO-BAKE KEY LIME CHEESECAKE
1 packet unflavored gelatin
1/2 cup lime juice, juice of 4 limes
24 ounces cream cheese, softened
2 1/2 cups granular Splenda or equivalent liquid Splenda *
1 teaspoon vanilla
5 teaspoons lime zest
2 drops green food color
1 drop yellow food color
1 cup heavy cream, whipped
Whipped cream or Whipped Topping for garnish, optional
In a small pot, sprinkle the gelatin over the lime juice and let soften 5 minutes. Heat and stir over low heat to dissolve the gelatin completely. Beat the cream cheese, Splenda and vanilla until creamy. Gradually beat in the gelatin mixture and lime zest then beat until fluffy. Beat in the food coloring until well blended. Gently fold in the whipped cream. Pour into a 9-inch pie plate and chill until set, about 5-6 hours. Garnish with whipped cream or Whipped Topping, if desired. This tastes even better the next day.
Makes 8 servings
Can be frozen, but quality will suffer (see my comments below)
* If you're using liquid Splenda, I suggest mixing it with the lime juice/gelatin mixture before adding it to the cream cheese. That will help it to be more evenly distributed.
With granular Splenda:
Per Serving: 439 Calories; 41g Fat; 8g Protein; 12g Carbohydrate; trace Dietary Fiber; 12g Net Carbs
With liquid Splenda:
Per Serving: 409 Calories; 41g Fat; 8g Protein; 5g Carbohydrate; trace Dietary Fiber; 5g Net Carbs
I was trying to come up with something similar to an Edward's key lime cheesecake. I combined my no-bake cheesecake recipe and a high carb key lime pie recipe. Although this came out very good, it's not the same as the store bought cheesecake. Mine has a lot more lime flavor and tang. Theirs is heavier on the condensed milk flavor and has a creamier texture, which I really like but can't figure out how to reproduce using low carb ingredients. I didn't put mine in a crumb crust because the carbs were already pretty high without one. I recommend decorating each serving with whipped cream rather than the whole pie. I had trouble getting each piece out of the pan without the cream falling off. In fact, I think this would work better served in dessert dishes rather than as a pie.
I tried freezing some to see if it would still be good. The consistency did change, even after only being frozen a day or two. It's still very edible but it becomes a bit crumbly and grainy. However, that sure didn't stop me from eating it! Don't freeze it if you plan to serve it to company. Go ahead if you're going to eat this yourself and don't want the temptation of having it in the fridge.