Lime Cheesecake Bars with Salted Butterscotch Topping and Buttery Pecan Crust 🍋🍰✨

• 2 cups Graham Cracker Crumbs (2 sleeves of Graham Crackers or 10 oz)
• ⅓ cup chopped pecans
• ⅓ cup brown sugar
• 1 stick butter, melted
• pinch of salt
• 3 packages cream cheese, softened
• 2 tsp vanilla
• 2 tsp lime zest
• ½ cup lime juice
• 1 ½ cups sugar
• 4 eggs, cold
• ½ cup sour cream, at room temp
• ¼ cup butter (4 TBSP or 1/2 stick)
• ½ cup dark brown sugar
• ½ cup heavy cream
• ½ tsp vanilla
• ¼ tsp kosher salt or other coarse salt, plus more, to taste (if using fine table salt, use half as much)

Instructions

1. 1

   Preheat the oven to 375°F (190°C). Line a 9x13 inch (23x33 cm) baking dish with aluminium foil. Ensure the sides of the foil overhang so that the cheesecake can be lifted out of the pan with ease later. Grease lightly.

2. 2

   For the crust: Crush your Graham crackers. You can do that in a food processor, blender, or simply put them in a Ziploc bag and smash with a rolling pin. Chop or process your pecans and stir them into the Graham crackers. Stir in the sugar and salt and mix to combine. Pour the melted butter over the mixture. Press it into the bottom of the prepared 9x13 inch (23x33 cm) baking dish. Bake the crust for about 8–10 minutes until set. Don't expect the colour to change much. Set aside to cool. In the meantime, reduce the oven to 325°F (160°C).

3. 3

   In the bowl of your stand mixer, beat the cream cheese until smooth for about 3 minutes. Stop and scrape the sides, and at that point add the vanilla, lime juice, salt, and lime peel. Beat for another 3 minutes or so.

4. 4

   Add the sugar all at once and beat for about 2 minutes until combined.

5. 5

   This next step could be optional, but it's used by pastry chefs to achieve the flawless texture of the cheesecake. Place a fine-mesh sieve over your cheesecake bowl and place your eggs in it. With a rubber spatula, press and whisk the eggs until they pass through the sieve; discard the clot-like bits that remain. It may seem impossible at first and that the eggs will never pass through, but trust the process with a bit of patience, and they will! Then gently mix the eggs in on low speed. It's important to mix the batter on low for a minute or two, as mixing it on a higher speed would aerate the batter too much, and these air bubbles may contribute to cracks. I've attached a picture of what's left behind in a fine-mesh sieve. Doesn't look appetizing, does it? This step ensures that all of those "clots" with the unpleasant textures don't make it into your cheesecake.

6. 6

   Again, stop and scrape down the sides of your bowl with a rubber spatula. Add the sour cream (or heavy cream) and mix on low for just another minute until combined. If desired, add a small drop of green food colouring at the same time as you add the cream; make sure to add very little colour at first to avoid adding too much and making your cheesecake look too cartoonishly green. Pour the batter into the prepared cooled crust.

7. 7

   Bake the bars for around 45–50 minutes, until the filling is set but still jiggly and soft in the centre. Remember, your cheesecake will set as it cools. If you measure with an instant-read thermometer 1 inch (2.5 cm) from the edge, the temperature should be about 180°F (82°C).

8. 8

   When baked, turn the oven off and leave the door wide open. Pull out the racks gently so the cheesecake is almost at the outside of the oven. This will facilitate the cooling process while the residual heat from the oven will make the process more gradual, which will prevent cracks. Do this for about 20 minutes, at which point finish cooling at room temperature. Cool your cake for about 15–30 minutes to cool slightly after you remove it from the oven. At that point, start working on your caramel sauce.

9. 9

   For the butterscotch caramel topping: Your sauce will foam and bubble up quite a bit, so be sure to use a medium pan and not a small one. Add the butter and sugar and heat on medium heat, swirling the pan and infrequently stirring the sauce with a rubber spatula, for around 3 minutes. The sauce should become quite smooth and fluid and no longer look grainy. In other words, you are looking to ensure the sugar has dissolved. A picture is attached showing how the sauce should look right before you add the caramel. Add the cream and reduce the heat to medium-low. Stir constantly with a heat-resistant spatula and cook for 7–8 minutes until the temperature of the caramel reaches 225°F (107°C). After a minute of cooking, turn your heat back up to medium. Remove from heat and stir in the vanilla and a heaping 1/4 teaspoon (1.25 ml) coarse salt. Allow the sauce to cool for about 5 minutes as it will be extremely hot. Taste it and see if you wish to add a bit more salt. Salt brings an interesting dimension to this sauce, so don't be afraid to add more. I personally used 1/2 teaspoon (2.5 ml) coarse fleur de sel, but each brand is different, so start at 1/4 teaspoon (1.25 ml) and go from there according to taste.

10. 10

    Pour this sauce over your cheesecake and refrigerate for at least 4 hours, or ideally overnight. Slice the cheesecake into bars. Run a sharp knife under hot water and wipe it dry with a paper towel between slices. Make sure your cheesecake is very cold as the caramel will be most set and "sliceable" at cold temperature. Feel free to garnish with more fleur de sel or other coarse salt.