1 ½cups(150g)graham cracker crumbs, about 13 rectangles
1tablespoonbrown sugar
8tablespoons(113g)salted butter, melted
Lime Curd:
¼cup(57g)salted butter
1cup(212g)granulated sugar
½cupfresh lime juice (see note)
2large eggs, lightly beaten
Pinchof salt
1tablespoonfresh lime zest
White Chocolate Cheesecake:
8ounces(227g)cream cheese, softened
⅓cup(38g)powdered sugar
½cup(113g)sour cream
¼cupfresh lime juice
4ounces(113g)white chocolate, melted and cooled until no longer warm but still pourable
1teaspoonfresh lime zest, zest limes before juicing!
1cupheavy whipping cream
Instructions
For the crust, preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Combine the graham cracker crumbs, brown sugar and butter in a bowl until well mixed. Press evenly into the bottom and up the sides of a 9-inch baking pan; bake for 8-10 minutes until fragrant and lightly golden. Let cool completely while preparing the other parts of the pie.
For the lime curd, in a medium saucepan, melt the butter over medium heat. Add the sugar, lime juice, eggs and salt. Cook, whisking constantly, until the mixture bubbles and thickens, 10 minutes or so (depending on how hot the stove is); it should be the consistency of soft pudding. To avoid any little bits of cooked eggs, strain the mixture through a fine mesh strainer into a clean bowl. Stir in the lime zest. Press plastic wrap directly on the surface and refrigerate until no longer warm.
For the cheesecake topping, in a medium bowl with an electric hand mixer (or in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment), mix together the cream cheese and sugar until very smooth. Add the sour cream and lime juice and mix until combined. Add the white chocolate and whip until creamy and thick.
In a separate medium bowl with the electric mixer (no need to clean the beaters), or with a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment (PS: I often use my Blendtec fro whip cream!), beat the cream to stiff peaks.
Fold the cream gently into the cream cheese mixture with a rubber spatula until evenly combined.
Spread the cooled lime curd over the crust. Dollop the cheesecake filling over the curd and spread evenly.
Sprinkle additional fresh lime zest on the pie for garnish and use fresh lime slices, if desired, to decorate the top of the pie.
Chill for at least 4 hours before serving; the pie can be made a day ahead of time.
Notes
Lime: all said and done, you'll need about two tablespoons lime zest (that includes zest needed for garnishing the top of the pie) and 3/4 cup fresh lime juice for this pie. Depending on the size of limes (I used every day grocery store Persian limes), you may need between 5-8 limes. If you use key limes, you may need upwards of 20 limes for juicing.DON'T FORGET TO ZEST THE LIMES BEFORE JUICING!:By doing this, you can minimize using more limes than you actually need.Plan Ahead: the curd can be made up to a week ahead of time and refrigerated. Keep in mind the assembled pie needs to chill for at least four hours so plan ahead (it can easily be made a day in advance).