Lime Cheesecake with a Raspberry Swirl, Decadently Gluten-Free

June's Royal Food Joust at the Leftover Queen's Foodie Blogroll involves the use of raspberries, limes and almonds. This fun cooking challenge encourages the participants to use three ingredients picked from the previous month's winner and this fruity troika immediately made me think of cheesecake. I was planning on bringing a dessert to our family Memorial Day barbecue, and after a little bit of experimentation and cookbook research, decided on this twist on my basic cheesecake recipe.

It was a hit with all dessert lovers and the lime made a nice and tangy middle. The nut crust eliminated the need for any wheat flour, so it's a naturally gluten-free recipe that satisfied everyone's sweet tooth.

Lime Cheesecake with a Raspberry Swirl

Crust:
1 10 oz. bag sliced almonds (about 2 cups)
¼ cup butter, melted
¼ cup brown sugar

Filling:
2 lbs. cream cheese, softened (I used half regular cream cheese and ½ low-fat cream cheese)
1-1/2 cups sugar
Juice of 2 limes
Pinch of salt
4 eggs

Raspberry Swirl:
6 oz. frozen whole raspberries
1Tbsp. cornstarch
½ cup sugar

Butter a 10 inch springform pan. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In food processor, process almonds until they are a fine meal. Dust bottom and sides of springform pan with almond meal. Add melted butter to remaining almonds and mix in brown sugar. Press onto the bottom of the springform pan.

In a large bowl, beat cream cheese and sugar with electric mixer until well blended, 1-2 minutes. Add lime juice and salt and beat another minute. Add eggs one at a time, beating after each addition.

Pour cheesecake filling into prepared springform pan. Place on a cookie sheet.

Reserve a handful of raspberries for garnish. Place rest of raspberries and sugar in a small saucepot and bring to a boil, stirring. Add a tablespoon or two of water if this mixture needs a little more juice. Mix cornstarch with 2 Tbsp. water and blend into raspberries after they reach a boil. Lower heat and cook, stirring, about 5 minutes, or until thickened.

Swirl in raspberry puree into cheesecake, working rapidly so as to avoid turning the entire cheesecake pink. I found that working clockwise and making eight small swirls on the outer edge and one central swirl worked well.

Bake cheesecake at 350 degrees in center rack of oven for 50-60 minutes. Let cool on a rack until room temperature. Then cover and refrigerate overnight.

Garnish cheesecake with reserved raspberries.

Makes 8-10 servings.