My 27th Birthday, Part 1: Margarita Cheesecake

Since I "went on vacation" and didn't blog for a few weeks I have a lot of backlog for recipes. Probably the most "important" of these were the 3 cheesecakes I made for my 27th birthday on December 23rd which I brought to work to "celebrate" the occassion. Is it weird that I make my own birthday cakes? The jury is still out on that.

The first cheesecake I'll share is the Margarita Cheesecake. I LOVE margaritas, especially raspberry margaritas and have a weakness (uh oh!) for tequila, especially after I spent time in Mexico last winter. So, I thought it would be appropriate that I make a margarita cheesecake.

And yes, this has both tequila and triple sec in it. Since I didn't want to buy them, I "borrowed" some from my Uncle Carl, who I knew would have some! Thanks Uncle Carl!!!!!

MARGARITA CHEESECAKE:
1 1/2 cups pretzel crumbs
1/2 cup butter, melted
1 cup fresh strawberries, hulled
3 (8 ounce) packages cream cheese, softened
1 cup sugar
4 large eggs
1/4 cup fresh lime juice
1/4 cup tequila
1/4 cup triple sec or other orange-flavored liqueur
lime slices, fresh strawberries

Combine pretzel crumbs and butter; firmly press on bottom and 1 1/2-inches up the sides of a 9-inch springform pan. Bake at 325 degrees F for 8-10 minutes; set aside.

Place strawberries in an electrice blender; process until smooth, stopping once to scrape down sides. Reserve 1/2 cup puree.

Beat cream cheese at medium speed with an electric mixer until fluffy. Gradually add sugar, beating well. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Stir in lime juice, tequila, and liqueur.

Pour into prepared pan. Pour reserved strawberry puree on top in a circle and gently swirl batter with a knife.

Bake at 325 degrees F for 1 hour and 10 minutes (center will be soft). Remove from oven and run a knife around edge of pan to release sides.

Return to oven; turn oven off and leave cheesecake in oven fro 30 minutes.

Remove from oven and let cool completely on a wire rack. Remove from pan; cover with plastic wrop and chill 8 hours. DO NOT cover with foil. Garnish with lime slice and strawberries, if desired.