How to properly mix lime juice with cream?

Question

Around 5 years ago, I tried really good cake. And since I recently got back into baking, I wanted to try to recreate it. The dessert was named as cheesecake in the menu, but it wasn't like New York or basque cheesecake. It was more airy, quite creamy and with lime.

I want to try to replicate it with custard mixed with whipped cream (and maybe a bit of mascarpone). But I'm not sure how to better incorporate lime juice there. I can think of two ways:

1. Make custard with milk and add lime juice when it thickens, then mix this with whipped cream.
2. Make lime curd and mix it with whipped cream and cheese.

I'd like to go with first variant as I think that will be more tasty. However, I wasn't sure if lime juice won't curdle milk in custard. And then I realized that I also have whipped cream there, so even if I go with the second variant, I don't know if lime curd won't curdle cream. At this point, I'm not sure how to better do this (and if I should mix it at all 😅).

Answer 1

I think the answer here is to make a unbaked cheesecake. These use soft cheeses such as ricotta, mascarpone or a cream cheese usually along with sour cream or creme fraiche. All of these cheeses are acidic and will tolerate adding acids such as are found in citrus. You can also combine more than one of these cheeses for additional flavour/texture depending on your preferences. For additional citrus flavour, add some grated citrus rind, but avoid the bitter white pith just below the rind

My procedure would be to beat the soft cheese(es) and sour cream with sugar until aerated and soft with a whisk attachment on a beater, then fold into stiff-peak whipped cream. If you play with the ratios of cheese to cream, you should be able to achieve the texture you desire.

I would start with 1 part cream to about 2 parts cheese and 0.2 parts sour cream. This might look like 300 ml (1.25 cups), 600 grams (21 oz) cream cheese and 60 g (2 oz) sour cream, but this will make a massive cheesecake, so you could easily halve or even quarter the recipe and potentially remove the sour cream but it does add a nice tang.

The classic recipes use the ingredients above, and also work for baked cheesecakes, but can be heavy. I would use at least 1 part mascarpone for a lighter texture.