So I caught A. Googling pictures of McRibs the other day.
We’re trying to live a little healthier, a little cleaner around these parts, and there may have been a few unintended side effects.
McDonald’s gawking. T. Bell stalking. Visions of In-N-Out dancing in our heads. No biggie.
Which is why I knew that when A.’s birthday rolled around a few weeks ago that I needed to throw him a bone and make him his fave, a cheesecake.
But not just any cheesecake. An Adult Cheesecake! Because we are (usually) adults!
And let me tell you another thing or two about this cheesecake.
First, it’s an Adult Cheesecake because it’s made with high-quality Adult Juice, specifically, Patrón Silver.
Second, I cheated a little and skipped the whole water bath step in preparing this cake.
Don’t get me wrong, water baths are technically the way to go when cheesecaking it. But my experience has been that the cake’s texture and flavor will be just as good as if you used a water bath. The only difference is a visual one: if you skip a water bath, the surface of your cake will likely crack. But if you’re going to cover the cake’s top with a lovely chapeau of whipped cream, then who really cares, right? Right.
Look at that! Fresh from the oven.
At this point your kitchen should be smelling like the business end of a Jimmy Buffett concert.
Sweet.
Citrus.
And maybe just a little bit of salty sweat.
See, there’s the cracking that I was talking about. But be cool – we have a plan for that, right? You just need to focus on reveling in the aroma and (soon to come) flavor of this Cheesecake In Paradise.
So our next step: remember that salty that I was talking about? We’re going to sprinkle just a little bit of coarse sea salt on the top of our Adult Cheesecake as it cools. Keeping in line with the whole hair of the dog business and all.
Woah, this cheesecake’s a little gorda, no? But, really, just like a baby’s fat cheeks, who can resist a fat piece of cake? No one I’m acquainted with.
So let’s chill our baby out and whip up a little cream. We’ll spread it over top and zest some fresh limes to finish.
And now we’re looking and smelling really great…
Uh, you don’t think A. will miss one little piece, will he?
I was worried, so I snagged some Silly Putty, molded up a piece of cheesecake and popped it into the empty spot.
After a few cups of Adult Juice, I think I’ll be in the clear.
Hair Of The Dog Cheesecake
45 Maria cookies (Maria cookies are a tea biscuit consumed throughout Mexico. If you don’t have access to Maria cookies, Nilla Wafers or even graham crackers may be substituted.)
8 tbsp. unsalted butter, melted
32 oz. cream cheese (It’s important to use regular cream cheese here, not whipped.)
1 c. white sugar, granulated
2 tbsp. all-purpose flour
1/2 c. tequila (You don’t need to use Patrón Silver, but I recommend using a good quality label here – you’ll notice the difference. In addition, if you wanted to make this cheesecake friendly for all ages, you could simply omit the tequila and double up on the lime juice.)
1/4 c. lime juice, freshly squeezed
4 large eggs
1 c. heavy whipping cream
coarse sea salt and the zest of one lime for finishing
Preheat oven to 350°.
Line a 9″ springform pan with parchment paper and set aside. Please note that this recipe yields a substantial cake that will puff up quite a bit while baking. The walls of your pan should be at least 3″ tall to prevent any overflow.
Place Maria cookies and melted butter in the bowl of a food processor fitted with a steel blade. Process until the mixture resembles a coarse meal. Press firmly into the bottom of the prepared pan and bake for 10-12 minutes, at which point the crust should be a golden brown color. Set aside to cool slightly.
Meanwhile, beat the cream cheese, lime juice and tequila together until the cream cheese has softened and is pliable. Beat in the sugar, flour and eggs, one at a time, mixing until you have a uniform cake batter. Pour the batter over the baked crust and bake for 55-65 minutes. The finished cheesecake will be puffed, golden at the edges, and slightly jiggly but set to the center. Remove the baked cake to cool before unmolding. Please note that while you can unmold this cake after only about 15 minutes of cooling, I recommend topping and serving it after refrigerating it overnight.
Once the cheesecake is ready to top and serve, sprinkle a pinch of sea salt over the top. Whip the heavy cream on the highest setting of your mixer until stiff peaks form and spread the whipped cream on top of the cake. Finish with lime zest and serve. This cheesecake refrigerates well, covered, for up to a week.
YIELD: approximately 16 servings
At first I thought this would be a Hair of the Dog cheesecake – meaning made with Hair of the Dog brewery’s beer. Still, looks great!
Mmmmmmmmmmm! A. is one lucky fella!
Love the name
What a fantastic cheese cake this is…totally delectable!
I love the idea of a little salt on top of the cheesecake. And why wouldn’t I – since I’m my mother’s daughter!
And BTW – Uncle Dave’s comment about “bad girl stories about your mom” – that’s actually about your Grandmom – since there are no bad girl stories about your mom!
Sounds delicious must try it never had Tequila but sounds like a good way to try it. In UK the biscuits are Marie biscuits. Hair of the Dog(that bit you) is used in UK and Australia usually refers to drinking alcohol the morning after to fix a hangover , don’t ask me if it works no idea
I just discovered your blog and I am so glad I did! You have some an amazing site and take some pretty awesome pictures… Love this recipe! I adore making recipes with Maria biscuits (the brand is called Marie where I live!), and I am so happy to add another recipe to my file! Thanks for sharing this!
Ummm….Margarita cheese cake…maybe I can use your recipe as a base to make Pisco Sour cheese cake, I just have to change Tequila by Pisco…
Pisco Cheesecake = amazing idea!
I’ve never seen tequila in a cheesecake. Cool!
Lime and Tequila together in another great dish. I mentioned this recipe to a couple people today and they were all like “when are you making this?” Can’t wait to try it!
Maybe this is a cultural thing but I’ve never heard that saying “Hair of the dog”, what does it mean? I kept looking through the ingredients for something that would look like dog’s hair…
Hair of the dog is a term that refers to alcohol consumed with the objective of lessening the effects of alcohol. It comes from the practice of using the hair from a dog to treat a bite from that dog. No actual dog used in this cheesecake…
I have an old family (your family) recipe for cheesecake that is to die for. Rich and sweet. My mother ( aka Aunt Betty) taught me you can never be too rich. I’ll send it when I return to the homeland. Just finished fun Crystal Lida stories. Bad girl stories about your mom.
This looks amazing, and I know it will be amazing if I make it, because it is almost exactly the recipe I always use. Not being an adult version mine uses 1 c sour cream for the patron and for the lime juice, 2 tsp lemon and 1 tsp vanilla. But…I do have Patron in my cupboard…so I see this on the horizon…soon…
Wow looks amazing!!! Love cheesecakes for adults hehe ~ not only kids get to eat great cheesecakes!
Thanks Meagan! I’m going to make this tomorrow for Mike! Looks so yummy
This sounds delicious. I so enjoy your pictures and commentary. Keep them up.
Yum! I’ve never thought about adding any alcohol other than Baileys to a cheesecake before. Such a creative recipe!
I’m sold!! No water bath? Done. Can’t wait to serve this adult cheesecake. Maybe I’ll try it with some gin/bourbon and see how it tastes then.
This is actually the fluffiest looking cheesecake I’ve ever seen. Amazing. Congrats on your Food Buzz Top 9! I buzzed you & for sure will Pin this immediately.
You had me at tequila…
xo
http://allykayler.blogspot.com/
Oooooooh! I love cheesecake. And margaritas. I’ve made margarita cupcakes before and they were great, but this might be even better. Must try.
I discovered your blog today and have already bookmarked at least gazillion recipes to try out . Cause that’s totally a number. And you have that many posts. *nod nod* And I’m not drooling at all.
A gazillion thanks!
This is awesome! I would love a few large slices of this (because I can’t have just one when it comes to cheesecake)! Wonderful idea, and perfect for a grown up b-day cake!
Why are people obsessed with McRibs? Having said that, I maybe obsessed with this cheesecake now!
You know it’s bad when one is googling the McRib! This cheesecake will surely do the trick though! Love the patron in it, oh, and the whipped cream on top!
Ok, (A) the photo of the cookies in their paper roll rocks. So playful. (B) The photo of the cake in its pan from above makes me want to jam a fork in the middle and listen to the little squishy sound it would make it I pulled myself out a nice forkful. (C) I could keep listing pictures, but you get where I’m going with this. Lovely post. Happy belated birthday to A!
Love how you made your own Adult version
. And I think your Cheesecake is the perfect thickness. I love thick and rich cheesecakes 
Wow this looks awesome! My hubby loves cheesecake and tequila so he’d love this!
Love the recipe….I too am a rebel who refuses to use the water bath! I see nothing wrong with a little cheese crack! Can’t wait to give this recipe a try!
Oh my. This might be dangerous in my house. While I should stay away from both cheesecake and tequila I am ridiculously attracted to both in equal proportion.
McRib googling is hilarious. I was already into this cheesecake and then that little layer of salt made me woozy with wanting. I know the whole uncracked cheesecake aesthetic is the norm but I have to say that I love seeing the cracks. You look straight into a chasm of creamy cheese. What’s wrong with that?
LOVE your thinking re.: cheese crevasses.
OMG this looks delicious! I find water baths a bit annoying but I love your trick. Who doesn’t want a bit more whipped cream.
Ok, I LOVELOVELOVE that you used Maria cookies instead of graham crackers. They had a very similar cookie to those when I lived in Spain and I was obsessed, so Maria cookies are pretty much my favorite thing ever. You won me over with that aspect of this cake alone.
Love this cheesecake, and I’ll probably have more of that adult juice too! Great photos!
Haha, nice!
I commend you on your healthier exploits, but man, that cheesecake would tempt me beyond reason! Looks utterly fantastic, and I am sure the missing piece can be forgiven.
Oh, I so want to make this. I am a huge, huge cheesecake person and love citrus. I’m all over this one. Where’s that pinterest button!
You forgot to mention that you should also drink 1/2 cup of patron while the cheesecake is in the oven!
Natch.
So is this basically a margarita and a cheesecake all in one? Because that would make this my favorite thing EVER!!!!!!!!!!!!
Sí, sí, señorita – it’s a margarita!!
At least it is not a dog hair cheesecake, which could happen at my house. This looks fabulous and I will make it as soon as I can get some juice…ADULT juice! No, actually, I’m making the bean brownies tonight!!
Wow! I’m a huge margarita fan, so all the tequila and lime in this cheesecake is just calling my name. This recipe is definitely getting bookmarked!
He must have been pleased to get this. I would have been — way better than a fluffy birthday cake.
This is one heck of a pretty cheesecake! Love this idea!
This cake recipe was MADE for my friends and I. i cannot wait to break it out this summer. Fantastic idea. Maria cookies are soooo good – genius crust idea. And the salt! I may add a bit of Gran Marnier to the whipped topping… because why not?
Why not? I like the way you think…
Yum! It’s like a ‘rita cheesecake! Love this idea! Sounds amazing!! I think this is the first time I’ve ever heard of someone googling a McRib! LOL! That’s hilarious!
We both had some lime and cream cheese on the brain today. Only yours is better because there is tequila involved. Everything is better with tequila. Loooove this!
This cheesecake looks to die for. I am actually not a huge cake fan but I will do just about anything for a slice of cheese cake! Add a little ‘adult juice’ and I am more than sold!!!
A dog lover’s delight!
Well you had me at cheesecake…and then you added Patron…and lime! Now I’m frantically trying to come with an excuse to make this cake- like right now.
I acutally make something very similiar to this called margarita pie. It’s more of a pudding pie consistency but pretty potent! haha. Looks great I’m sure I’d love it!
Whoa, I think I stared at that second last picture for about 20 minutes. Cheese….Cake, Really whats the problem in life when these two words become a couple?
Amazing! I love the name of this dessert, and the combination of flavours
Oh, trying to eat a little healthier and the googling at McDonalds. I can so relate!! I need to lose these 5 pounds, and Taco Bell is not going to get me there!
Love the Adult Juice!
Oh ha I thought this post said Half of the Dog Cheesecake and I was wondering which half. Pleased that it’s about dog’s hair and not whole dog. or half.