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Slice of cheesecake with dark brown graham cracker crust and a swirl of pink guava jam on top!

Guava Cheesecake

This creamy cheesecake is flavored with a lot of guava and a little lime zest, making for a delicious dessert that’s plenty fruity and decadent!
Course Dessert
Cuisine American
Keyword cheesecake, cream cheese, fruit, guava, nut-free, vegetarian
Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 40 minutes
Total Time 1 hour
Servings 12 people
Calories 343 kcal

Ingredients

  • 6 ounces graham crackers
  • 1 stick unsalted butter melted
  • 16 ounces full fat cream cheese room temperature
  • ½ cup granulated sugar
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1 teaspoon lime juice
  • 1 teaspoon grated lime zest
  • ½ teaspoon kosher salt
  • 2 large eggs room temperature
  • ¾ cup guava jam

Instructions

  1. Crush the graham crackers until fine crumbs form and they look sandy. Ideally this would be in a food processor, but you can also do it by hand with your fingers, a rolling pin or a mallet.
  2. Mix the graham cracker crumbs with the butter, then press the crumbs evenly and thinly into the bottom and up the sides of a 9” round pie pan. No need to grease the pan since the crust has enough butter. Also, you can use the butter wrapper and/or a straight edged dry measuring cup to help tamp the crumbs into the pan.
  3. Bake the crust at 325F for 10 minutes; I like to lightly tent the crust with foil.
  4. For the filling, mix the cream cheese, sugar, vanilla, lime zest and juice, salt and eggs until smooth and homogeneous. There should be no lumps of cream cheese left, and the filling should look more aerated. I would recommend using a hand or stand mixer, but you can do this by hand if you don’t have electric equipment.
  5. Pour half of the filling into the crust. Spoon half of the jam on top of the crust spaced apart, then use a butterknife to swirl the jam into the filling. Add the rest of the filling on top, spreading it to the edge to cover the jam, then add the rest of the jam in dollops and swirl it in.
  6. Place the pie plate on a baking sheet, then bake the cheesecake for 35-40 minutes. The cheesecake is done when you shake it gently and it jiggles in the middle but the edges are set. It’s okay if it seems a little underdone, because the cheesecake will continue to cook.
  7. Turn the oven off, then prop the door openly slightly and let it cool completely before refrigerating it overnight.
  8. Keep the cheesecake in the fridge until ready to serve.

Recipe Notes

Lemon or orange zest also work for in place of the lime zest.

You can use 1 cup guava nectar, cooked on the stove for 30 minutes over medium low heat and thickened with 1 tablespoon of cornstarch, instead of the guava jam. The flavor won’t be as strong though, so only do this if you’re really in a pinch.