Ingredients

Crust:

2 cups graham cracker crumbs
1 stick butter, melted
2 Tablespoons sugar
Zest of 1 lime

Filling:

3 sticks of cream cheese, 8 oz each, room temperature
Zest of 1 lime
1 cup sugar
3 large eggs
1 cup heavy cream
3 Tablespoons lime juice
1 tsp. vanilla

Lime Curd
8 tbls butter
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
2 egg yolks
1/3 cup plus 4 tablespoons of lime juice

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350. Begin to boil a large pot of water for the water bath. Mix together the crust ingredients and press into your preferred pan. You can press the crust just into the bottom, or up the sides of the pan too - baker's choice. Bake for 8 mins.
2. Combine sugar and lime zest and mix with the cream cheese in the bowl of a stand-mixer (or in a large bowl if using a hand-mixer) and cream together until smooth. Add eggs, one at a time, fully incorporating each before adding the next. Make sure to scrape down the bowl in between each egg. Add heavy cream and key lime juice and blend until smooth and creamy.
3. Beat butter and sugar in a large bowl using an electric mixer. Slowly add the eggs and yolks one at a time, mixing well after each addition. Pour in lime juice and mix again. Expect the mixture to look curdled, this is normal.
4. Cook the mixture over medium heat in a medium-size saucepan until it looks smooth (no longer curdled.) Increase the heat slightly and cook, whisking constantly, until the mixture thickens. Clip a thermometer to the side of the pan and cook until the mixture reaches 170 degrees.
5. Remove the curd from theheat. Transfer the curd to a bowl and press plastic wrap on the surface of the lime curd to keep a skin from forming. Chill the curd in the refrigerator. The curd will thicken further as it cools. Covered tightly, it will keep in the refrigerator for a week and in the freezer for 2 months.
6. Mix 1/2 cup of tinted lime curd with the 1 cup of reserved batter. Place spoonfuls or dollops of this mixture in no particular fashion on top of the plain cheesecake batter. Dollop the remaining lime curd across the previous mixture. Use skewer to swirl the mixtures together to create a marbleized effect.
7. Bake for 35 minutes at 325 degrees F. Let cool completely in pan then refrigerate.