This recipe came about by accident, sort of. I was looking for a recipe online that I could make to use up all the blackberries I have growing in my garden.
Eventually I found a simple enough cheesecake recipe and bought all the ingredients to make it, but on the day I decided to make it, the blackberries were not ripe yet!
So, I swapped the blackberries for frozen summer berries (which I always have in the freezer), and it was a hit!
Summer Berries Cheesecake Bars
You can therefore make this cheesecake recipe any season and use either fresh or frozen berries.
I think you can even swap out the berries for mangos, passion fruit, peaches or whatever other fruits happens to be in season and available in your fridge or freezer!
In fact, I'm already planning making these cheesecake bars with plums or figs in the autumn season!
I like this cheesecake recipe because you can cut it into squares or bars, which makes it super practical to take on summer picnics or to add to lunchboxes.
The original recipe came from The Loopy Whisk, but like I said, I added my own twist by using frozen berries instead.
I'm also thinking that next time I'll use my go-to biscuits for cheesecakes - Biscoff or Speculoos cookies!
This time around I used simple digestive biscuits, and I found it a little mild for my liking. So I think next time I'll try with the cinnamon-flavored cookies instead, especially good for autumn and winter, right?! 😋
To finish off this cheesecake, I topped it with a summer berry compote made using the same frozen berries, because I always like to have some sort of sauce, coulis or juice dribbling down my cheesecake 😁
But if that's not your thing, or you have fresh fruit handy, then by all means use fresh fruit or leave the cheesecake au naturel. It will taste great too!
In the original recipe from The Loopy Whisk, she gives a bunch of great tips to prevent the cheesecake from cracking. But to be honest, I didn't read them. I only followed her basic recipe and timing for baking the cheesecake and it had no cracks at all! 👌
Hope you like the ideas and feel inspired to have a go! If you do, tag me on social media @BirdsParty so I can see and share your creativity! 😍
Summer Berries Cheesecake Bars
Yield: 9 bars
Prep time: 30 MinCook time: 38 MinTotal time: 1 H & 7 M
Summer Berries Cheesecake Bars - easy, delicious and quick to make dessert perfect to use fresh or frozen summer berries or any fruit you like!
Ingredients
Summer Berries Coulis & Compote
- 3 cups frozen or fresh summer berries
- 2 heaped tbsp. sugar or sweetener of choice
- 1 tsp. vanilla extract
Summer Berries Cheesecake Bars
- 150g cups crushed digestive biscuits
- 45 g melted butter
- 400g cream cheese
- 80g plain Greek yogurt
- 100g caster sugar
- 10g cornstarch
- 2 large eggs
- zest of 1 lemon
- 1/2 tbsp. lemon juice
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
Instructions
Coulis & Compote
- Place frozen or fresh berries in pan with the sugar until they have released their juices.
- Simmer until the juice is reduced and thicker.
- Remove from heat and cool completely.
- Remove about 2 cups of berries with juice from the compote mixture and refrigerate for garnish.
- With remaining fruit and juice, pass it through a sieve to remove all the juice. Discard the fruit or save it for smoothies!
- Place this juice into the pan on a low heat and reduce until thick, but not quite jam-like. Set aside to cool completely.
Cheesecake Bars
- Pre-heat oven to 180 deg. C.
- Line a square 8 inch baking pan with parchment paper
- Mix the biscuit crumbs with the melted butter until it resembles wet sand.
- Line the bottom of the pan with this mixture, pressing firmly with the back of a spoon or cup.
- Bake for 10 minutes, then remove from the oven and set it aside to cool completely.
- Meanwhile, place the cream cheese, yogurt, sugar, cornstarch, vanilla, lemon juice and zest and mix to combine. Do not over whip - Overwhipping introduces air into the mixture, which can cause cracks when baked.
- Add one egg at a time and mix to combine.
- Take 2 tbsp. of this mixture and add to the cooled berries coulis/sauce and mix to combine.
- Gently place the remaining mixture into the cooled biscuit base and dollop the berries sauce on top.
- Use a toothpick to create swirls on top. At this stage, you can add a few fruits (frozen or fresh) on top to bake into the cheesecake.
- Bake at 280 deg. C. for about 30-35, or until the edges are slightly brown and the middle is still a little wobbly when you shake the baking pan.
- Turn off the oven and allow the cheesecake to cool completely to room temperature in the oven with the door ajar.
- Once cooled, transfer it to the fridge for at least 1 hour or preferably overnight for easy cutting into bars.
- Top with the reserved summer berries compote just before serving.
Notes:
These cheesecake bars keep well in the fridge for 3-4 days.
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