Lemon Blueberry Cheesecake Bars
My blog turns 1 today!! Even though I have not been posting on the blog as regularly as I would like to. I have received immense the support from Family and Friends. I feel elated when I try out new things and write a blogpost on the same experiments. To celebrate my lil Blog’s 1st Birthday, I tried out my hand on baked cheesecakes recipe. Here I am sharing this amazing dish of Lemon Blueberry Cheesecake Bars with you all.
Ever since I started out baking as my hobby, I have always dreaded making a baked cheesecake. One because it essentially requires eggs to hold structure and before joining pastry school I was petrified to break an egg myself. Two because I did not know the proper technique to make a baked cheesecake. However, over the years I have mustered enough courage to work with eggs especially after joining School for European Pastry.
On holi this year, I made Kesar Thandai Cheesecake which was a no-bake, cold set cheesecake. Everyone appreciated it upon tasting. This gave me an added push to try out my hand of Baked Cheesecake as well. With the monsoons approaching, I thought why not make the most of the berry season and make Lemon Blueberry Cheesecake Bars. I love adding different types of berries in my baked recipes as they add a wonderful tartiness to the dessert and help cut into the sweetness.
This is the first time I baked a cheesecake at home and it turned out beautiful. I made a compote at home using Frozen Blueberries which was the star component of my Lemon Blueberry Cheesecake Bars. It was creamy and smooth in texture with undertones of Lemon. I took a few pieces for my Classmates at Pastry school to taste and the feedback I got for each one of them was phenomenal. I have used the Cream Cheese from D’lecta and Sour Cream from Mooz. Both are easily available online as well as supermarkets store in India. You can use any brand of your choice subject to availability.
Some pointers to keep in mind for baking a perfect cheesecake every single time :-
- All the ingredients should be at room temperature which is approximately 21-23 degrees Celsius.
- Before adding any other ingredients, ensure that the Cream Cheese is smooth. Hence its advisable to whisk it well to remove all the lumps in it.
- Bake the cheesecake in a water bath. It refers to the process of baking the Cheesecake in a baking tin submerged in water upto 1-2inch level of the tin. This results in a smooth top of the cheesecake a.k.a no cracks on the top.
- Once the Cheesecake is baked, allow it to cool down at room temperature and then keep it in the refrigerator for at least 8-12 hours. Chilling the Cheesecake helps in having clean slices or bars upon cutting.
Without further ado…let’s check out the recipe for these super delicious, creamy and indulgent Lemon Blueberry Cheesecake Bars.
Lemon Blueberry Cheesecake Bars
Super delish, creamy Cheesecake bars topped with Homemade Blueberry Compote and undertones of Lemon.
Ingredients
For Cheesecake Base
- 100 g Lotus Biscoff biscuits You may use digestive biscuits of your choice
- 50 g Butter, melted
For Blueberry Compote
- 200 g Frozen Blueberries you may use fresh ones as well
- 20 g Castor Sugar
For Cheesecake Mix
- 300 g Cream Cheese
- 45 g Sour Cream
- 2 nos. Eggs
- 15 g Lemon Zest zest of 2 small lemons
- 150 g Castor Sugar
Instructions
For the Cheesecake Base
-
Crush the Lotus Biscoff Biscuits (any other digestive biscuits may be used in the same qty.) into a coarse to fine powder in a food processor or blender.
-
Add the meted butter to the powdered biscuits and mix well.
-
Line a 8×8" square baking tin with parchment paper with a slight overhang on the edges so that its easier to lift the cheesecake from the tin after its set.
-
Evenly spread out the Butter-biscuit crumbs mixture into the lined baking tin such that the base layer is uniformly thick all across the tin
-
Bake the Cheesecake base at 180°C for 10-12 minutes. Once baked, allow it to cool at room temperature.
For Blueberry Compote
-
In a Pan, add the frozen blueberries and let them cook over low- medium heat.
-
As the blueberries start to soften a bit and ooze out their juices, add the sugar and let them cook further.
-
After almost 8-10 minutes of cooking, The blueberries should become tender and can be mashed easily. Once the compote is thickens well, remove it from the heat.
-
Using a sieve, strain the Blueberry Compote such that its smooth and thick in consistency. Allow it to cool it to room temperature.
For the Cheesecake Mix
-
In a large bowl, using a hand mixer whisk the cream cheese until its lump free.
-
Add the Sour Cream, Castor Sugar with the lemon zest and mix until well incorporated.
-
Add the eggs one by one such that no liquid is separated. Mix well until all the ingredients become a homogenous mixture.
Final Assembly
-
Pour the Cheesecake mixture into the pre-baked base in the baking tin.
-
Add dollops of Blueberry compote at random distance and using a toothpick make a swirl pattern.
-
Place the cheesecake baking tin into a larger tary filled with water upto 1-2 inch level of the cheesecake tin
-
Bake the Lemon Blueberry Cheesecake bars in a pre-heated oven at 150° celcius for 50-60 minutes until the edges turn lightly golden and the center jiggles when the tin is shaked slightly.
-
Allow the Lemon Blueberry Cheesecake bars to cool down at room temperature and keep it in the refigerator for atleast 8-12 hrs to set it completely
-
After throughly set, demould the Lemon Blueberry Cheesecake from the tin and cut them into bars of your desired size and serve.
