Strawberry Cheesecake Bars – My Baking Dependancy

Combining a chocolate crust, wealthy cheesecake filling, and strawberry jam topping, these strawberry cheesecake bars are a scrumptious dessert any time of yr. Recipe contains an choice for a gluten-free crust.

I do know {that a} sure espresso chain simply launched their fall lineup this week. And I like pumpkin spice latte as a lot as the following fall-loving girlie.

However I’m additionally nonetheless having fun with some summery flavors, so let’s sneak in yet one more strawberry recipe earlier than we go full-on with the pumpkin recipes, ‘kay?

White chocolate will get ignored so much, however it may be such a divine taste, particularly when paired with berries. In case you’ve ever tried my simple white chocolate mousse, what I imply!

And to place each white chocolate and strawberry right into a cheesecake recipe? I’m all in.

This recipe for strawberry cheesecake bars is one which comes from my buddy Erin over at Texanerin Baking. She shared the recipe with us a number of years in the past and I believed it was about time I reminded everybody of how scrumptious it’s.

Strawberry white chocolate cheesecake bars

These strawberry cheesecake bars are easy to make however have a number of large flavors happening.

The bottom of the recipe is a chocolate crust. In case you don’t want the recipe to be gluten free, you should use all-purpose flour within the crust. In any other case, buckwheat flour works rather well right here!

The filling is simply as wealthy and scrumptious as in basic cheesecake bars, however the addition of melted white chocolate offers it slightly extra advanced taste. 

After all, the white chocolate within the filling pairs rather well with the strawberry jam topping. 

Once I first made these bars, I attempted swirling the jam all through the filling, much like lemon cheesecake bars. They didn’t look fairly proper although, so I discovered that spreading the jam on prime is the best way to go! 

With every chew you get the wealthy, barely bitter chocolate notes, tangy cream cheese taste, candy white chocolate, and shiny strawberry. So good!

Tips on how to make my strawberry cheesecake bars

Substances you’ll want

This recipe begins with the chocolate crust. For that, you’ll need:

• ½ cup granulated sugar
• ½ cup all-purpose flour
• ½ cup Dutch-process cocoa powder 
• ⅛ teaspoon salt
• 6 tablespoons melted unsalted butter

Be sure to know how you can measure flour accurately earlier than you begin baking. Getting this step proper will assist your cheesecake crust to come back out excellent each time. 

In case you aren’t conversant in Dutch-process cocoa, take a look at my cocoa powder 101 information to be taught extra in regards to the forms of cocoa powder.

For the cheesecake filling and strawberry topping, you’ll need:

• 16 ounces room-temperature cream cheese
• ¼ cup granulated sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• pinch of salt
• 6 ounces (1 cup) white chocolate chips or chopped white chocolate, melted however not scorching
• 2 massive room-temperature eggs
• ¾ cup strawberry jam

For the right creamy texture in your cheesecake filling, be certain that the cream cheese is softened to room temperature earlier than making the submitting. In case you overlook to set yours out forward of time, take a look at my suggestions for softening cream cheese rapidly.

The white chocolate must be melted, however shouldn’t be piping scorching if you add it to the cheesecake batter. You may soften it on the range or within the microwave—take a while to be taught how you can soften white chocolate in case you haven’t completed this earlier than.

For the topping, you should use common strawberry jam, however I counsel utilizing seedless jam if you would like an excellent easy topping.

Making strawberry cheesecake bars

Line an 8×8-inch pan with parchment paper. Set this apart.

Combine collectively the sugar, flour, cocoa powder, and salt in a bowl, then stir within the melted butter. It’ll be a bit sticky—that’s okay!

Press this combination into the underside of the ready pan. Bake at 350°F for 10 minutes. The crust will nonetheless appear a bit gentle, however it’ll set because it cools.

Whereas the crust cools, scale back the oven temperature to 325°F and begin making the filling.

Utilizing a mixer, beat the cream cheese and sugar till mild and fluffy. Add the vanilla, salt, and white chocolate and blend till nicely mixed.

Add the eggs one by one, combining after every addition. Pour the batter over the cooled crust and unfold to the sides of the pan. 

Place the jam in a microwave-safe bowl and heat it for about 30 seconds, or simply till it’s free and simple to unfold. Unfold this in a fair layer over the cheesecake filling. 

Bake the cheesecake bars for 30-35 minutes, or till the sides are set however the heart nonetheless jiggles only a bit.

Let the bars cool for two hours, then refrigerate for a minimum of 2 hours earlier than slicing and serving.

Recipe variations

You’ve obtained a number of choices if you wish to change up this strawberry cheesecake bars recipe.

This crust recipe solely works in a sq. baking pan as bars. If you wish to make it in a pie pan, I counsel utilizing an oreo crust, such because the one utilized in oreo cheesecake bars.

You might additionally use a conventional graham cracker crust as a substitute of the chocolate crust.

If you wish to prime the bars with sliced contemporary strawberries, add them simply earlier than serving. 

You may as well swap out the strawberry jam for raspberry jam in case you desire a raspberry model!