Raspberry Lemon Cheesecake Bars

It’s starting to feel a little like spring and these tangy, fresh tasting and looking raspberry lemon cheesecake bars are with raspberry curd taste are the perfect spring dessert! Filled with lots of bright tangy flavor from the lemon and cream cheese and topped with swirls of homemade raspberry sauce makes the bars look and taste extra special! They’re baked on top of a super simple graham cracker crust!

RASPBERRY LEMON CHEESECAKE BARS WITH A TWIST

I know there are lot of recipes for lemon cheesecake bars and I would love to make and try them all! I made some raspberry curd last month and added it to my lemon shortbread cookies and it was amazing!

I started thinking of how much flavor and beauty raspberry sauce could add to lemon cheesecake bars! I was right! Biting into a creamy, tangy lemon cheesecake bar and getting a burst of fresh raspberry sauce is like nothing I’ve ever tasted!

HOMEMADE RASPBERRY SAUCE

If you don’t have time to make raspberry sauce, you can simply toss in fresh raspberries on top of the mixture just before it goes into the oven. Making fresh raspberry sauce takes a bit of effort (especially straining the seeds), but is so totally worth it!!! It’s also pretty fun to make and I’m guessing that, since you’re here, you enjoy cooking, so you should totally not skip the raspberry curd!

MAKING RASPBERRY SAUCE

1. Combine the sugar, lemon zest, lemon juice, salt and raspberries in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer five minutes. Allow to cool slightly then puree the mixture in a blender or food processor. Strain through a fine mesh sieve into a bowl and discard the seeds.

EASY GRAHAM CRACKER CRUST

These bars have a simple graham cracker crust. To make it, just place 9 sheets of graham crackers (a whole packet) along with some granulated sugar in a food processor. Pulse until it’s the consistency of bread crumbs. Next, pour your melted butter and pulse til combined.

Use your finger to press the mixture into an 8×8″ square parchment paper lined pan. (Leave some excess parchment paper on two sides. This will make the bars easier to remove from the pan later on.

Bake the crust at 325 F for 12 minutes then remove to let cool. While the crust bakes and as it cools, you can prepare the filling.

PREPARING THE FILLING

As with preparing the crust, the food processor does all the work mixing together the filling. To make the filling, simply mix your room temperature cream cheese, eggs, lemon zest and juice, and sugar in a food processor until smooth.

Pour the mixture over the cooled prepared graham cracker crust then top the filling with dollops of the cooled raspberry sauce. Next comes the funnest part! Use a toothpick to gently swirl the sauce into the filling.

Bake the bars in the preheated oven for 25-30 minutes or until the edges are set. You’ll want to pull it out while the middle is still pretty jiggly. The middle will firm up as it cools.

Let the bars cool in the pan at room temperature for at least an hour then put them in the fridge to finish cooling. Leave them to cool in the fridge for at least 3 hours.

CUTTING THE BARS

When you’re ready to enjoy these yummy raspberry lemon cheesecake bars, lift them out of the pan using the parchment paper. You may need to run a knife down the edges of the pan to loosen them before lifting them out.

Next, run a large, sharp knife under hot water and wipe it dry. Slice the bars into the sizes you want and make sure to wipe the knife clean in between slices. To make sure the bars are cleanly cut, I like to dip my knife in hot water and wipe it clean in between each cut. It adds a little time, but ensures nicely cut bars!

There is really nothing like biting into these creamy, lemony bars and tasting the incredibly delicious homemade raspberry sauce! Enjoy and happy spring everyone!

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