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
- 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!
Print
Raspberry Lemon Cheesecake Bars
- Prep Time: 45 minutes
- Cook Time: 25 minutes
- Total Time: 1 hour 10 minutes
- Yield: 9–12 bars 1x
- Category: Desserts, Bars
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
Description
These creamy raspberry lemon cheesecake bars are perfectly tart and sweet! Filled with fresh lemon and tangy cream cheese on top of an easy, crumbly graham cracker crust, these bars have with homemade raspberry sauce swirled into each bite! They make the most beautiful, delicious dessert for spring and summer!
Ingredients
FOR THE RASPBERRY SAUCE
- 1 1/2 cups raspberries
- 1/4 plus 2 tablespoons sugar
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice
- 1 teaspoon lemon zest
- 1 tablespoon corn starch
FOR THE CRUST
- 1 1/4 cups graham cracker crumbs
- 2 tablespoons sugar
- 6 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
FOR THE FILLING
- 16 ounces cream cheese, softened to room temperature
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 1 1/2 lemons, juiced
- zest of one lemon
- 2 eggs
Instructions
FOR THE RASPBERRY SAUCE
- 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 mixture in a blender or food processor. Strain through a fine mesh sieve into a bowl. Discard seeds and add mixture to a medium saucepan with the cornstarch over medium heat. Whisk to combine and boil for 30 seconds. Remove from heat and set aside.
FOR THE CRUST
- Preheat oven to 325 F. Lightly butter then line an 8×8″ pan with parchment paper. Leave some excess parchment paper hanging over two sides to make it easier to remove the bars once baked and cooled.
- Add the graham crackers and 2 tablespoons of sugar to the bowl of a food processor fitted with the metal blade. Pulse until mixture resembles the size of bread crumbs. Pour in the melted butter and pulse until combined.
- Use your fingers to press the mixture into the prepared pan and bake for 12 minutes. Remove from oven and allow to cool completely.
FOR THE FILLING
- Combine the cream cheese, eggs, lemon juice and zest, and sugar in the bowl of a food processor and pulse until smooth. Pour the mixture over the cooled graham cracker base.
- Spoon dollops of the cooled raspberry sauce over top. Use a toothpick to gently swirl the curd into the batter.
- Bake for 25-30 minutes until the edges are set but the middle’s still a bit jiggly. Remove from heat and let cool at room temperature for an hour then place in the fridge to cool for at least 3 hours.
Keywords: cheesecake, bars, lemon, lemon zest, fruit, raspberry, raspberry curd, graham cracker crust, graham crackers
