Baked Strawberry Swirled Cheesecake Bars

Its been a while I haven't written recipes owing to my shoulder and neck problem, (Now much better with physiotherapy) But I was definitely updating few simple easy recipes on the gram. So if you haven't checked those yet, you need head straight to my Instagram and check those out. 

Coming back to this dessert, its one of my favorites when it comes for a party or get together as this definitely is a big hit. Its a make ahead dessert and stays well for 3-4 days in fridge. I usually make these for a party in advance. Christmas is soon coming and this Beauty is a perfect show stopper for the holiday season.↓↓↓   Step by step pics and video uploaded for making it easier for you. 

Read the notes before you go ahead to bake this beauty, tips and tricks mentioned will help you get a prefect dessert. 

These Decadent luscious beauty is definitely a show stopper and also proves that desserts don't always need to be complicated to taste incredible. These are super Creamy Cheesecake Bars, yes super creamy cheesecake which is just perfect for a party to please your guests. You can make these with any pie filling of your choice. Blueberries, raspberries all work incredibly well for this. 

Imagine luscious creamy cheese texture against your lips as you bite into these wonderful cheesecake bars. Imagine the taste of crust with that hint of lemon, the sweet and wonderful tangy taste of the strawberry all in one heavenly bite. 

IMPORTANT: Tips To Have A Perfect Baked Cheesecake
I'm going to share some tips and tricks here with you so that your cheesecake will come out perfect.

• Less is perfect - whisk as little as you can when you're mixing the ingredients. Over whisking/mixing will incorporate too much air into the batter and that's what is going to create cracks when we bake the cheesecake
• Always use low speed - use the lowest speed on your electric hand whisk when you're mixing. I use speed 1 in mine. If you're whisking it with a hand whisk, remember to do it all slowly and gently. We don't want to incorporate air into the batter.
• Oven temperature - Well this is subjective, since every oven is made differently. Mine is not the same as yours, obviously. But the main fact to remember is, for baked cheesecakes, we want the temperature to be low. Baking it at a high temperature will make it crack. Keep an eye on the temperature. 
• Ingredients temperature - when recipes mention the temperature of ingredients it means its is important. So if I specify cream cheese at room temperature, make sure you use the same. That's important. Having certain ingredients at room temperature will make it easier to be mix/whisk. And when they're easier to mix, then it means less whisking, which means less air incorporated in the batter. 

See Notes: ***

Ingredients: 

For the crust: 

• 1 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs 
• 6 Tbsp melted butter 
• 1 lemon zest (optional) **

For the cheesecake: 

• 2 cups or 16 Oz of Full fat cream cheese, softened (room temperature)
• 2 tsp lemon juice
• 1 1/4 cup granulated sugar 
• 1/4 th cup sour cream
• 1/4 cup all purpose flour
• 1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract 
• 2 Large eggs or 3 small ones (room temperature)

For Filling: 

• 1 Can of strawberry/ raspberry or any pie filling ***

Method: 

1. Pre heat oven to 350℉ or 170℃ and line a 8*8 inch square pan with parchment paper*** and set aside 
2. Take your digestive biscuits and pulse in a food processor or just break them till they resemble crumbs. 
3. Add melted butter and lemon zest to this biscuit crumb and mix until well combined
4. Add these into your prepared baking pan and press, to create a crust. 
5. Bake these for 8 min and keep it to cool 
6. While the crust is cooling, take another bowl and add in the cream cheese
7. To this, add lemon zest, sugar, sour cream, flour & vanilla extract
8. Once these are all combined, add in the eggs at the end, beat & combine
9. Pour this mixture onto the crust which has been cooling in the baking pan
10. Spoon in the Strawberry Pie filling (or any filling which you are using) in small circles on the cream cheese mixture. (SEE NOTES on PIE FILLING)
11. Swirl these with a knife or chopstick to make a swirl design (see video)
12. Bake these for 35 mins at 170 ℃ 
13. Let it cool completely before you cover these and pop them in the fridge for chilling
14. Once its chilled in the fridge for about 2-3 hours, you can slice them and Enjoy

Notes: 

• Make sure that you line your baking pan with parchment paper and its till the top for easy pull out. You can also make these in a cheesecake tin (removable bottom) but I prefer a square tin to make even, perfect & equal bars. 
• You can use any pie filling, strawberry, raspberry, blueberry all works for this. I have used canned strawberry pie filling (store bought). If you happen to get hands on fresh strawberries or blue berries you could make your own filling as well. 
• The store bought, canned ones would be sometimes a little too syrupy/watery and also some would  have bigger chunks of fruits in them. Hence, you need to reduce the water and break down the fruits
• Just add into a pan & bring them to a boil while breaking down the fruits and then use
• I usually take Mc'vities digestive biscuits, but you can use any 
• Lemon zest is optional, but I would say it definitely gives a distinct flavour to this. 

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Do check out other simple yet amazing desserts up on the blog HERE