No-Bake Raspberry Lemon Cheesecake Bars

What are Raspberry Lemon Cheesecake Bars? | What is no bake cheesecake? | How to Make a Graham Cracker Crust | How to Make Beautiful Cheesecake Bars | Essential Baking Tools for This Recipe

What are Raspberry Lemon Cheesecake Bars?

Raspberry lemon cheesecake bars consist of a graham cracker crust, a light and airy lemon cheese cake layer, and raspberry coulis (sauce) with raspberries on top. This is a no-bake cheesecake recipe, which means that it has a light and airy texture.

What is No-Bake Cheesecake?

No-bake cheesecake consists of cream cheese, powdered sugar, whipped cream and sometimes sour cream or Greek yogurt.

The difference between no-bake and traditional cheese cake is that regular cheesecake contains eggs while no-bake cheesecake doesn’t.

A regular cheesecake bakes in the oven while no-bake cheesecake relies on chilling in the fridge for at least 6 hours to “set up” properly.

In addition, traditional cheesecake has a much denser texture, while no-bake has a lighter and airier texture.

3 Tips for Making a Perfect Graham Cracker Crust

There are a few of important things you need to do to make a perfect graham cracker crust:

First, use enough melted butter so that the graham crackers stay together. When I was testing my crust recipes, I first made one that didn’t have enough butter. The result was a super crumbly crust that fell apart easily. It was not as tasty or texturally satisfying.

On the other hand, too much butter makes the crust dense and hard to cut. So it’s really a balancing act, but don’t worry, I’ve created an amazing graham cracker crust recipe figured out so that you don’t have to!

Second, press or compact the graham cracker crust evenly into the pan with the back of a measuring cup. Repeatedly press the graham cracker crumbs down several times to ensure that there are no loose spots. This ensures that the cheesecake filling has a firm, solid base that won’t break apart easily.

Third, don’t over bake the crust. This crust only needs 7-8 minutes max. It will seem quite firm after baking, but that is okay. Once the cheesecake filling goes on top, the crust softens just enough to the perfect consistency.

How to Make Beautiful Cheesecake Bars

One of the most important tips for making beautiful no-bake cheesecake bars is to make each layer even. As you smooth out the cheesecake filling, take your time to make it even just as you did with the graham cracker crust.

When adding the raspberry sauce on top, dot it all over the top in various spots, and then swirl with a skewer.

Or if you want more raspberry sauce per square inch, pour the raspberry sauce on top and smooth with an offset spatula.

Essential Baking Tools for This Recipe

• A small offset spatula to smooth out the cheesecake and coulis
• A 9×9 pan
• A hand mixer or stand mixer

Other Recipes You’ll Love:

• Chocolate Chip Blondies
• Dark Chocolate Chunk Oatmeal Cookie Bars
• Cinnamon Roll Blondies

No-Bake Raspberry Lemon Cheesecake Bars

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• Author: Camille
• Prep Time: 40 minutes
• Rest Time: 6 hours
• Cook Time: 8 minutes
• Total Time: 6 hours 48 minutes
• Yield: 16 bars 1x
• Category: cheesecake

Ingredients

Units USM Scale 1x2x3x

Graham Cracker Crust

• 1 3/4 cups crushed graham crackers (prepackaged or blended)
• 6 Tbs unsalted butter
• 2 1/2 Tbs sugar

Raspberry Coulis

• 8 ounces fresh raspberries (or frozen)
• 1/2 cup sugar (100 g)
• 2 tsp lemon juice (7 g)
• 1/2 Tbs water

Cheesecake Filling

• 16 ounces cream cheese (full-fat)
• 1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
• 1/4 cup sour cream
• Zest of 1 lemon
• 1/4 cup lemon juice
• 1/8 tsp salt
• 1 cup heavy cream

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Instructions

For the Graham Cracker Crust

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees and line a 9×9 pan with parchment paper to make a sling. 
2. Next, combine graham crackers, sugar, and melted butter, and stir until thoroughly mixed.
3. Pour graham cracker crust into parchment lined pan and smooth the crust out with the back of a measuring cup. Once the crust is even, press it down firmly with the measuring cup to compact the crust. We don’t want any loose crumbs that will become crumbly after baking!
4. Bake for 7-8 minutes and let cool before adding the cheesecake layer.

For the Raspberry Coulis

1. While the crust is cooling, begin making the raspberry coulis by placing the raspberries, sugar, lemon juice, and water in a small sauce pan. Bring to a boil for 1 minute, then put the mixture into a blender and blend for 1-2 minutes.
2. Pour the coulis into a strainer and strain raspberry sauce into a bowl, being sure to leave all of the seeds in the strainer. Set the coulis in the fridge to cool for 30 minutes.

For the Lemon Cheesecake

1. Cream softened cream cheese, sour cream, lemon zest, lemon juice, and powdered sugar in a mixer(or with a hand mixer) on medium speed until completely smooth. This takes 1-2 minutes.
2. Whip the heavy cream until stiff peaks form. You know the whipped cream has reached stiff peaks when you can lift the whisk out of the bowl and the cream holds a stiff point in the air.
3. Fold the whipped cream into the cream cheese mixture until combined. Then spoon the cheesecake filling over the graham cracker crust and smooth out with an offset spatula. Try to make the cheesecake as even as possible so that it’s level.
4. Next, spoon the raspberry coulis on top in various spots and gently swirl with a toothpick or knife.
5. Refrigerate for 6 hours or longer. If you want the cheesecake bars to be firmer before cutting and serving, place the pan in the freezer for 30 minutes, and then cut the bars.
6. Cheesecake bars can be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to a week.

Notes

This is a Baker Street Society original recipe.

Keywords: raspberry lemon cheesecake bars, lemon raspberry cheesecake, no bake cheesecake bars