Blueberry Cheesecake Bars for the weekend! Blueberries and cheesecake are a match made in heaven. I love making them in bar form – though less impressive looking than a towering cake, it’s much easier to serve.
I have THREE versions for you to choose from – a No Bake cheesecake made without gelatine, a baked creamy one, or a light-yet-creamy New York Cheesecake cheesecake style. This is an epic post!
I kid you not, I think I made about a dozen batches of cheesecake bars over the past 6 weeks or so since blueberries started appearing in the stores here in Sydney.
You might think I’m turning into a mad baker, but I swear that’s not it (wait – maybe I am). I’m enjoying sweet baking more and more but……well, honestly? Other than the fact that I am more of a savoury than sweet gal, the sweet baking recipes I share take a lot more time than the savoury recipes. Repeated testing with US vs Australia/most of the rest of the world measures, fan/convection vs ordinary ovens, taking photos and now also videos as well (here’s my YouTube Channel with all my cooking videos – and a few fun ones thrown in as well!).
With most savoury recipes, the minor difference in cup and teaspoon sizes between US vs rest of world doesn’t affect the recipe. But with many sweet baking recipes, it does. And I have such a hang up about making sure that I share recipes that will work for everyone, irrespective of where in this big wide world you’re cooking my recipes, I test them repeatedly, just to make sure.
However, even with repeated testing, I still don’t usually make a recipe a dozen times. The reason I did so in this case is because my taste testers couldn’t agree which version they like better, so I kept making them again and again….
Me, by text: “Are you sure you prefer the New York style one?? Because Carolyn and her kids definitely prefer the creamier baked one. 1000%.”
“Ada prefers the fluffier one! She is absolutely dead set on it.”
“Mum! Can you drop by tomorrow to do some taste testing?? I need you to tell me which cheesecake you prefer!”
“OK, I’m bringing both baked ones down to the park tomorrow. I need final decisions today!”
This could have gone on for a while, but luckily, my friend Ada came up with a very sensible suggestion:
“Why don’t you just share all the recipes? Let people choose?”
Duh. ? So that’s what I’m doing.
Here is a close up at each of the 3 different Blueberry Cheesecake Bars I’m sharing today.
1. CLASSIC Baked Blueberry Cheesecake Bars – light yet creamy, with soft blueberries in the filling. These are baked and they hold their shape at room temperature so you can even eat it with your hands. This Cheesecake is a classic baked cheesecake filling, adapted from my Classic Baked Cheesecake. It is similar to the New York and Japanese cheesecakes. Optional to use blueberry topping instead of having blueberries in the filling.
2. CREAMIER Baked Blueberry Cheesecake Bars – The filling for this is creamier than the Classic version, but definitely not dense. These are also baked so they hold their shape at room temperature but the filling does soften faster than the Classic ones. So they can be eaten with your hands but there is a medium risk of mess. 🙂
3. NO BAKE Blueberry Cheesecake Bars – The easiest and fastest of the 3, this is creamy and rich but not dense because the cream cheese is lightened up with cream. It is richer than the two baked versions. This is made without gelatine which means it needs to be served cold / cool otherwise it softens. This cannot be eaten with your hands.
I made this one with a blueberry topping – you can just fold blueberries into the cheesecake if you prefer.
??????Australia! Blueberries are so crazy cheap at the moment, and I absolutely promise you, Blueberry Cheesecake is a spectacular way to use them!!! Creamy cheesecake with soft bursts of blueberry on a buttery biscuit base….just pure heaven.❤️ – Nagi x
PS All the recipes below have the choice of using a blueberry sauce topping or having blueberry in the cheesecake filling. The blueberry sauce on top looks spectacular and definitely adds an extra element of “wow” to the cheesecake, but the bars are very messy if eaten with your hands!
- 18 Arnott's Marie crackers (150g) or 16 Graham cracker squares (8 full sheets) (Note 1)
- 100 g / 3.5 oz unsalted butter , melted
- 2 tbsp sugar
- 320 g / 12 oz Philadelphia cream cheese , softened
- 1 tbsp plain flour
- 1/3 cup sour cream
- 1 cup / 220 g white sugar , superfine or caster is best
- 1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
- Zest of 1 lemon
- 2 eggs , at room temperature
- 250 g / 8 oz (~1 3/4 cups) blueberries (2 Aust punnets)
- Icing sugar / confection sugar , for dusting (optional)
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Preheat oven to 160C/320F (all oven types).
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Spray a 20cm/9" square tin with oil and line with baking/parchment paper with overhang (so it can be lifted out once cooked).
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Place biscuits in a food processor and blitz until fine crumbs form. Add butter and sugar and blitz to combine - it should look like wet sand. (Note 1)
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Pour into tin and use something with a flat bottom to press into base.
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Beat cream cheese until smooth, not fluffy. Add flour and beat until just combined.
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Add sour cream, sugar, vanilla and lemon. Beat until combined. Add eggs, one and a time, beating in between until just combined.
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Fold in most of the blueberries - reserve some for topping. Pour into tin and smooth surface. Top with remaining blueberries.
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Bake for 35 minutes (fan forced / convection) or 40 minutes (standard), or until cheesecake is set but the middle wobbles a bit like jelly - see video. The surface should not be browned, there will probably be some minor cracks.
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Cool in tin, then refrigerate (covered) for at least 4 hours. Use paper overhang to lift out, dust with icing sugar if desired. Cut into squares or bars. Serve!
1. This recipe requires 1 1/4 cups of biscuit crumbs, and you can substitute with any plain sweet biscuit.
This step can also be done by placing the biscuits in a ziplock bag and bashing with a rolling pin - very satisfying! Then pour into bowl to mix in butter.
2. You don't need to use an electric beater for this recipe because you don't want the Filling to become really fluffy, like in my Classic Baked Cheesecake. If it's too fluffy, the surface is more prone to cracking (because of the blueberries poking out!).
So you can make this with just a wooden spoon and/or whisk. And a bit of muscle!
3. Optional to make a gorgeous glistening blueberry sauce for the top instead of folding blueberries in. Refer to the No Bake recipe for directions.
4. This is adapted from my Classic Baked Cheesecake recipe.
5. The surface will crack slightly - not massive craters, small cracks, especially around the blueberries which is why I dust with sugar. To avoid cracks, don't put any blueberries on the surface - but I like the look of blueberries on the surface.
- 18 Arnott's Marie crackers (150g) or 16 Graham cracker squares (8 full sheets) (Note 1)
- 100 g / 3.5 oz unsalted butter , melted
- 2 tbsp sugar
- 500 g / 16 oz cream cheese , at room temperature
- 2 eggs , at room temperature
- 1 tbsp lemon zest
- 2 tbsp lemon juice
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 3/4 cup white sugar (165g)
- 1 1/2 -2 cups fresh blueberries
- Icing sugar / powdered sugar , for dusting
-
Preheat oven to 160C/320F (all oven types).
-
Spray a 20cm/9" square tin with oil and line with baking/parchment paper with overhang (so it can be lifted out once cooked).
-
Place biscuits in a food processor and blitz until fine crumbs form. Add butter and sugar and blitz to combine - it should look like wet sand. (Note 1)
-
Pour into tin and use something with a flat bottom to press into base.
-
Place Filing ingredients in a bowl and beat until smooth, but not aerated.
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Fold in most of the blueberries - reserve some for topping. Pour into tin and smooth surface. Top with remaining blueberries.
-
Bake for 35 minutes (fan forced / convection) or 40 minutes (standard), or until cheesecake is set but the middle wobbles a bit like jelly - see video. The surface should not be browned, there will be some minor cracks, especially around the blueberries.
-
Cool in tin, then refrigerate (covered) for at least 4 hours. Use paper overhang to lift out, dust with icing sugar if desired. Cut into squares or bars. Serve!
1. This recipe requires 1 1/4 cups of biscuit crumbs, and you can substitute with any plain sweet biscuit.
This step can also be done by placing the biscuits in a ziplock bag and bashing with a rolling pin - very satisfying! Then pour into bowl to mix in butter.
2. Slightly adapted from this recipe by Tyler Florence.
3. Optional to make a gorgeous glistening blueberry sauce for the top instead of folding blueberries in. Refer to the No Bake recipe for directions.
4. The surface will crack slightly - not massive craters, small cracks, especially around the blueberries which is why I dust with sugar. To avoid cracks, don't put any blueberries on the surface - but I like the look of blueberries on the surface.
- 18 Arnott's Marie crackers (150g) or 16 Graham cracker squares (8 full sheets) (Note 1)
- 100 g / 3.5 oz unsalted butter , melted
- 2 tbsp sugar
- 500 g / 32 oz cream cheese
- 1 cup icing sugar / powdered sugar (confectionary sugar)
- 2 cups thickened cream / heavy cream
- 1 tbsp lemon zest
- 1 1/2 tsp vanilla extra
- 21/2 cups blueberries (fresh or frozen) (250g/8oz)
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 1 tbsp cornflour / cornstarch
- 1 tbsp lemon juice
- 1 tbsp butter
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Spray a 20cm/9" square tin with oil and line with baking/parchment paper with overhang (so it can be lifted out once cooked).
-
Place biscuits in a food processor and blitz until fine crumbs form. Add butter and sugar and blitz to combine - it should look like wet sand. (Note 1)
-
Pour into tin and use something with a flat bottom to press into base.
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Beat cream cheese and sugar in a bowl until smooth (I use a stand mixer, can use handheld beater). Add remaining ingredients and beat for 2 minutes or until smooth and fluffy.
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Pour Filling into pan, smooth top. Refrigerate for 4 hours. Top with Sauce. Refrigerate for 2 hours.
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Cut into bars and serve!
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Place 1 cup blueberries plus remaining ingredients in a saucepan over medium heat. Bring to simmer and cook, stirring, until some of the blueberries have burst and the sauce is thickened to a honey consistency - about 5 minutes. Stir through remaining blueberries, cook for 1 minute to soften slightly.
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Remove from stove. COOL for 30 minutes before pouring over cheesecake, then refrigerate immediately. It will go jammy so it doesn't drip everywhere when you cut it.
1. This recipe requires 1 1/4 cups of biscuit crumbs, and you can substitute with any plain sweet biscuit.
This step can also be done by placing the biscuits in a ziplock bag and bashing with a rolling pin - very satisfying! Then pour into bowl to mix in butter.
2. This no-bake cheesecake is made without gelatine which means it needs to be served cold / cool otherwise it will start to soften - bordering on melting. So it cannot be left out on hot days.
For a cheesecake to hold it's shape at room temperature, it needs to either be made with gelatine or baked. Refer to the above two options for baked versions of this recipe!
3. Optional to just fold blueberries through the cheesecake instead of making the topping. Using 2 cups of blueberries.
No nutrition today. Because….well, you know. Three recipes. Three!!!
WATCH HOW TO MAKE IT
This video is for the baked cheesecakes which are similar, just slightly different quantities for the Filling.
?Don’t miss the sight of Dozer desperate for a taste test at the end….
LIFE OF DOZER
QUIZ Dozer is sleeping:
a) on his bed
b) on the sun lounge
c) on the couch (covered with a sheet) because I had a moment of weakness.
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“…my taste testers couldn’t agree which version they like better, so I kept making them again and again…” Hehehe, that line made me laugh! 🙂 Thanks for sharing not 1 but 3 recipes of blueberry cheesecake bars! I would love to try the classic version. 🙂
Measuring all the ingredients by weight will solve the problems associated with different cup sizes. And even if we are both using US cups , your 1 cup of, let’s say, sugar might not still be the same with my 1 cup because the size of sugar granules vary by brand/country.
P.S. I just used your pork chop marinade recipe for tonight’s dinner and it was soooo good! Your recipes work, as always!
Baking is a nightmare when it comes to different countries! I can’t believe they are so different. Did you know Japanese cups are about 3/4 of the ones in Australia?? It’s crazy!!!
Really?! That’s something new to learn today! 🙂