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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Hi Nagi
I LOVE Your blogs, keep ’em coming! About the cheese cake bars, can they be made as a traditional cheese cake?
Regards Carol
It looks yummy.I hope that when i will try this its taste would be as yours cheese cake.
It will be just as great!!
Can these be frozen?
Hmm, I’m not Joa, sorry! 🙂 N x
Best cream cheese to use (Australia)?
PHILADELPHIA! No question 🙂
Hi Nagi!
I am excited to make these recipes!
Do you think they would work without the crust? Just curious – either way I am sure they are delectable!
Thanks for replying if you happen to see this late comment/question!
Karen
PS I heard somebody on a Korean drama talk about blueberry cheesecake and saw your recipe and have a serious craving now!:)
Hi Karen! They will hold together and be sliceable without a crust but not quite the same I’m afraid! The crust is SO GOOD! 🙂 N xx
Hi Nagi!
Whipped up your *Classic* cheesecake variation, with a pot of the blueberry sauce as topping – along with your recipe for “Fresh Strawberry Bars” – for Mother’s day. Brought these gems along for afternoon tea for my Mum and her Mum. These were very well received!
I had a minor panic attack, as I didn’t purchase enough cream cheese – only a 250g stick – as per your directions. I substituted for 100g of Brownes Vanilla yogurt and opted to reduce the caster sugar to 3/4 cup. Next time I’ll get it right, but these were great!
Tim from Perth 🙂
WHOOT! So pleased you enjoyed it even with the substitutions! PS I know it’s so annoying slightly more than 1 block is required. 🙄
I’m a little late to the party, but when it comes to blueberries and cheesecake, better late than never! My family went to a blueberry upick and picked 8 pounds of blueberries that were so delicious just to eat by themselves, but after putting them in the freezer they developed an odd flavor. Your recipe to the recue! I made the no bake twice now and yes, this is the way to salvage fresh picked and then frozen blueberries! Since I have like 4 pints still in the freezer I have plenty to try all 3 versions! Hooray for us! And your recipe.
I’m so pleased you tried this recipe!!! 🙌🏻 So pleased you enjoyed it! N xx
Hi Nagi
I have always bsked my Cheesecake base for 10 mins to firm it up and stop a soggy bottom! Does this remain crisp (if, left for a couple of days in the fridge?) Unlikely I know but interested to know.
Missy
Hi Kaye! My cheesecake base is definitely not soggy but it isn’t dry and crisp. I must admit I’ve never had a crispy base, not even at restaurants. But I promise the base is not soggy!
Hi Nagi, I would love to try one of these recipes. What can I use instead of Graham’s crackers? I’m in Europe and never even heard of them. Thanks!
Hi Nina! I have a note in the recipe that you can use any plain sweet crackers 🙂 Hope you love them! I am obsessed with these!! N xx
Thanks Nagi, the word ‘crackers’ threw me as we only have savory crackers here. I made the “Creamier Blueberry Cheesecake Bars (Baked)” last night for dinner but then after I read it had to be refrigerated for 4 hours I had a very disappointed family looking longingly at dessert and not being allowed to eat any! So we were all dying for cheese cake today and the smell of it had been wafting tantalizingly from the fridge every time we opened the fridge door. What can I say – it did not disappoint! The blueberries on top of the cheesecake look very pretty and the whole thing tastes amazing. We all loved the lemony flavor and the texture of the filling and the base was perfect. Thank you for the recipe!
Ohhhh….I just had a vision of your entire family gazing forlornly at the fridge!!! So glad everyone loved it when they FINALLY got to try it! N x
No bake cheesecake is AWESOME!
It ROCKS!!!! 😉 N x
I made the baked cheesecake bars and they were DIVINE! I watched the video after it was in the oven (because, hungry/impatient!) and noticed you may have added vanilla…but it’s not in the recipe… To be honest, I didn’t miss it in the final result but I guess I’m forced to make it again to compare 😉
YUM!
You made them??? LORI! You rock! Thank you so much for trying it and letting me know about the vanilla 🙂 N xx
Dozer and Nagi , I love the two of you well three (Mom ) ,recipes too, Just got Facebook ,wanted to see you on Facebook ,videos , sigh, all this love ,I better go cook some of your wonderful recipes Lily Gar
Awww you are so sweet Lily! I’m so glad you are enjoying our recipes! N xx
I’m drooling and totally embarrassed because I want to down all THREE of these recipes! Also, I just wanted to pop in and say you are awesome Nagi and I love you <3
Beeta! How ARE you! I see your beautiful photos on Instagram all the time, you are so amazing! N x
Love Chesee cake any shape Or form! For me Would be no 03, love Sauce! PS YOU know I have to Talk about Dozer…..if I was your Neighbour he Would be half a time in My place…..
Ba ha ha!!! I et you would spoil him so much, he won’t want to come home!
They all sound great, but I will have to go with the “NO BAKE BLUEBERRY CHEESECAKE BARS” ones. They look good, no doubt taste fantastic and they are no-bake after all!
I like the fact that they can be made with fresh or frozen berries. Over here we are in Autumn heading into Winter, so all my berries are in the freezer. I grow my own….. but the only ones that don’t grow well here are blueberries! I do have lots of other varieties to chose from, blacks, red and white currants, gooseberries, tiny wild mountain strawberries, black berries, raspberries even mulberries and sloes…… my only problem is deciding which to use!
Thanks as always for sharing.
You too?? So many readers are saying that! Boy, I am so glad I shared all 3, I honestly didn’t pick that the no bake would be the most popular!
Seriously? Three different kinds and you expect ME to choose? **sigh** Guess what we’ll be having over the next few weeks? These look amazing and simple to do which is greatly appreciated!
I do hope you try one of them Tara!!! N x
They all look so good I think I will probably have to make all three recipes !!
Dozer, I just want to give you a big cuddle.
Oh and I think answer C, my dog sleeps on the sofa all the time and sometimes on
the bed, oops did I type that out loud !!!
Ba ha ha!!! Dozer WANTS to crash on the bed, he gets in lots of trouble if a paw dares to touch the bed!!!
I love it that you gave us the three options, each of which looks good. But I just may have to try that no-bake version first!
Thanks Victoria! I honestly couldn’t decide!
PS I think the answer to the Dozer quiz is “C”…
*Snort* Of course!!!! 😉
Hi Nagi! What a deliciously ambitious post! I can’t decide which I like best which makes the answer ALL of them! I do like the sauce on top, that is usually the way I make cheesecake with either blueberry or strawberry sauce (my son’s two favorites). Did your graham crackers go into any of them or are you still hoarding them? 😉
You saw the evidence of the answer to this!!! 😉