Blackberry vanilla cheesecake bars; smooth creamy vanilla cheesecake swirled with tangy blackberry jam on a salted chocolate biscuit base.
Cheesecake is one of those desserts that’s never really bad. Much like pizza or ice cream, even when it’s not the best, it’s still not bad.
That said, I recently had a relatively disappointing cheesecake experience while out for dinner with friends. It hit that sweet spot that so many of us need after a meal, but just wasn’t what it could have been. It made me really want to make, and more importantly eat, a good slice of cheesecake instead.
So, out of selfish desire, as well as the constant wish to play around with new recipes, here are some blackberry vanilla cheesecake bars!
Smooth creamy ricotta cheesecake, fragranced with vanilla seeds. Swirls of sweet and tangy blackberry preserves, and even a juicy berry or two when the season arrives. Salted buttery cocoa biscuit base with little chips of chocolate scattered throughout. These bars harmoniously unite the refreshing and the rich.
All that, and they’re much less stress than a whole baked cheesecake!
These blackberry vanilla cheesecake bars are much more portable than a whole cheesecake, have less potential to crack while baking, and are easy to eat by hand or by fork. Enjoy them as a quick snack, or as a fancy dessert, it’s totally up to you.
They make a great in-between-seasons bake, using jam instead of fresh fruit. Offering something light and creamy but also bold and satisfying.
That said, if you do find yourself reading this in mid-to-late summer, these would be extra delicious with a couple of fat juicy blackberries baked in. Depending on what’s available near you, you could even customise these using blueberry or blackcurrant jam instead to achieve a similarly deep and tangy flavour.
Want to save these blackberry vanilla cheesecake bars for later? You can pin the image below!
To make these blackberry vanilla cheesecake bars, simply follow the recipe below:
Ingredients
For the salted chocolate biscuit base:
- 200g (7 oz) chocolate biscuits
- 90g (6 tbsp) salted butter
- Pinch of salt
For the blackberry vanilla cheesecake:
- 250g (9 oz) cream cheese
- 250g (9 oz) ricotta
- 125g (⅔ cup) caster sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 1 tbsp cornflour
- 2 tsp vanilla bean paste, or the seeds from 1 vanilla pod
- 3-4 tbsp good-quality blackberry jam
- Handful of fresh blackberries, optional (if it’s the season!)
Instructions
For the salted chocolate biscuit base:
- Preheat your oven – 160°C / 140°C fan / 325°F / gas mark 3.
- Grease and line a tin to bake the bars in, both 20 × 20cm (8 x 8 in) or 18 x 25 cm (7 x 10 in) should work well. Ideally, use a tin with a removable base/bottom!
- Using a small food processor, or a food-safe bag and rolling pin, bash and/or blitz your biscuits into fine crumbs.
- Gently melt your butter, either in a small pan on the stove or in small bursts in the microwave, until liquid.
- Add the melted butter to the biscuit crumbs, along with the salt, and stir to combine into what resembles wet sand.
- Tip the biscuit mixture into your prepared tin and use the back of a spoon to smooth and flatten it out into an even base layer for your cheesecake bars.
- Place the tin with the biscuit mixture into the preheated oven for 10-12 minutes, just to help set the mixture.
- Remove the tin from the oven, leaving it on and at the same temperature, and allow the biscuit base to cool slightly while you prepare the cheesecake itself.
For the blackberry vanilla cheesecake:
- In a large bowl, weigh out your cream cheese and ricotta.
- Beat well for around a minute with a whisk to incorporate together smoothly.
- Add all the remaining cheesecake ingredients, except the jam and blackberries (if using), into the bowl and whisk until completely smooth and combined.
- Pour the liquid cheesecake mixture on top of the biscuit base.
- Evenly dollop the jam over the cheesecake mixture, and use the end of a spoon or the tip of a knife to gently marble it through.
- Scatter over a few fresh blackberries (if using).
- Bake in the oven for a further 40-50 minutes. By this stage, the cheesecake should have just the slightest wobble in the middle when the tin is shaken.
- Once baked, turn off the oven and cool the cheesecake inside it with the door ajar until completely cool.
- When cooled, chill the cheesecake in the fridge for at least one hour.
- Once chilled and set, remove the block of cheesecake from its tin and slice it into equal bars, square or rectangular.
- Enjoy!
BE A MAVERICK: why not try using blueberry or blackcurrant jam instead?
These blackberry vanilla cheesecake bars will keep well in the fridge for up to 3 days, but are best enjoyed fresh!
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Mmm…. they look almost as delicious as you