By Erin Jeanne McDowell
- Total Time
- 1 hour 45 minutes, plus chilling
- Rating
- 4(833)
- Notes
- Read community notes
Great for picnics or potlucks, these portable cheesecake bars incorporate cooked berries directly into the custard, which means they take on a rosy hue. You can even add a few drops of red food coloring if you want to make up for out-of-season berries, which are less vibrantly colored, or if you just want a livelier result. Feel free to use frozen berries in place of fresh, though you’ll need to thaw them fully before beginning the process.
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Ingredients
Yield:One 9-by-13-inch pan (about 15 bars)
- Nonstick cooking spray
- 10 ½ounces/300 grams shortbread cookies
- ½teaspoon fine sea salt
- 4tablespoons/55 grams unsalted butter (½ stick), melted
- 1½pounds strawberries, hulled and halved (about 4 cups)
- 1½cups/300 grams granulated sugar
- 3(8-ounce) packages/680 grams cream cheese, at room temperature
- 5large eggs, at room temperature
- 1tablespoon vanilla extract
- Red food coloring, as needed
- 1¼cups/300 milliliters heavy cream
- ½cup/60 grams confectioners’ sugar
- ¾pound strawberries, hulled and thinly sliced (about 2 cups)
For the Crust
For the Filling
For the Topping
Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving (15 servings)
513 calories; 35 grams fat; 18 grams saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 10 grams monounsaturated fat; 4 grams polyunsaturated fat; 44 grams carbohydrates; 1 gram dietary fiber; 33 grams sugars; 7 grams protein; 347 milligrams sodium
Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
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Preparation
Step
1
Heat the oven to 350 degrees and grease a 9-by-13-inch pan with nonstick cooking spray.
Step
2
Make the crust: In a food processor, pulse the cookies until they form fine crumbs (you should have about 2½ cups). Add the salt and pulse briefly to combine, then add the melted butter and pulse until uniformly incorporated. Press the crust into an even layer on the bottom of the prepared pan and wipe out the bowl of the food processor. Transfer the pan to the oven and bake until the crust has browned slightly and appears set, 10 to 12 minutes. Cool completely. Reduce oven temperature to 325 degrees.
Step
3
Make the filling: In a medium pot, toss the strawberries with ¼ cup/50 grams granulated sugar. Cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until the strawberries begin to soften and the mixture becomes juicy, 4 to 8 minutes, depending on the firmness of the berries. Cool for 15 minutes.
Step
4
Transfer the strawberries and their juices to the food processor and purée until smooth, about 1 minute. Transfer the berry purée to a large bowl and set aside. Add the remaining 1¼ cups/250 grams granulated sugar and the cream cheese to the food processor bowl and blend until smooth. Add the eggs one at a time and pulse until incorporated, scraping down the sides of the food processor bowl as needed.
Step
5
Add the vanilla and pulse to combine. Scrape the custard into the berry purée and stir to combine. The batter should be a pale pink. If it’s not, add 3 to 5 drops red food coloring and mix to combine. Pour the cheesecake custard into the cooled crust.
Step
6
Bake the cheesecake until the edges appear set and the center still appears slightly jiggly, 45 to 50 minutes. Cool at room temperature for 45 minutes, then refrigerate until firm (at least 4 hours, and up to overnight).
Step
7
Make the topping: In an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, whip the cream and confectioners’ sugar to medium peaks, 3 to 4 minutes. Spread the whipped cream on the chilled cheesecake in an even layer. Arrange the sliced strawberries on top. (Arranging them in stripes makes it a bit easier to cut rows out of the bars later.) Use a sharp knife to release the edges of the cheesecake from the pan. Slice into 15 even pieces, wiping the knife clean between cuts for the clean, sharp edges.
Ratings
4
out of 5
833
user ratings
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Cooking Notes
Amy
This was good, but not *amazing*. I didn't use food coloring; while my batter was magenta going into the oven, it came out a sad purple-brown. If you want bright pink-red, I'd try the food coloring. I used gluten-free pecan shortbread cookies in the crust, and it formed a lacquer that had to be pried up with a knife; delicious, but not pretty or practical. The top was beautiful, because I followed the tips to arrange the strawberry slices in rows and wipe the knife in between, which I recommend.
Susan Lietz
Flagging the FOUR hr chill time. Realized that way too late for my plans. :(
Patty from Saint Paul
These turned out great and I had some concerns after reading others' comments. If you are experienced with making cheesecake, the strawberry puree will make the cream cheese filling runny. So....cook the filling longer than the recipe recommends. For me it was 20-30 minutes longer. It's unpleasant to make these on a hot July day, but, the dessert is very tasty and my tastebuds are thanking me.
Debbie Leonard
I was disappointed with this. The color turned out to be more mauve than pink. I also didn’t care for the texture; it was a little gooey. It tasted ok but wasn’t very attractive. For the time and ingredients this required, it wasn’t worth it. I won’t make it again.
Lucy
*Cautionary tale*Do not, I repeat DO NOT, think you can substitute dairy free ingredients and get the same result. It was an insult to strawberries everywhere.
Maxine
Went fantastically! Used Kirkland non stick spray on the bottom. Berries were adequately ripe-red all over but about 5 or so were overripe and 5 were under. Baked for 45 minutes, not sure if my oven was hot enough or needed longer time but the middle is slightly runny. Consistency is perfect other than that. 100% would recommend and will bake again with adjusted bake time.
MR
This is delicious. I followed the recipe exactly as written and everyone loved it.
Jean
I had a big load of raspberries from my neighbor’s place, so I tried substituting - hugely successful! Because raspberries are so soft, I didn’t cook them, just mashed them up instead. Also I didn’t have shortbread cookies, so just made my own shortbread crust from scratch. Every person who tried it wanted the recipe!
Sonia Cooks
Here are some changes I implemented.Cook the strawberries with the sugar I’ve medium heat until they are soft, not just juicy. This takes about 15 min, not 5. Stir every few minutes. Let the mixture cool for 10 min and then add about 1 tablespoon of fresh lemon juice. You can even add 1 tsp of lemon rind to the mixture. Add food coloring directly to strawberries, then stir. Purée in blender. Then add to cream cheese mixture. Really lovely and fresh dessert!
Mo
Made these as instructed, though didn't have a metal pan so used a glass pan (slower to heat but keeps heat for longer). Baked for just 10 min longer since my oven runs cooler. Turned out amazing and looks just like in the pics above (didn't need food coloring). Hubby and child loved it. Have Erin's Fearless Baker book and LOVE it.
Jackie
Used table salt for the crust. Too prominent. Maybe the fine salt would have been right, but omitting the salt entirely next time.
diana
tried this recipe for a party everyone loved it, I would recommend using more than a day to make this recipe or you will end up staying up late to wait for it to chill
ML
Why not just make shortbread crust? Its basically three ingredients (butter, sugar and flour).
Mel H.
Like other have commented, cook time took longer than what is stated in the recipe. Also filling is reminiscent of the Philadelphia strawberry cream cheese containers - so maybe a bit overly sweet. I would make this again but would make some adjustments to temper the sweetness.
annie’s note
Way more difficult than it looks. It took all day and was a total flop. I overcooked the cheesecake (favor and color was great - I didn’t need to add food coloring) and the crust was ground too much - that it started to clump even before adding butter. *If* I try this again, would split this into a 2-day project so I don’t stress myself out like I did this time.
Megsn
I was worried after other reviews, but I pretty much followed the recipe and it came out great!! Changes: graham cracker crust instead of shortbread. No issues. Cooked the berries longer then directed per other reviews. I don’t have a food processor so I puréed the berries in my blender and did the rest in my stand mixer, easy. Bake time for me was 50 minutes- maybe just shy of that. Cooling time is real- this recipe does take a long time to put together. Everyone enjoyed them!!
Maya
I made this with blackberries. I used gluten free shortbread cookies which weighed a little less so added some almond meal to the crust. After reading other notes I added some tapioca when cooking the blackberries and used 1 cup of sugar instead of 1/4 cup and cooking them for more like 25 minutes. Turned out perfectly and very delicious.
Jenny
These were awesome! I liked the color (mauvey-pink), as it was natural. I didn't use red food dye. Crust was excellent. Very good strawberry flavor and texture of cheesecake.
Bollij
Delicious! Purple but I think you get the idea.
Lisa
The color was mauvy brown which was not very appealing. I cooked 50 minutes as directed. The outer edges were firm and the center was jiggly; however, the middle never really firmed up. The flavor was fine, but I won’t make this again.
How to Make a Homemade Cake Flour Substitute (I looked it up)
What temp does the cheesecake bake at?
olivias late bight notes
Very tasty but does need more oven time. I think I cooked mine for about 55 minutes, but when I pulled it out the day after and cut it the middle piece was very soft. I agree with others that this is not really a cheesecake texture. However it is delicious! I put the leftovers in the freezer, which actually helped give it a firmer texture.
OJohnson
Was a little concerned after reading all the comments that this wasn’t going to turn out but it was wonderful and a huge hit. I used a suggestion from one of the other cooks and let the berries simmer for 15 minutes and truly let them get soft, added a tablespoon of lemon juice and the food coloring to the berries after they cooled. I had a perfectly pink cheesecake! I also had to let it cook for about 55 minutes but was perfectly set in the middle after chilling in the fridge.
JW
It tasted kind of like fruit loop cereal milk, not particularly bright or fruity like I had hoped. While i like the idea of making bars, I will be trying a different strawberry cheesecake recipe next time.
Elana
It turned out just okay. Another person said the crust was a bit too salty and I agree. I feel like the whipped topping doesn’t quite balance the “cheesecake” portion as well as it should. Overall it was a lot of work for just an okay dessert. It did look yummy, though.
DG
Big hit! Came out exactly pictured. Perfect summer desert!
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