The sun is staying up longer, birds are chirping and we can be outside without a huge winter coat. That only means one thing. Spring is right around the corner! What represents spring better than raspberry and lemon? Not much. That's why when I wanted to celebrate surviving another long winter, I decided to make these easy no-bake lemon raspberry cheesecake bars.
Prep your 8x8" or 9x9" square pan by lining it with aluminum or parchment paper. Spray the inside bottom and sides with cooking spray. Make sure there is excess hanging off the sides. Set aside.
In a medium bowl, combine the Oreos, sugar and melted butter and toss until it clumps together when pressed into hands. Should clump together like wet sand. Set aside.
Dump the crumbs into the bottom of the prepared pan and begin to press with your hands or the bottom of a measuring cup. Press until flat and even. Make sure you get the sides and corners. Refrigerate for about ten minutes.
In the bowl of a stand mixer, combine the the cream cheese and sour cream and mix for about 2-3 minutes on medium speed. Stop the mixer and scrape the bowl really well.
On the lowest speed setting, add in the sifted confectioners sugar all at once. Once the sugar is absorbed, bump up to medium speed and mix for about five minutes. Stop the mixer, add in the vanilla, lemon juice and zest and mix for about two minutes on medium speed.
In a separate bowl, whip up the heavy cream to medium to stiff peaks.
Take the bowl off the stand mixer and slowly pour in the whipped cream. Begin folding the cream into the cream cheese mixture.
Pat the whole raspberries very dry. Add in the whole raspberries and very gently fold in. Don't overdo it or the color of the batter will change drastically.
Pour the cheesecake batter into the prepared crust. Spread with an offset spatula until it's evenly spread and flat.
Pour the raspberry sauce over the top and swirl in for a swirl design or marbled designed. (I used my strawberry sauce recipe for the raspberries and subbed the strawberries for the raspberries. I added a couple of tablespoons of water and lemon juice to it. Strained the sauce through a sieve and let it cool.) Tap on the counter a few times to remove excess air bubbles. Obviously, be decisive of what design you want. I initially wanted a swirl, but then switched to a marble. Overdo it and you'll get muddled looks like the corners shown below.
Cover with aluminum foil and refrigerate or freeze overnight. It will be firmer and easier to cut if you freeze overnight and allow it to thaw for about 20 minutes. If you don't feel like that will be an issue for you, just refrigerate overnight. Use the overhanging aluminum foil or parchment to lift the bars out of the pan. Gently begin to peel down the parchment or foil down the sides. Use a blowtorch to heat a French knife and a clean rag to wipe the knife off in-between cuts. Cut in half, then cut that half in half. Repeat. If you don't have a blowtorch, fill a pitcher of boiling water and use that to heat the knife. Wipe the water off in-between cuts.
Serve immediately. Enjoy with some drizzled white chocolate on top (optionally) or enjoy as-is. Store excess bars in a covered container, in the fridge for up to a week or the freezer for up to a month.
See how I do it:
Prep your 8x8" or 9x9" square pan by lining it with aluminum or parchment paper. Spray the inside bottom and sides with cooking spray. Make sure there is excess hanging off the sides. Set aside. In a medium bowl, combine the Oreos, sugar and melted butter and toss until it clumps together when pressed into hands. It should clump together like wet sand. Dump the crumbs into the bottom of the prepared pan and begin to press with your hands or the bottom of a measuring cup. Press until flat and even. Make sure you get the sides and corners. Place pan in the fridge and refrigerate for about 10 minutes. In the bowl of a stand mixer, combine the the cream cheese and sour cream and mix for about 2-3 minutes on medium speed. Stop the mixer and scrape the bowl really well. On the lowest speed setting, add in the sifted confectioners sugar all at once. Once the sugar is absorbed, bump up to medium speed and mix for about five minutes. Stop the mixer, add in the vanilla, lemon juice and zest and mix for about two minutes on medium speed. In a separate bowl, whip up the heavy cream to medium to stiff peaks. Take the bowl off the stand mixer and slowly pour in the whipped cream. Begin folding the cream into the cream cheese mixture. Add in the whole raspberries and very gently fold in. Don't overdo it or the color of the batter will change drastically. Pour the cheesecake batter into the prepared crust. Spread with an offset spatula until it's evenly spread and flat. Drizzle the raspberry sauce over the top and swirl in for a swirl design or marbled designed. Tap on the counter a few times to remove excess air bubbles. Overdo it and you'll get a muddled design. Cover with aluminum foil and refrigerate or freeze overnight. It will be firmer and easier to cut if you freeze overnight and allow it to thaw for about 20 minutes. If you don't feel like that will be an issue for you, just refrigerate overnight. Use the overhanging aluminum foil or parchment to lift the bars out of the pan. Gently begin to peel down the parchment or foil down the sides. Use a blowtorch to heat a French knife and a clean rag to wipe the knife off in-between cuts. Cut in half, then cut that half in half. Repeat. If you don't have a blowtorch, fill a pitcher of boiling water and use that to heat the knife. Wipe the water off in-between cuts. Serve immediately. Enjoy with some drizzled white chocolate on top (optionally) or enjoy as-is. Store excess bars in a covered container, in the fridge for up to a week or the freezer for up to a month. You can substitute the Oreo crust with a vanilla cookie crust or graham cracker crust.
Ingredients
Instructions
Notes
