Description
Thick vanilla cheesecake and tangy, glossy lemon curd make these bars the perfect spring dessert.
Ingredients
Units
Scale
For the crust:
- 1 cup graham cracker crumbs
- 2 TB light brown sugar, packed
- 1/8 tsp salt
- 3 1/2 TB unsalted butter, melted
For the cheesecake filling:
- Two 8 oz packages full fat cream cheese, room temperature
- 1/3 cup sour cream or crème fraiche, room temperature
- 2 TB all purpose flour
- 1/3 cup granulated sugar
- 1/8 tsp salt
- 2 large eggs, room temperature
- 1 TB vanilla bean paste, or vanilla extract
For the lemon curd:
- 6 egg yolks
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1/4 cup lemon zest (from 2-3 lemons)*
- 1/2 cup fresh lemon juice
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter, cold and cubed
Instructions
- Make the crust. Preheat the oven to 350F, and line a 9 inch square pan with parchment paper. If the parchment doesn’t cover the sides, use butter to grease them so that the cheesecake bars lift out better. Set the prepared pan aside.
- Combine the graham sheets, light brown sugar and salt in the bowl of a food processor and pulse until very finely ground. Try to get rid of any bigger chunks, or they won’t compact as easily in the pan. Stop the food processor and add the melted butter. Pulse again until completely moistened and combined.
- Press the crust mixture evenly into the bottom of the prepared pan, making sure to really press down over the entire square. Bake at 350F for 10 minutes and remove from the oven. Reduce the oven temperature to 325F. Allow the crust to cool while you make the cheesecake filling.
- Make the cheesecake filling and bake. Wipe out or wash the food processor bowl and blade. Add the cream cheese, sour cream/crème fraiche, flour, sugar and salt, and pulse until mostly blended and smooth, no longer than 10 seconds. Scrape down the bowl, and add one of the eggs. Pulse for another couple seconds until combined. Repeat with the second egg and vanilla, making sure that there are no lumps of plain cream cheese in the filling.
- Pour the filling into the crust, and bake at 325F for 25-30 minutes. When you pull the cheesecake from the oven, there should be only a slight jiggle in the center, and the edges should be set. Set the finished cheesecake aside while you make the lemon curd.
- To make the lemon curd, whisk the egg yolks, sugar and zest together in a medium saucepan until thick and pale. Add the lemon juice and whisk until smooth.
- Whisking constantly over medium/low heat, gently cook the lemon curd until it has thickened and the whisk leaves trails, about 10-15 minutes. Be sure to continuously scrape the sides and bottom of the saucepan as the curd cooks to prevent the eggs from scrambling. It’s normal to get a few tiny chunks of cooked egg, so don’t worry if you see them.
- Once the curd has thickened, it should be able to coat the back of a spoon and stay in place when you swipe your finger through it. Pass the thickened curd through a fine mesh sieve to remove the zest and any stray pieces of cooked egg.
- Add the cold chunks of butter to the strained curd, and whisk continuously until the butter has melted and blended in. The lemon curd should be thick and shiny. Immediately pour over the warm cheesecake bars and smooth into an even layer.
- Allow the finished bars to come to room temperature before refrigerating. Allow to chill for at least 6 hours, preferably overnight. Any leftovers can be refrigerated for up to 5 days.
Notes
*This measurement can vary. I just zest the lemons I use for the juice, which usually ends up being about 2-3 large lemons. Feel free to add as much zest as you prefer, since it gets strained out at the end.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 square
- Calories: 368
- Sugar: 25.9 g
- Sodium: 127.8 mg
- Fat: 17.5 g
- Saturated Fat: 9.7 g
- Trans Fat: 0 g
- Carbohydrates: 47.8 g
- Fiber: 1.3 g
- Protein: 5.7 g
- Cholesterol: 159.7 mg