Blueberry Cheesecake Squares

These Blueberry Cheesecake Squares start with a crumbly graham cracker crust, followed by a delicious cream cheese layer with sweet and juicy blueberries peeping through that. Usually it ends right there but not in this case as this decadent dessert later on finishes with a crumbly streusel topping.

Although National Cheesecake Day was celebrated on 30th of July earlier this year, but that doesn’t mean we can’t enjoy a good slice of cheesecake now. Hey cheesecake lovers, this one is for you and for me.

I’ve been thinking of nothing but a blueberry cheesecake topped with buttery streusel for the past 3 weeks. I don’t know how I ended up with 500 g of cream cheese in the fridge. I believe an angel had miraculously dropped those two blocks of Philadelphia cheese. It would have been perfect if they had sent two punnets of blueberries along with the cheese but I guess it’s okay since blueberries are going at a steal at most supermarkets. When given an inch, one should never ask for a mile. #word

Hei guys, have you ever wondered as to why blueberries are called blueberries when it is not really blue to be precise? Why wasn’t it named purple berry instead? Or even indigo berry? Oh well, what’s in a name anyways! I just LOVE blueberries and they are, without a doubt, one of my favorite fruits to bake with.  If you too are a fan of blueberries, you should check out my other recipes with blueberries, such as

Non-Baked Cheesecake with Blueberry Topping

Blueberry Muffins

Apple and Blueberry Cake

Pancakes with Blueberry Filling and Cream Cheese

I was planning to do a baked dulce de leche cheesecake but somehow I could not stop thinking of blueberries in a cheesecake! I love the combination of cheese cream and berries. The tartness of the berries paired with the creamy rich cheesecake is “Yummy for the Tummy” indeed! Oh did I mention that these Cheesecake Bars have lemon in them? Only a hint of lemon though. The lemon zest and fresh lemon juice gave this cheesecake the yummy citrusy zip that it needed! If you don’t like lemon, feel free to leave out the lemon juice and lemon zest. But why would anyone not like the lemon? Like seriously WHY?

These cheesecake bars squares might look tedious at the first glance but it actually takes only about 30 minutes of preparations and another 50 minutes of baking. However you need to keep it in the fridge for a couple of hours so that you can cut it into neat squares.

I still have 3 squares of these left in my fridge. Time to grab one to celebrate the upcoming weekend. Happy times my dear friends, happy times.

5.0 from 2 reviews

Blueberry Cheesecake Squares

 

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Prep time

30 mins

Cook time

50 mins

Total time

1 hour 20 mins

 

Author: Maya Kitchenette

Serves: 16

Ingredients

For the crust

• 350 g Graham cracker
• 2 Tbsp brown sugar
• 80 g salted butter - melted

For the cream cheese layer

• 500 g cream cheese, softened
• ½ cup sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• Zest from 1 lemon
• Juice from ½ lemon
• 1 and ½ cups fresh blueberries, divided

For the streusel topping

• ½ cup packed light brown sugar
• ½ cup all purpose flour
• ¼ cup quick cooking oats
• 65g cold butter

Instructions

1. Pre-heat your oven to 350F degrees.

For the base:

1. Pulse the graham crackers in a food processor or blender until finely ground. You can also do this by hand.
2. Mix in sugar and stir in melted butter.
3. Line a 9 x 9 inch square pan with foil hanging over the sides so that you will be able to easily remove the cheesecake bars from the pan.
4. Press the crust mixture into the pan and press down firmly.
5. Bake for 10-12 and allow the crust to cool.

For the streusel topping:

1. In a medium bowl combine ½ cup packed light brown sugar with ½ cup all purpose flour and ¼ cup quick cooking oats.
2. Use two forks to cut the butter into the mixture till it resembles breadcrumb. Keep this mix in the fridge while you work on the cream cheese layer.

For the cream cheese layer:

1. With your mixer, beat the cream cheese with ½ cup sugar until smooth, about 2 minutes.
2. Add in eggs, one at a time followed by vanilla.
3. Mix in the lemon zest and lemon juice.
4. Fold in half of the blueberries.

To assemble:

1. Pour the cream cheese mixture on top of the crust and spread it out evenly.
2. Press the remaining blueberries on top. Sprinkle the streusel topping over the blueberries.
3. Bake for about 35-40 minutes, until the filling has set and just the center is still a bit jiggly.
4. Cool to room temperature for about an hour, then continue chilling in the fridge for about 4 hours.
5. Remove the cheesecake from the pan by lifting the foil out. Cut into pieces and serve.

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