Strawberry Cheesecake Bar Recipe

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These delicious strawberry cheesecake bars are an absolute dream, as they combine all delicious things. With a buttery biscuit base, a crisp and golden crumble topping, and a smooth and creamy strawberry and vanilla baked cheesecake filling… what’s not to love?

These cheesecake bars are packed with juicy fresh strawberries, finished with a brown sugar crumble that just adds another level of perfection. They are ideal for summer gatherings, afternoon tea, a weekend treat, or just because you crave something lovely.

Notes from The Patisserie

The best part about these is that they are surprisingly easy to make. There is no fancy water bath or complicated techniques because I really did want them to be easy to achieve. These bars remind me of the frozen cheesecakes you could buy in a supermarket (they were my families favourite choice of pudding), but with the added topping.

I made a slightly smaller version compared to my chocolate cheesecake bar recipe as I know not everyone has a huge amount of people to feed, and 9 slices is a more realistic amount of servings.

Ingredient notes and tips

A golden crumble

The crumble topping is entirely optional for this, but it really does just level up the bars so much.

Butter – I personally would always recommend using a block butter for this, instead of a baking spread or margarine for a better crumble and better flavour.
Sugar – you can use any sugar really, but personally I love using light brown soft sugar because of the natural caramel flavour it brings to the bake
Flour – using a basic plain flour is important as you do not want any raising agent in the crumble

It may seem a little alien when you mix the ingredients together, but trust the process. It can set and cool slightly whilst you make the base and the filling, before ‘fluffing’ the crumble topping with a fork or your fingers, and crumbling all over the top of the cheesecake.

Making a buttery biscuit base

Every great cheesecake (apart from a basque cheesecake) starts with a biscuit base, which arguably is the best bit for some people. Digestives are a great choice for a biscuit because they have a lovely balanced flavoured, that always contrasts really well with any topping. I always recommend using the full-fat full-sugar regular digestives compared to a ‘light’ version.

Mixing blitzed biscuits with melted butter creates a wet sand texture that you can press down firmly into a lined 9″ square tin. I would always recommend getting the biscuits as finely ground as possible (too many large lumps will cause an unstable base) and mixing the butter through properly.

Because this is a baked cheesecake, unlike a no-bake one, I would recommend baking the base for 10 minutes – this helps prevent a soggy base to the bars.

A creamy cheesecake topping

A filling like this is really basic, partly because it’s a baked cheesecake (so differs to a no-bake cheesecake you may have seen on my blog before). It’s extremely easy to mix together, and contains standard ingredients.

Cheese – a good quality basic full-fat soft cream cheese is best. You can use supermarket own, or a brand such as Philadelphia. I would avoid using low-fat or fat free.
Sugar – I use caster sugar because it’s the added sweetness you need, but not too much flavour. You don’t want to cover the flavour of the strawberries
Eggs – I use two medium eggs, but you can also use two large eggs
Vanilla – I love using vanilla bean paste in a recipe like these because I want to see the flecks of vanilla, but you can use any vanilla extract. Personally I would avoid vanilla essence in general
Strawberries – When I have written and tested this recipe I have use fresh strawberries because they are so packed full of flavour. Frozen might work, but they will have a softer texture and add extra liquid to the cheesecake mix which might make it softer

Top tips and flavour changes

As simple as this recipe is, there are a few things that will just make the end result as good as possible.

When making the cheesecake mix, make sure to not over mix the mixture – you really just want to mix it until it’s combined and then stop. Baked cheesecake mix is naturally quite runny compared to a no-bake mix, so don’t be worried about that.

Using room temperature soft cream cheese can also make it easier to mix, but once the bars are baked you really want to chill the bars to make sure that the cheesecake sets properly and then it will be easier to slice.

You can swap the strawberries for other berries such as raspberries, blueberries or blackberries, or even a mix.
You could add in chocolate chips to the mix if you want to level it up a bit more
Flaked almonds sprinkled on top of the crust is another level of flavour that I adore
The zest of one lemon mixed through the cheesecake mix is also delicious

FAQs

My cheesecake mix is still wobbly?

The cheesecake mix will and should still wobble slightly when it’s coming out of the oven. It will firm up as the cheesecake mix sets and cools

Do I need to chill it overnight?

I would say the minimum chilling period is 3-4 hours to really allow the texture to be correct, but generally I just do overnight as I find it easier and the results consistent

Can I make the base chocolate flavoured?

Yes – I would add in 35g of a strong cocoa powder to the base

Can I use oreos on the base?

You can, but I would use less butter in the mix. You live the centres of a soft-centred mix in the biscuit, blitz to a fine crumb, and then mix in 2/3 of the butter (as these biscuits need less butter – same for chocolate coated biscuits)