Lemon Blackberry Cheesecake Bars

Posted on March 20, 2011

In case you didn’t know, Julie at Willow Bird Baking is hosting a cheesecake challenge.  This girl has made some unbelievable looking cheesecakes and has a hilarious video with some delicious results.  I don’t know how she came up with so many wonderful flavor combinations but I’m glad she did!

cheesecake 16

You all know I have mixed feelings about lemon, so I wouldn’t have normally chosen the Lemon Blueberry Cheesecake Squares with Shortbread Crust However, the husband requested it so why not?  Besides, it wouldn’t be much of a challenge if I used the same flavors I usually do.

lemon 2

I forgot to pick up blueberries yesterday, so I went with blackberries instead.  The texture adds a nice component to the creamy cheesecake and they are just a little tart when you bite into them.  It actually works very well with the lemon.

blackberries

And as for the lemon cheesecake?  I’ll give it to Julie, it is perfectly balanced.  I wasn’t overwhelmed by the flavor but it was extremely refreshing.  This would actually be a perfect dessert for a summer barbeque.

cheesecake 14

I used Julie’s recipe with the just a few changes:   white whole wheat flour in the crust, light cream cheese rather than regular, I added a teaspoon of vanilla to the batter and obviously blackberries instead of blueberries.

cheesecake 23

Start by making the crust; place flour and confectioners’ sugar in a food processor

flour and sugar for crust

Add chilled butter and pulse

add butter

Allow the butter and dry ingredients to combine, but don’t over mix

crust 1

crust 2

Press crust into a pan lined with parchment paper

crust 3

Bake until lightly browned

crust 4

While crust is cooling, beat softened cream cheese on high speed until fluffy

cream cheese cream cheese 1

Add eggs, vanilla and lemon juice and combine

add eggs, vanilla, sugar

Then add your sugar

add sugarcheesecake batter

When batter is creamy, ,pour over crust

batter on crust

Top with berries

top with blackberries

Bake until cheesecake is firm

baked 1 baked 2

Chill in refrigerator for a couple of hours before serving

cheesecake 7

Are you participating in Julie’s cheesecake challenge?  If so, which one are you making? If not, which one would you like to eat?

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