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Studded Blueberry Cheesecake Bars




The first time I knew about Elinor Klivans was through Martha Stewart. Being an avid Martha fanatic, I see to it everyday after work I get the chance to see her program. Several months ago, Klivans book called Cupcakes! got a special mention because of this Hi Hat Cupcake. Doesn't it look gorgeous or what! Every since then, I have most of her books. I find her recipes easy to do and yet the presentation and the taste is quite impressive. But this post isn't about that gorgeous creation, but regarding her scrumptious Blueberry Cheesecake Bars. I've been making cheesecakes for many years now but this is the first time that I made it using a 9x13 pan, this means this is great feeding a huge crowd. One thing I learned in my many years of cheesecake making is that always, ALWAYS make sure that everything is at room temperature so that everything will get incorporated properly. My family  had a misfortune of eating a not so well mixed cheesecake. It taste a bit off. They were kind enough to say that it's good but  then lucky my sis C told me that it was a bit off and she was right. After that incident I always take a nibble on anything I make so that I'm sure to be serving something edible.
Armed with my favorite silicone spatula and Cookies, Brownies and Bars, off to the kitchen I went. With my ingredients at room temp. everything got mixed up quite splendidly. The only messy part in this whole scenario was pressing it the crushed grahams/butter mixture to my parchment lined pan. Messy but very tasty and smells heavenly when being baked. With my cheesecake batter smoothly mixed, I see to it that when I pour it on to the crust, I always use a fine mesh strainer to be sure that there would be no lumps. Another unique thing about this is the batter itself is studded with blueberries! Looks absolutely great if only I had a bigger blueberries. What I had handy was those small Maine blueberries, I found them too small though. Next time, I'll be sure to use a bigger blueberry variety. When it's fresh out of the oven, hold your forks, please! I needs to cool and refrigerate for 4 hours or better yet over night to ripen the flavor. While waiting for it to cool, I was torn between whether or not a topping will be too much. In the end, I threw caution to the wind and take it over the top, I added a layer of blueberry topping. Yum! I know fresh blueberry topping would have been better, I'll do that once blueberries are not so darn scarce and expensive here. But for now the canned blueberry topping will do.

 BLUEBERRY STUDDED CHEESECAKE BARS
Adapted from Cookies, Brownies and Bars by Elinor Klivans

 Crust:

  • 2 cups crushed graham crackers
  • 6 T melted unsalted butter
  1. Preheat the oven to 325F. Butter and line a 9x13 baking pan.
  2. Combine graham cracker crumbs and butter until all crumbs are moistened. Evenly distribute the crumbs all over the pan and press tightly and make an even crust layer. Bake for 6-8 minutes. Set pan on wire rack to cool.
Fillling:

  • 10 ounces cream cheese, room temperature
  • 1/4 cup granulated sugar
  • 1 large egg, room temperature
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1/2 - 3/4 cup frozen or fresh blueberries
  1. Using an electric mixer, beat cream cheese and sugar until smooth. Add egg and vanilla extract beating until blended. Pour into baked crust. With the blueberries washed and drained. Scatter them evenly on top of the filling. they will sink as it bakes so no worries that they are left exposed.
  2. Bake for 30-35 minutes until set. Transfer to wire rack.
  3. When the cheesecake is at room temp., transfer to the fridge and refrigerate it for 4 hours or better yet overnight.
  4. When ready to serve, transfer to a serving platter and topped with your favorite blueberry topping either store bought or homemade.

nikcreate

I'm a nine to five pencil pusher who loves to play with flour and paper during my free time. Dreams of going to Europe and eat croissants and make pastries all day long!

6 comments:

  1. CarinE4:22 PM

    OMG, blueberries with cheesecake?! LOVED IT! and still, loving it!!!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Amy J Miller9:48 AM

    Can you please post the recipe? These look awesome!

    ReplyDelete
  3. nikcreate3:38 PM

    Hey Amy I just did

    ReplyDelete
  4. Unknown1:52 AM

    That looks great. My mom used to make blueberry cheesecake all the time.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Kim (Liv Life)8:18 AM

    Beautiful photos! Looks like a perfect way to end a meal. Nicely done!

    ReplyDelete
  6. Sophia4:10 AM

    I've seen so many recipes lately for carrot cake! So far, I think yours must be the best! The other one I really like is this Pure Pumpkin Cheesecake. What do you think? Happy Baking!

    ReplyDelete