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Tessa’s Recipe Rundown
Taste: Buttery graham cracker crust, with tart, sweet, refreshing lemon and raspberry flavors.
Texture: The crust is crisp while the cheesecake is creamy and luscious. Texture heaven!
Ease: So much quicker & easier than a traditional full cheesecake.
Why you’ll love this recipe: It’s absolutely beautiful but totally achievable in any kitchen, promise.
Raspberry Lemonade Cheesecake Bars are the edible embodiment of a summer day.
The buttery, crisp graham cracker crust is the perfect base for the bright, creamy lemon cheesecake that’s swirled with homemade sweet, tart raspberry puree.
These bars are as beautiful as they are delicious! In fact, I even made this photo my new phone background for the summer season:
I made this for Father’s Day and it was a hit all around. No water bath needed and it came out silky smooth. I also love the raspberry swirl look. It literally looks like something out an art book.
I have included lots of tips and tricks to ensure perfect cheesecake bars below, so you’ll be sure to nail this recipe.
Perfect for spring or summertime gatherings, these Raspberry Lemonade Cheesecake Bars will be the prettiest dessert on any table. I promise you’ll want to make these for every summer BBQ, potluck, and block party.
Sprinkle of Science
- Use blocks of full-fat, high-quality cream cheese.
- Do not use reduced-fat cream cheese, or your cheesecake bars may be watery or rubbery.
- Opt for the best brand possible, as some generic brands have a high water content.
- Don’t use whipped cream cheese or cream cheese meant for spreading on a bagel.
Use a light-colored 8 by 8-inch metal baking pan for these cheesecake bars, lined with parchment paper or foil, for best results. This is my favorite pan for any bar dessert recipe. If you only have a glass or ceramic pan, your cheesecake bars will likely take longer to bake.
Learn more about Glass vs. Metal Baking Pans here.
Tessa’s Tips for Smooth Cheesecake
- Be sure your cream cheese is COMPLETELY softened to room temperature.
- Make sure your eggs are also at room temperature.
- Beat the cream cheese very well, and beat well again once the sugar is added, ensuring no lumps remain.
- Once the eggs have been added, only beat until just combined to prevent your cheesecake bars from sinking or cracking.
- Be sure to scrape down the sides and bottom of your bowl and paddle attachment often to prevent lumps or unincorporated ingredients.
How to Puree Raspberries
I recommend using a blender, food processor, or immersion blender to puree your fresh raspberries. Take the time to push the puree through the fine mesh strainer very thoroughly, also scraping the underside of the strainer, for maximum raspberry flavor. If you lose too much of the raspberry puree, your bars won’t look as pretty and they won’t be as flavorful.
Can I Double This Recipe?
Yes! To make 32 cheesecake bars, double all ingredients and bake in a metal 9 by 13-inch baking pan, adding about 5-10 minutes to the bake time.
Storage & Make ahead
Fridge: Keep Raspberry Lemonade Cheesecake Bars inside an airtight container in the fridge for 2 days. The longer the bars sit, the softer the crust will become.
Freezer: Store the bars inside an airtight container in the freezer for up to 2 months. Defrost overnight in the fridge or on the counter for an hour or so before serving.
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Ingredients
For the crust:
- 9 whole (138 grams) graham crackers
- 6 tablespoons (85 grams) unsalted butter, melted
For the raspberry swirl:
- 6 ounces (170 grams) raspberries, fresh or thawed frozen
- 2 tablespoons (25 grams) granulated sugar
For the cheesecake:
- 16 ounces (454 grams) full-fat cream cheese, completely softened to room temperature
- 3/4 cup (150 grams) granulated sugar
- 1 tablespoon finely grated lemon zest, from about 2 large lemons
- 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
- 3 large eggs, at room temperature
- 1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt
Instructions
Make the crust:
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line an 8 by 8-inch light-colored metal baking pan with foil or parchment, leaving an overhang.
- In the bowl of a food processor, pulse the graham crackers until finely ground. You should have about 1 cup crumbs.
- Add the melted butter and pulse until moistened. Press the mixture firmly into the bottom of the prepared pan. Bake for about 10 minutes, or until lightly golden brown and fragrant. Let cool.
- Reduce oven temperature to 325°F.
Make the raspberry puree:
- In a food processor or blender, puree the raspberries until smooth. Use a spatula to press through a fine mesh strainer, discarding any seeds and pulp that remain. Scrape the underside of the strainer to get the maximum amount of puree. Stir in the sugar. Puree will have a thin consistency. Set aside.
Make the cheesecake:
- In a large bowl, use an electric mixer on medium-high speed to beat the cream cheese until completely smooth and creamy, for at least 1 minute. Add in the sugar and beat until totally combined, scraping down the sides and bottom of the bowl as needed. On medium-low speed, beat in the lemon zest, lemon juice, eggs, and salt until just combined.
- Spread the mixture over the crust. Tap the cheesecake against the counter a few times to release any air bubbles.
- Dollop the batter with spoonfuls of the raspberry puree. Use a knife or skewer to make swirls.
- Bake for 35-40 minutes, or until just set at the edges but ever so slightly jiggly in the middle, before turning off the oven and cracking open the oven door for 10 minutes. Remove from oven to a wire rack to cool completely.
- Cover with foil and refrigerate for at least 4 hours or overnight. The cheesecake can be stored in the fridge for up to 2 days.
- Before serving, use the foil or parchment to remove the cheesecake from the pan and onto a work surface. Cut into 16 squares. Serve chilled.
This was super easy and absolutely yummy! Cream cheese, lemon and raspberry. What could be better!!!
Delicious !!need I say more. Everyone loved it. Thank you
These are quite good. I doubled the recipe last night to make for my Christmas platters & they really turned out beautiful, the lemon compliments the raspberry very well. Thank you for sharing 🙂
First time ever making anything cheesecake and it was easy and turned out good. Thinking next time of swirling lemon curd in instead of raspberry to make it lemon-lemonade cheesecake.
i made them in cupcake holders turned out great i melted raspberry jam strained it, and used it for the swirl put one raspberry on top of each one
Perfect, I’m happy to hear they turned out beautifully!
could i make this in individual muffin holders and freeze them if so how long to cook
I haven’t tried that, so I can’t say for sure!
These cheesecake bars are absolutely divine !! They were the first type of cheesecake I had ever tried to bake and I’m so glad I chose them because they are the reason I love baking cheesecake !!! One question I have is if how would I turn these bars into a cake . How would the ingredient amounts change ?
I don’t know whether my advice is still relevant since you asked this question 3 years ago. However, someone else might also ask this question:)
I don’t own an 8×8 inch pan, so I decided to try it in my 12 cm in radius cake pan. After I did some math converting inches to cm and calculating the area of both of the pans, I added additional circa 50 g of graham crackers and a little bit more butter. I accidentaly used a little bit more cream cheese aswell. So to conclude, it turned out pretty well and I think you can absolutely bake a cake with some slight alterations. I would reccommend changing the amount of ingredients based on how big your cake pan is.
So delicious and looked amazing. The only thing is that there wasn’t enough crust for my pan so I had to double the amount. Tasted delicious!
If I were to use this recipe in a cupcake pan is there anything I would have to change?
I don’t love cheesecake but this is pretty delicious. The raspberry and lemon make it a refreshing summer treat!
Cheesecake is one of my favorite desserts. Awesome flavor. This recipe isn’t a keeper.
This recipe is a keeper.
Made these for my niece’s grad/b-day party today and they were a huge hit! I’ll definitely make these again!