Tessa’s Recipe Rundown
Taste: Like your favorite summer drink turned into cheesecake. Tangy, tart, sweet, and fresh.
Texture: The crust is thick, buttery, and crunchy to perfectly balance the smooth, creamy, and rich cheesecake.
Ease: Easier than a traditional cheesecake. The hardest part is waiting for the bars to chill in the fridge!
Appearance: How pretty are those vibrant raspberry swirls??
Pros: Fun, fresh, and flavorful dessert. I even used low-fat cream cheese to make this recipe a *little* more summer swimsuit friendly.
Cons: None, really. If you aren’t a fan of a little bit of tartness, you may want to add an extra few tablespoons of sugar.
Would I make this again? Sure!
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Do you guys ever get caught up in the “panic loop?” Where you know you need to do something like write a report for work, an essay for school, organize your finances, make an uncomfortable phone call, or some other less-than-stellar task.
Where you avoid said task by suddenly and obsessively looking at your app messages, looking at everyone’s perfect lives on Instagram, reading silly political rants on Facebook, checking your Pinterest feed, staring at your overflowing email inbox, checking Google Analytics (if you’re a blogger), then you just start all over again. Suddenly 30 minutes, even an hour has passed and you’ve accomplished nothing. It’s the worst!!
The internet is simultaneously such an awesome tool of production AND such a time-waster. How do you stay focused at the computer?
Hopefully this spring/summer we can all get away from the computer for a little bit to enjoy the warm weather and summer traditions. These Raspberry Lemonade Cheesecake Bars are the ultimate spring or summer dessert recipe. They’re as bright as they are flavorful with that balance of sweetness and tartness of your favorite summer drink. I think you’ll enjoy this recipe!
This cheesecake bar recipe is certainly a crowd pleaser with their beautiful bright raspberry colored swirls!
More cheesecake bar recipe
- Creme Brulee Cheesecake Bars
- Dulce de Leche Cheesecake Bars
- Brownie Bottom Cookie Dough Cheesecake Bars
Raspberry Lemonade Cheesecake Bars
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 15 squares. Serve chilled.
You know that episode of Friends where Chandler and Rachel can’t stop stealing and eating the cheesecake? Well this must have been the cheesecake they were eating because it is SO smooth and creamy with the perfect balance of flavors!
Hahaha!! Best review ever 🙂
This recipe is super easy and supremely delicious. It is creamy and luxurious. I’ve made it twice in two days!!!
Have you ever tried freezing them to serve for an event later?
It was so much fun making these raspberry lemonade cheesecake bars. The texture and the taste were superb with the added raspberry and lemon. You can’t go wrong with this recipe! Love, love, love!
These are AMAZING! I’ve made a handful of cheesecakes before and these are by the best cheesecakes I have ever made! The recipe is super simple to follow. The cheesecake is bursting with the perfect combination of lemon and raspberry flavor! I will be making these again in the near future for a picnic
I’ve made a few cheesecake recipes before I discovered Handle the Heat. There’s are AMAZING! It was super simple to make. It’s Burst with the perfect amount of lemon and raspberry flavor. The graham cracker crust is the perfect touch to the combination. This is a must try!
A fresh summer dessert! Not a fan of lemon taste in cheesecake but this just gives you the feeling of a lemonade by the poolside. Also very easy to make, not as tricky as an actual cheescake, but tastes just as good.
These are officially my new favorite cheesecakes bars for the summer. Raspberry and lemon are a perfect combo!
Extremely tasty cheesecake bars! The subtle lemon flavoring pairs well with sweet, ripe raspberries- perfect recipe for summertime (or anytime!)!!
a spectacular and refreshing cheesecake
I love raspberries and I think this recipe is perfect for summer, the bars taste delicious, I’m sure I’ll to this again
Raspberry Lemonade Cheesecake Bars are so delicious and we’re very fun to make. Will definitely make them again . Thank you Tessa for another delicious recipe!