Updated June 3, 2022
Roasted strawberries are just so good. They’re even better when added to a cheesecake! This adapted recipe for small batch strawberry cheesecake bars is from Bake From Scratch™ Magazine. The original recipe can be found here.
Ingredients & Equipment Needed For This Recipe
Ingredients:
Crust
- Graham Crackers/Crumbs– The original recipe calls for chocolate graham crackers but I wanted to keep it classic by using regular crumbs that I made myself from the sheets. You can certainly use the pre-made crumbs as well!
- Unsalted Butter
- Granulated Sugar– Note that there are two separate sugars in the recipe. One is for the crust, the other is in the batter.
Strawberry Filling
- Fresh or Frozen Strawberries– I cut them in quarters. The original recipe calls for a strawberry puree, but I kept the shape and just kind of mushed them instead of pureeing them!
- Lemon Juice– Can use freshly squeezed lemon juice, I suggest 1/2 lemon or from a bottle.
Cheesecake Batter
- Cream Cheese– Make sure that the cream cheese is soft so there are no lumps in your batter
- Granulated Sugar
- All-Purpose Flour or Cornstarch
- Vanilla Paste or Extract
- Large Eggs– Making sure the eggs are room temperature also will help create a smoother batter.
- Sour Cream
Equipment:
- Stand or Hand Mixer– If you don’t have either you can totally make this recipe! Just be sure that the cream cheese is super soft so there are no lumps and use a whisk!
- Medium Mixing Bowl– I used the same bowl for both the crust and the batter!
- Rubber Spatula
- Small Pot– for making the strawberry filling.
- 8″ x 8″ Glass or Ceramic Baking Dish– The original recipe used a 9″x13″ but since this is a small batch half-ish recipe this pan is perfect.
- Another Glass or Ceramic Pan– This will be used for the steam bath for the cheesecake so the size doesn’t really matter!
- Parchment Paper– To line the 8″X8″ pan the cheesecake will go in.
- Butter Knife– For swirling in the strawberry filling.
How To Make Small Batch Strawberry Cheesecake Bars
Step One:
Begin by crushing the graham crackers and adding the melted butter in a bowl. Press into an 8″ X8″ metal baking pan at 375° F for 10-15 until slightly golden.
Step Two:
Combine in the a large mixing bowl or stand mixer bowl the cream cheese and sugar until smooth. Add the eggs and vanilla and continue to mix so there are no lumps of cream cheese
Step Three:
Roast the strawberries and let cool completely before adding on top of the cheesecake batter.
Step Four:
Pour the cheesecake batter on top of the slightly cooled graham cracker crust. It should spread out evenly.
Step Five:
Add the roasted strawberries on top of the batter and swirl around to distribute throughout.
Step Six:
Bake at 325° F for 30-35 minutes until center is set. Let cool completely and chill before cutting and enjoying!
My Kinda Professional Tips Tips For Small-Batch Strawberry Cheesecake Bars
This recipe is pretty darn amazing. The small changes that I made to it are just a suggestion and fit my particular taste and the size that I wanted to make. Cheesecake can be intimidating, but this is a pretty fool-proof method but I’ll share some of my tips to help make these strawberry cheesecake bars!
- As with all recipes and this will always be my number one tip forever with every recipe is to have all elements of your dessert prepared and ready to go. This recipe has a few elements to it so making sure that you’re organized will help so much throughout the process!
- Prepare the crust first, while the crust is baking, cook the strawberries. By time the crust has cooled and batter make the strawberries will be ready to add to the batter.
- Let the cheesecake bars cool completely then chill.
- To get the best cuts from your cheesecake, one is to make sure it is very cold. Two is to use a hot and clean knife when cutting. You can do this by cleaning with hot water between slices then wiping clean with a paper or regular towel.
- These strawberry cheesecake bars will keep in the fridge for up to 3 days, and in the freezer in a close-able container for 2 weeks!
Small-Batch Strawberry Cheesecake Bars
Equipment
- Set of Measuring Cups and Spoons OR Digital Kitchen Scale if using metric
- Stand or Hand Mixer
- Medium Mixing Bowl
- Rubber Spatula
- Small Pot
- 8" X 8" Glass or Ceramic Baking Dishes
- Metal Cake Pan or Baking Dish
- Parchment Paper
- Butter Knife
Ingredients
Graham Cracker Crust
- 1 Cup Graham Cracker Crumbs, 7 sheets (119 g)
- 3 Tbl Unsalted Butter, melted (45 g)
- 1 Tbl Granulated Sugar (15 g)
Strawberry Filling
- 1 Cup Fresh or Frozen Strawberries (150 g)
- 1 Tbl Lemon Juice (15 ml)
Cheesecake Batter
- 1 8oz Package Cream Cheese (226 g)
- 1/2 Cup Granulated Sugar (100 g)
- 1 Tbl All-Purpose Flour (10 g)
- 1 1/2 tsp Vanilla Extract or Paste
- 2 Large Eggs
- 2/3 Cup Sour Cream (160 g)
Instructions
Graham Cracker Crust:
- Pre-heat oven to 375° F (190° C), and prepare your 8"x8" baking pan with parchment and spray well.
- If you are using sheets of graham crackers, grind down to crumbs with either a blender, food processor, or place into a zip close bag and smash.
- Place into a medium bowl along with the sugar and the melted butter. Mix well and dump into the prepared 8"x8" ceramic or glass baking pan. Press the crust down and make sure it is as even as possible.
- Bake for 10 minutes, until crust is slightly browned. Reduce oven temperature to 325° F for baking the cheesecake.
- Let cool completely before adding the cheesecake batter.
Strawberry Filling:
- Hull the strawberries and place in a small pot along with the lemon juice. Cook over medium heat until the strawberries start to release juice and becomes slightly thick, only about 5-7 minutes.
- Let cool completely before adding to the cheesecake batter.
Cheesecake Batter:
- In a medium bowl, (I use the same one as the crust-just give it a rinse) place the cream cheese, salt, sugar, all-purpose flour and cream together for 1-2 minutes making sure there are no big lumps of cream cheese.
- Add the eggs in 1 at a time and the vanilla extract with the last egg. Scrape the bowl and make sure everything is well mixed.
- Add in the sour cream, again making sure everything is completely smooth and mixed well.
Assembly:
- Once the crust and strawberry filling have cooled you are ready to assemble and bake!
- Place the made cheesecake batter over the graham cracker crust. This batter is thin so you shouldn't have to spread it too much.
- Add the strawberry filling in little clusters on top of the batter. Use a butter knife or toothpick to swirl around and distribute as evenly as possible.
- Place your metal cake pan or ceramic baking pan into the oven below the cheesecake with hot tap water in it, about 1" or so, just enough to create steam.
- Bake the cheesecake for 35-40 minutes until the sides are set and the middle has a slight jiggle.
- Once finished, let cool at room temperature for 30 minutes before placing the the fridge to completely cool, at least 3 hours.
- When completely chilled, remove from the baking pan gently and cut to your liking! I cut 2.5"x2.5" squares myself but you can make more or less and don't forget to enjoy!
Did You Make This Recipe?
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Do you have a recipe for these strawberry swirl cheesecake bars? I’m interested in making a smaller batch as you have done but needed f=some measurements. Thanks!
Sorry about the “f=some”…my fingers often betray me on a keyboard 😉
I didn’t even realize it wasn’t posted! It is now though, sorry about that! 😊