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cream cheese bars with cherry topping
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4.67 from 3 votes

Cream Cheese Bars with Cherry Topping

Cream cheese bars with cherry topping, these rich fresh cherry cheesecake squares are incredibly creamy and delicious!
Prep Time20 minutes
Cook Time40 minutes
Total Time1 hour
Course: Cakes
Cuisine: American
Servings: 12
Calories: 529kcal
Author: Adina

Ingredients

  • Cream cheese bars:
  • 200 g plain sweet biscuits 7 oz (Note 2)
  • 120 g unsalted butter 4.2 oz/ ½ cup
  • 900 g Philadelphia cream cheese 2 lbs/ 4 cups
  • 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
  • 1-2 teaspoon vanilla extract to taste
  • 200 g granulated sugar 7 oz/ 1 cup
  • 230 g sour cream 8 oz/ 1 cup
  • 4 eggs
  • Cherry topping (Note 3)
  • 1 kg fresh cherries 2 lbs
  • 150 g granulated sugar 5.3 oz/ ¾ cup
  • 60 g corn starch 2.1 oz/ ½ cup
  • 60 ml water 2 fl.oz/ ¼ cup
  • 2 tablespoons lemon juice

Instructions

Cheesecake bars:

  • Preheat the oven to 160 degrees Celsius/ 325 degrees Fahrenheit. Line a baking tin (33x23 cm/13x9 inch) with parchment paper. Leave the paper hang over the edges of the pan, so that you can more easily remove the cheesecake from the pan once it is baked and cooled.
  • Crust: Crumb the biscuits in a food processor or place them in a freezer bag, seal the bag and crush the cookies with a rolling pin. Melt the butter in a small pan, add it to the crumbs and combine thoroughly. Press this mixture onto the bottom of the pan.
  • Filling: Place the cream cheese in a large bowl and whisk with the hand-mixer for a few minutes until fluffy. Scrape down the cream cheese from the sides of the bowl a couple of times in between. Add the flour, sugar, and vanilla and combine. Beat in the sour cream. Start adding the eggs, one at a time, combining thoroughly after each addition.
  • Bake: Pour the mixture over the crust and bake for 40 minutes. Cool completely in the pan, cover, and refrigerate overnight.

Cherry topping:

  • Topping: Pit the cherries. Place them in a saucepan and add the rest of the ingredients. Stir over medium heat until the sugar and the cornstarch are dissolved. Bring to a simmer and cook until the mixture thickens, stirring very often.
  • Top: Let cool and add on top of the cheesecake shortly before serving.

Notes

  1. Always use a digital kitchen scale in baking; it ensures the best results (Amazon affiliate link).
  2. You can use any plain sweet biscuits. Germany/Europe: butter biscuits/Butterkekse/Petit Beurre. UK: digestives. US: graham crackers.
  3. Bought cherry pie filling can be used instead.
    You can also make cherry sauce with frozen or canned cherries, just follow this recipe for cherry sauce and double the ingredients for a more generous portion of sauce.

Nutrition

Serving: 1bar | Calories: 529kcal | Carbohydrates: 53g | Protein: 8g | Fat: 33g | Saturated Fat: 18g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 11g | Cholesterol: 136mg | Sodium: 275mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 38g