These Raspberry and Custard Cream Cheesecake Bars are the perfect summers day treat. Celebrating all things custard cream they have a buttery custard cream biscuit base which is filled with a baked custard and raspberry cheesecake filling.
WHY YOU WILL LOVE THIS RECIPE
All the flavours of a Custard Creme | As a celebration of the Custard Creme this bake combines all the flavours we know and love from this biscuit tin favourite.
Silky soft cheesecake filling | Baked cheesecakes have a bit of a bad reputation when compared to their no bake chilled sisters. No bake cheesecakes are super quick and easy to make, and their smooth creamy filling is delicious. However baked cheesecakes take cheesecake to a whole new level. The addition of eggs essentially makes it a baked custard so it has an incredibly velvety and light texture.
Refreshing summer raspberry coulis swirl | This may be a celebration of custard creams but the raspberry coulis ripple is added bonus that I couldn’t resist. The raspberry pink swirls are really pleasing to the eye and add a lovely refreshing kick. Don’t take my word it, try it for yourself.
THE CUSTARD CREAM BASE
The first step to any cheesecake is the delicious biscuit base. Traditionally cheesecakes have a digestive base but seeing as this is celebrating the Custard Cream this recipe uses Custard Creams instead. There is no need to separate the biscuits away from the buttercream filling as it works perfectly in helping it bind together when blitzed with butter.
The crumb mixture should then be added to the base of a baking tin and packed down so that it doesn’t just become a crumble when baked. A base it then usually pre-baked for 10 minutes before adding the topping.
CUSTARD CREAM CHEESECAKE BATTER
Once the custard cream base has been pre-baked its time to make the cheesecake filling.
The filling is a baked cheesecake so is a combination of cream cheese, sugar, sour cream or double cream and eggs. Then it’s time to add flavour and your options are endless! For this cheesecake I’ve added a few tbsp of custard powder, some vanilla and some drops of raspberry coulis. You can add raspberry extract if you want to, but I love the look of fresh pink raspberry swirled throughout.
TOP TIPS TO MAKING THE PERFECT BAKED CHEESECAKE
- Make sure all ingredients are room temperature | Recipes ask for room temperature ingredients because they mix more evenly and when mixed more air can get trapped which creates more volume once baked.
- Bathe the cheesecake | Cheesecake batter is quite a delicate bake so needs to be baked slowly and evenly. The best way to achieve good results is to bake the cheesecake in a water bath as it helps bake the cheesecake gently, preventing it from cracking. Put the cheesecake tin into a roasting tin and place it in the oven then pour boiling water into the roasting tin until the tin is half covered.
- Leave the door open after baking | Another way to help prevent your cheesecake from cracking is to cool it down slowly. The best way to do this is to leave the door slightly ajar after its finished baking and leave it to cool for about 15 minutes before bringing it out and letting it cool fully.
- Use a springform pan | The best tins for cheesecakes are springform. These tins make it so much easier to remove the bake without any casualties. If you don’t have a springform tin you can use a standard tin but make sure you have a good overhang of parchment paper so you can easily lift it out.
OTHER BISCUIT THEMED BAKES YOU SHOULD TRY
I would love it if you tagged me @mykitchendrawer on Instagram if you make these Raspberry and Custard Cream Cheesecake Bars. It’s the biggest honour to see my recipes come to life in your kitchen and if you have any questions please don’t hesitate to drop me a message. Happy baking!
Raspberry and Custard Cream Cheesecake Bars
Ingredients
- 250 g Custard Creams
- 80 g unsalted butter melted
- 600 g cream cheese full fat
- 150 g sour cream
- 3 eggs large
- 1 egg yolk
- 2 tbsp custard powder
- 50 g caster sugar
- 100 g fresh raspberries
- 2 tbsp icing sugar
- 2 tbsp lemon juice
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 160°C and line a 9 inch loose bottom square baking tin with parchment paper
- Blitz 200g of custard creams in a food processor until a fine crumb then add to a bowl and mix with the melted butter
- Pour the biscuit mixture into the base of the loose bottom tin and pack it down tightly with the pack of a spoon into all the corners.
- Bake the base in the oven for 8-10 minutes then remove and leave it aside to cool slightly.
- To make the filling, combine the cream cheese and sugar until smooth then add the sour cream, eggs, egg yolk and custard powder and blend until smooth.
- In a separate bowl crush the fresh raspberries into a pulp, then add the icing suagr and lemon juice and mix until combined.
- Push the raspberry mixture through a sieve to separate the raspberry seeds. This is your raspberry couli.
- To assemble the cheesecake, pour the cheesecake mixture on top of the custard cream base then spoon dots of raspberry coulis randomly over it. Swirl the raspberry coulis into the cheesecake batter with a knife to create a ripple effect.
- Top with the remaining 50g custard cream biscuits then put the baking tin into a roasting dish and place it into the oven on the centre shelf.
- Pour boiling water into the roasting dish to create a water bath for the cheesecake to bake in. You want to ensure the baking tin is covered about 50% in water.
- Cover with tin foil to stop the custard creams from burning and bake for 40-45 minutes then once baked turn the oven off and leave the door ajar and allow the cheesecake to cool.
- Once the oven is cool remove the cheesecake from the oven and let it cool completly before removing it from the tin. MY KITCHEN TIP : For a perfect cut you could leave in the fridge overnight and then slice it the next day.
