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Strawberry Matcha Latte Cheesecake Bars
This recipe is inspired by Starbucks' latest latte of the season - Strawberry Matcha Iced Latte! It starts with a homemade brown sugar crust, topped with creamy matcha white chocolate cheesecake swirled with strawberry cheesecake and fresh strawberries on top. This is a Summer dream!
Ingredients
Strawberry Compote:
- 1 cup 140g fresh or frozen strawberries
- 2 tablespoon 25g granulated sugar
- squeeze of lemon juice
Crust:
- ¾ cup 105g all-purpose flour
- ¼ cup 55g packed light brown sugar
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ¼ cup 56g unsalted butter, melted
Filling:
- 9 oz 250g brick cream cheese, softened
- ¼ cup plus 1 tbsp 62g granulated sugar, divided
- 1 large egg
- ⅓ cup 80ml plain full fat Greek yogurt or sour cream
- 1 teaspoon 5ml pure vanilla extract
- 2 oz 56g pure white chocolate
- 1 teaspoon matcha powder (use ceremonial grade like this one)
- 3 tablespoon 45ml strawberry puree
Topping:
- 3 or 4 fresh whole strawberries sliced
Instructions
- First make the compote. Combine strawberries and sugar in a saucepan and place over medium heat. Once the strawberries begin to release their juices and bubble up, adjust heat to a simmer and add the lemon juice. Continue to cook at a simmer for 7-10 minutes until thick like jam, stirring every few minutes so it doesn’t catch. Once it is thick enough, pour it out into a clean bowl and let it cool.
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line an 8x8-inch pan with parchment paper leaving 2-inches hang over the sides for easy removal.
- For the crust, combine flour, brown sugar and salt in a medium bowl so there are no lumps of sugar left. Add melted butter and mix until evenly combined and it looks like wet sand. Press the mixture evenly into the bottom of the prepared pan and bake for 10-12 minutes until lightly golden. Set aside to cool slightly while you prepare the filling. Reduce oven temperature to 325°F.
- For the filling, beat together cream cheese and ¼ cup (50g) sugar in a medium bowl until very smooth. Beat in egg so that it is evenly incorporated then mix in yogurt and vanilla. Add melted white chocolate and mix it in evenly. Transfer 1 cup of cheesecake batter to a bowl and stir in 3 tablespoon (45ml) of strawberry puree. Add remaining 1 tablespoon of sugar and matcha powder to the main bowl with the cheesecake batter and mix it in evenly.
- Pour all but 2 tablespoon of matcha batter over the crust. Gently spoon (or pour at a short height) the strawberry batter evenly over the matcha batter and carefully spread it over, trying to cover it completely. Place little dollops of the remaining matcha batter randomly over the strawberry batter and swirl it in with a knife. Arrange strawberry slices on top and bake for 20-25 minutes until the edges are slightly puffed and the center is just set with a slight jiggle. Transfer to a wire rack and cool completely, then refrigerate for at least 4 hours before slicing.
