Video
Strawberry Shortcake Cheesecake Bars
Smooth creamy fresh strawberry cheesecake bars on a biscuit base topped with nostalgic strawberry shortcake crumbs that look just like the coating on Good Humor strawberry cheesecake ice cream bars!
Ingredients
Strawberry compote:
- 1 ½ cups 200g fresh hulled quartered strawberries
- 2 tablespoon 25g granulated sugar
- 2 teaspoon 5 corn starch
- 2 teaspoon 10ml lemon juice
Crumb topping:
- ½ cup 71g all-purpose flour
- 2 tablespoon 25g granulated sugar
- 1 tablespoon 15g packed light brown sugar
- 3 tablespoon 42g salted butter, melted (or use unsalted butter and add a pinch of salt)
- 1 tablespoon powdered freeze dried strawberries
(NOTE: for this recipe, you’ll need about ⅓ cup or 10g of freeze dried sliced strawberries that you will grind into a powder)
Crust:
- 1 ½ cups 170g Digestive biscuits/crackers crumbs (from about 10 biscuits)
- 2 tablespoon 30g packed dark brown sugar
- 4 tablespoon 56g unsalted butter, melted
Cheesecake filling:
- 9 oz (250g) brick cream cheese, softened
- ⅓ cup 65g granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon 5ml pure vanilla extract
- 1 large egg at room temperature
- 2 oz 56ml pure white chocolate, melted and cooled
- ⅔ cup 160ml chilled strawberry compote
- 2 teaspoon 6g all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon freeze dried strawberry powder
Instructions
- Make the strawberry compote. Combine strawberries and sugar in a small saucepot and cook for 3 minutes until softened but not mushy. Combine corn starch with lemon juice in a very small bowl and stir together to make a slurry. Add it to the strawberries and mix it in. Cook until it just starts to boil and thickens right up. Pour it out into a clean bowl and set it aside to cool completely. Refrigerate until thoroughly chilled.
- Line an 8x8-inch square pan with parchment paper on all sides leaving a 2-inch overhang so you can easily remove it later. Preheat your oven to 350°F.
- Make the crumb topping. Combine flour, granulated sugar and brown sugar in a medium bowl and mix well so there are no lumps of brown sugar. Add the cooled melted butter and mix first with a spoon to combine and then blend with your fingertips until it forms clumps. Set it aside for 10 minutes to dry up a bit (this makes it easier to break up into crumbs). Scatter the crumbs on a lined baking sheet, breaking up any large clumps and bake for about 15 minutes until lightly golden, tossing halfway through. (NOTE: you can bake these crumbs at the same time as you bake the crust). Transfer to a wire rack to cool completely, then place them in a bowl. Add 1 tablespoon of freeze dried strawberry powder and toss to coat. Set aside.
- Make the crust. Place digestive biscuits and brown sugar in the bowl of a food processor and pulse until broken down to fine crumbs. Add the melted butter and pulse until evenly combined and it looks damp. Alternatively you can crush the biscuits in a sealed plastic bag using a rolling pin or heavy pot and combine them with the brown sugar and melted butter in a bowl. Press the crumbs evenly into the bottom and about ½-inch up the sides of the pan. Bake for 10-12 minutes until lightly golden and feels dry. Reduce oven temperature to 325°F.
- Make the cheesecake filling. Add cream cheese, sugar and vanilla in the bowl of the same food processor and pulse until very smooth and creamy. You can also use a hand mixer. Add the egg and pulse until combined. Add the white chocolate and process until smooth again, then add the strawberry compote, freeze dried strawberry powder and flour and process until smooth.
- Pour it over the pre-baked crust, spreading it out evenly and popping any air bubbles that you see. Bake for 20-25 minutes until it is set and feels firm to the touch. Transfer pan to a wire rack and while it’s still warm, sprinkle most of the crumbs evenly over top and press them in gently (you will have more than you need so save some for topping after it's baked). Replace the pan to the oven for just 3 minutes to set the crumbs a bit. Don’t leave it in for longer or the strawberry powder will darken and lose its brightness. Transfer to a wire rack to cool completely, top with extra crumbs and then refrigerate for 2 hours before slicing.
