White Chocolate Raspberry Cheesecake Bars
Cheesecake batter mixed with a white chocolate ganache and swirled with fresh raspberry puree. The crushed Oreo crust gives these white chocolate raspberry cheesecake bars the perfect crunch.
Story Behind the White Chocolate Raspberry Cheesecake Bars
This recipe for my white chocolate raspberry cheesecake bars come from my in-laws are currently serving a mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints in San Diego, California. Their mission was to serve the Marines at the Marine Core Recruiting Depot. They got to meet with them maybe twice before COVID hit. They’ve had to get really creative in finding ways to serve, and they have done a fabulous job.
When they first arrived on their mission, they were invited over to have dinner with another senior missionary couple. They served my in-laws a white chocolate raspberry cheesecake for dessert and that is all I heard about when we would talk to my father-in-law. He loves fruity desserts, so this had his name written all over it.
Since they are serving a mission for only 18 months, they didn’t bring everything with them from their home in Virginia. This included a cheesecake pan. He was making the cheesecake in a pie dish and I just couldn’t have it. So for Father’s Day, I bought him a cheesecake pan. Really, I knew we were going to go and visit, and I wanted a nice thick cheesecake to eat!
When we showed up in San Diego, I told my father-in-law that he HAD to make the cheesecake he had been talking about. A few days passed and it still hadn’t been made. My husband and I did a little one night getaway while we were there and when we came back, we had cheesecake waiting for us. Holy yum!
A few tips on White Chocolate Cheesecake Bars
Usually, I think white chocolate is overwhelmingly sweet, but that is not the case in this recipe. The white chocolate with the cheesecake mixture is the perfect balance. Once you add in a raspberry swirl and a Oreo crust, you have party going on in our mouth. When I went to make this recipe, I found that my cheesecake pan was completely broken, so that is how the bars were born! I think I prefer it in bar form because I can have smaller portions to get my sweet tooth fix.
When you make this, just make sure to give yourself enough time to let it chill completely before serving. I’ve never had warm cheesecake, but I’m pretty sure that is because it would be gross and runny. While this recipe may be a bit time consuming, it is completely worth the hassle and kitchen mess.
Additional Recipes Similar to White Chocolate Cheesecake Bars
- Caramel Cashew Cheesecake Bars
- White Chocolate Raspberry Cookies
- Orange Bars (with honey whipped cream)
White Chocolate Raspberry Cheesecake Bars
Ingredients
For the Crust
- 2 cups chocolate sandwich cookie crumbs
- 5 TBS white sugar
- 6 TBS butter melted
For the Raspberry Puree
- 10 oz fresh raspberries
- 2 TBS white sugar
- 2 tsp cornstarch
- ½ cup water
For the White Chocolate Ganache
- 2 cups white chocolate chips
- ½ cup heavy cream
For the Cheesecake Batter
- 3 8 ounce packages cream cheese, softened
- ½ cup white sugar
- 3 eggs
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 325 and lightly grease a 9X13 pan and set aside.
- Either in a food processor, high powered blender, or in a Ziploc bag crush chocolate sandwich cookies into a fine crumb.
- In a small mixing bowl, melt butter. Add in sugar and cookie crumbs. Mix until combined. Press mixture into your greased pan and set aside.
- In a small stove pot, combine raspberries, sugar, cornstarch, and water. Bring to a boil and then reduce to a simmer. Use your spatula to smash the raspberries into smaller pieces. Let the mixture simmer for 7-9 minutes, until it thickens. Strain the raspberries through a small mesh sieve to separate all of the seeds. Set the mixture aside.
- In a microwave safe bowl, heat cream avoiding any boiling. About 45 seconds. Pour the white chocolate chips into the heated cream and let sit for a couple of minutes. Stir the chips and cream together until chips are completely melted.
- In the bowl of a your electric mixture fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the cream cheese and sugar together until smooth. Scrape the sides of the bowl down and mix again. Add in the eggs one at a time and finish with the vanilla. Finally, add in the white chocolate mixture and mix together for about 2 minutes.
- Pour half of the cheesecake batter on top of you cookie crust. Evenly spread 1/3 of the raspberry puree on top of the cheesecake batter. Cover with remaining cheesecake batter. In small lines drizzle another third of the raspberry puree on top. Use a toothpick or knife to drag through the puree to created with swirl effect.
- Bake in the oven for 55-60 minutes until set. The center may still jiggle a little. Chill in fridge for at least 5 hours.
- To serve, top with fresh whipped cream and drizzle with remaining raspberry puree.