Bars are the go-to dessert when you are feeding a crowd. If I can get away with not turning on the oven, that’s even better. These Blueberry Swirl No Bake Cheesecake Bars have a chocolate crust with a thin layer of melted chocolate in between for that something extra. Super creamy, silky smooth filling swirled with fresh blueberry sauce make these bars as pretty as they are delicious.
For your regulars around here, you know that I went blueberry picking a couple of months ago. I made a big batch of fresh blueberry sauce and portioned it out into cups and froze it for later use. I tend to do this often. It’s carry over from restaurant days – do it once, use it many times. The fresh blueberry sauce can be used as is for topping ice cream, waffles, pancakes, etc. You can use it to swirl into batters or blend into frosting. There are no limitations to its use. Make a big batch, then use all year when you are craving blueberry.
Generally, a recipe like this would use regular graham cracks for the crust or even a shortbread crust. I wanted something different here, so I chose chocolate crackers. The combination of the chocolate, cheesecake filling and blueberry is spectacular and I highly recommend it. However, if you prefer plain grahams, feel free to swap them. The layer of melted chocolate gives it a little something extra and adds an addition texture, which I really like.
Blueberry Swirl Cheesecake Bars
- 12 chocolate grahams cracker sheets, broken into small pieces
- 1 stick unsalted butter, melted
- 1/4 cup sugar
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- 1/2 cup melted semi sweet chocolate
- 2 blocks of cream cheese (8 oz each)
- 1 pint heavy whipping cream
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- 1 TB vanilla bean paste (can sub regular vanilla, see notes)
- 2 cups fresh blueberries
- 1/4 - 1/2 cup sugar (depending on sweetness of blueberries)
- 1 TB fresh lemon juice
- Place chocolate graham crackers, melted butter and sugar in bowl of food processor and blend until combined. Pour into 8x8 (or 9x9) pan and press down.
- Melt semi sweet chocolate and pour on top, spreading evenly. Set in refrigerator for 15 - 20 minutes to set.
- In a small pot, combine blueberries, sugar and lemon juice. Bring to a boil and cook until blueberries begin to burst. Stir occasionally. Remove from heat and cool. Use a stick blender to puree, if desired. (I did)
- Using a hand mixer, beat cream cheese and powdered sugar until smooth. Add COLD heavy cream and vanilla, beat until smooth and fluffy (3 - 4 minutes). Pour into pan and smooth top.
- Dollop fresh blueberry sauce on top and using a butter knife, swirl sauce into cheesecake filling. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate at least 3 hours before serving.
- The layer of chocolate should be THIN. The first time I made them, the layer of melted chocolate was too thick and it was hard to get through. Learn from my mistakes! Don't get greedy with the chocolate 🙂
- Vanilla bean paste - the paste contains the scraped out bits of the vanilla bean, so you'll see little specks of vanilla. It is my preferred vanilla if I'm not using the actual vanilla bean pod.
Used in this recipe:
- Glass Baking Dish – If you don’t own one of these, you really should.
- Vanilla Bean Paste
More Blueberry Recipes:
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