No Bake Lemon Cheesecake Bars

Course: Desserts, No Bake Dessert, Sweets

Cuisine: American, North American

Prep Time: 1

Cook Time: 20

Chilling time: 8

Total Time: 1 20

Servings: squares

Calories: 368kcal

Author: Dini Kodippili

Delicious no bake lemon cheesecake bars that taste creamy and tangy, with swirled lemon curd on top. Easy recipe with gorgeous, impressive results!

EASY - This easy recipe only has one cooking component. The other two components require no cooking or baking.

US based cup, teaspoon, tablespoon measurements. Common Measurement Conversions. Weight measurements are recommended for accurate results.

There is a 2 hour chilling time and an overnight chilling time.

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Ingredients

Crust

300 g graham crackers
28 g confectioner's sugar ¼ cup
145 g butter (salted or unsalted) 10 tbsp, melted
Generous pinch of sea salt (leave out if using salted butter)

Lemon curd topping

2 tbsp water 30 mL
1 tsp powdered gelatin
240 mL lemon juice 1 cup
2 tbsp lemon zest
150 g white sugar 1 ½ cups
2 tbsp water 30 mL
5 egg yolks from large eggs
25 g cornstarch 2 ½ tbsp
2 tbsp water
50 g butter 3½ tbsp

Lemon cheesecake layer

45 mL water 3 tbsp
2 tsp powdered gelatin
450 g block cream cheese (softened at room temperature) 16 oz / 2 blocks
100 g white sugar ½ cup
80 mL lemon juice ⅓ cup
2 tbsp lemon zest
1 tsp vanilla
¼ tsp sea salt
180 g chilled heavy cream ¾ cup

Instructions

Crust (needs to be frozen for at least 3 hours)

Prepare a 8 or 9 inch square pan by lining it with parchment paper. I butter the pan first to make sure that the parchment sticks to the pan.
Crush the graham crackers and place it in a bowl.
300 g graham crackers
Mix in the confectioner's sugar and salt.
28 g confectioner's sugar , Generous pinch of sea salt
Add the butter and mix it well until the butter is completely absorbed by the graham cracker crumbs. The crumbs should clump together when squeezed in the palm of your hand.
145 g butter
Scrape the crumb mixture into the bottom of the prepared pan. Using a flat utensil (I use a flat spatula, but you can use a flat bottomed glass too), flatten the crumb mixture into the bottom of the pan to form an even layer of the cheesecake crust. Freeze the crust for at least 3 hours until completely chilled. Cover the pan with plastic wrap if you’re going to leave it in the freezer for over 3 hours.

Lemon curd topping

The lemon curd topping needs to be cooled before using, so prepare this layer while the crust is chilling in the freezer.
Place the water in a small bowl, sprinkle in the gelatin, and gently stir to saturate the gelatin. Set aside to let the gelatin bloom.
2 tbsp water, 1 tsp powdered gelatin
In a non-reactive saucepan, place the sugar, zest, cornstarch, and water. Add a little of the lemon juice and whisk the mixture until the cornstarch is smooth. Then add the rest of the lemon juice and whisk to combine.
2 tbsp lemon zest, 150 g white sugar, 2 tbsp water, 25 g cornstarch, 240 mL lemon juice
In a separate heat-proof jug / bowl, place the egg yolks and water, and whisk to combine. Set aside.
5 egg yolks, 2 tbsp water
Heat the lemon juice sugar mixture over medium high heat, while stirring frequently until the mixture comes to a boil. Boil the mixture for about 2 minutes while stirring. Remove from the heat.
Add spoonfuls of this hot, thickened lemon mixture into the egg yolk mixture, while constantly whisking the egg yolks. This is to temper the egg yolks.
Once you've added enough of the hot lemon mixture to warm the eggs, add the tempered egg mixture into the saucepan with the remaining hot lemon mixture. Whisk to combine.
Return the mixture to medium - medium high heat and cook the mixture while stirring frequently until it starts to simmer again and thickens. This can take about 5 minutes.
Remove from the heat, and whisk in the butter.
50 g butter
Finally, stir in the bloomed gelatin until it’s dissolved. Set the lemon curd aside to cool, but make sure to occasionally whisk the mixture to prevent a skin from forming (see recipe notes).

Lemon cheesecake layer

Make this layer when the lemon curd layer has cooled down a bit and is only slightly warm.
Place the 3 tbsp water in a small heat-proof bowl. Sprinkle the gelatin over the surface and gently stir to completely saturate the gelatin. Set aside to bloom (at least 10 minutes).
45 mL water, 2 tsp powdered gelatin
In a large mixer bowl, place the cream cheese and sugar. Using the paddle attachment, mix the cream cheese over medium / medium high speed until creamy and smooth. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and mix again until everything is smooth and creamy.
450 g block cream cheese, 100 g white sugar
Add the lemon juice, zest, vanilla, and salt, and mix for a further few minutes until the mixture is smooth and all the ingredients are mixed through.
80 mL lemon juice, 2 tbsp lemon zest, 1 tsp vanilla, ¼ tsp sea salt
In a separate bowl, whisk the chilled heavy cream until you have soft peaks. You can use an electric mixer or a hand whisk for this. Fold the cream into the cream cheese mixture.
180 g chilled heavy cream
Replace the paddle attachment in your mixer with the whisk attachment.
Once the gelatin is bloomed, microwave the mix for about 10 - 20 seconds until the gelatin is dissolved but NOT boiling. Add about 1 tbsp of cream while stirring the gelatin mix, to temper the mixture.
While running the mixer on high speed (with the whisk attachment), whisk the cream cheese mixture, and immediately add the tempered gelatin mixture. Make sure the gelatin mixture is added close to the whisk, but without touching the whisk, to avoid clumping.
As soon as the gelatin is mixed through (should only take about 1 minute), stop mixing the cream cheese layer. Then whisk the mixture by hand to make sure everything is smooth.

Assembly

Scrape the lemon cheesecake layer into the prepared pan, over the frozen crust. Spread it evenly using an offset spatula or regular spatula.
Whisk the cooled lemon curd topping with a whisk, and make sure it’s smooth. Also make sure it’s not hot at this stage (it can melt the cheesecake layer and sink to the bottom if hot).
Pour the lemon curd over the surface and spread it evenly. Using a knife or offset spatula, create swirls on the surface of the cheesecake.
Cover the pan and refrigerate for at least 6 hours. I like to keep it in the fridge overnight to allow the layers to completely set.
Once set, remove the cheesecake from the pan by lifting the parchment paper out of the pan. Cut into squares or bars using a clean, warm knife.

Notes

Note about the lemon curd

The lemon curd should be close to room temperature when it's poured over the cheesecake layer. I prefer not to let it cool in the fridge since I don’t want it to set. Instead, I let the lemon curd cool down at room temperature.
When the lemon curd has cooled down significantly, only then do I make the lemon cheesecake layer.

Make sure to whisk the lemon curd before using. Any gelatin that is set will be broken down when whisked.

You may not use ALL of the lemon curd for the topping. Add as much or as little as you like. You will also use more with a 9 inch pan, and less with an 8 inch pan.

Note about adding gelatin to the cheesecake base

In this recipe, I whisk in the melted gelatin into the final gelatin base. You can also whisk in the gelatin into the whipping cream as well.

Nutrition