Mango & Lime Cheesecake Bars

Happy first day of spring! Days are finally getting longer, the sun is out and I no longer have to wear 3 layers of clothing inside the house. So I’m celebrating with these lovely refreshing mango and lime cheesecake bars.

I am particularly proud of these bars because they are baked cheesecake bars and I have always failed at baking cheesecakes, so the fact that these have turned out well, it’s a very happy moment.

But back to the bars, they are incredibly easy to make and don’t take long at all, it’s almost a one bowl type of recipe where you just mix your ingredients, bake and then cool down.

What’s in them?

These bars are made with greek yoghurt, cream cheese, sugar, eggs, lime zest and juice and a whole mango, so simple! I blended my mango with a teaspoon of cornstarch for thickness, I also reserved a few pieces of mango which I cut into small squares to have actual pieces of mango in the bars. The mix of the mango and the lime is just so refreshing and is making me feel like summer is just around the corner.

A few tips for success

These cheesecake bars are cooked in the oven without a water bath, the water bath helps the cheesecake not crack, but to be honest, I hate it, so these are a few tips to avoid cracking on your cheesecake:

1. Mix the ingredients, don’t whisk them, that will avoid too much air getting into your batter. I simply used a spatula and mixed them slowly. I know it seems like too much work, but it’s honestly worth it.
2. When cooking, try not to open the oven door, that will help keep the temperature of the oven the same. Only open the oven door at the end to check if it’s ready.
3. Once ready, turn the oven off and let the cheesecake inside for 5 minutes, then, crack the door open and let it cool down completely inside the oven. This way the cheesecake cools down slowly and there are no temperature shocks.

I hope you enjoy these as much as I do!

Mango & Lime Cheesecake Bars

Ingredients:

For the base:

• 150 gr of digestive biscuits
• 1 tsp of honey
• 45 gr of butter

For the cheesecake:

• 400 gr of cream cheese (I used Philadelphia)
• 100 gr of greek yoghurt
• 100 gr of caster sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 tsp of vanilla extract
• The zest and juice of 1 lime
• 1 ripe mango, blended. I reserved a few pieces cut into small squares for texture
• 1 tsp of cornstarch

Method:

1. Preheat the oven at 180 degrees celsius.
2. Crumb the digestive biscuits and melt the butter. Mix them in a bowl with the honey. Press the cookie mix into a square baking pan, mine was 22 x 22 cm.
3. Cook the cookie base in the oven for 8 minutes, once is ready, allow it to cool down before adding the cheesecake mix.
4. Take the oven temperature down to 140 degrees celsius.
5. Now let’s move onto the cheesecake, in a large bowl, mix together the cream cheese and the greek yoghurt, it’s important that you mix it and not whisk it, that will keep air from getting into the batter.
6. Once mixed, add in the sugar and mix again.
7. Add in the eggs, one at a time mixing well after each addition.
8. Lastly, add in the vanilla extract, lime juice and lime zest and mix one last time.
9. Pour the mix on top of the cookie base and smooth it out into an even layer.
10. Blend the mango with the cornstarch and then add in the small mango squares.
11. Using a spoon, dollop the mango puree on top of the cheesecake and using a knife or a skewer swirl it around making sure it reaches everywhere in the pan.
12. Bake the cheesecake in the oven for 35-40 minutes. Once ready, it will still be slightly wobbly in the middle, that’s ok, it will keep cooking. Turn the oven off and leave the cheesecake in with the door closed for 5 minutes, then, crack the oven door open and allow the cheesecake to cool down completely.
13. Once the cheesecake has completely cooled down, place it in the fridge for at least 3 hours or better overnight. Leaving it overnight will allow the flavours to set.