July 4th is coming! America’s birthday! The country seems like it needs a little coming together and celebrating something positive these days, so what’s better than doing it with a berry topped cheesecake?! Nothing is the answer. 🙂
This cheesecake is decadent! It’s a pretty traditional approach to cheesecake and just topped with the freshest of berries on top to finish them. So it has a hint of sweetness, a ton of creaminess and a fresh burst from the berries. I like to cut them smaller since they’re so decadent, but you can make them as big or small as you like.
Oh, also – it takes time for the cheesecake to set, so make this a day ahead of your celebration!! Just think of it as one less ‘to do’ on your celebration day!
And, if you’re looking for other BBQ friendly/Memorial Day/July 4th/Labor Day recipes, you can find them all here!
What’s your favorite red, white and blue recipe? Let me know in the comments and maybe I’ll make it next!
Red, White & Blue Berry Cheesecake Squares
Ingredients
Crust
- 2 cups Digestive or graham cracker crumbs
- 1/8 cup granulated sugar
- 6 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
- A pinch or two of salt
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
Cheesecake
- 1 1/2 pounds (3 8-ounce packages) cream cheese, at room temperature
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 4 large eggs
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Topping
- 2 cups plain yogurt (or sour cream)
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 3 – 4 cups fresh mixed berries, dry
Directions
- Heat oven to 325 degrees. Line bottom and sides of an 9×13-inch rectangular baking pan with 2 sheets of parchment paper (crisscrossed), leaving a 2-inch overhang on all sides (I clip the sides down with chip clips while I’m filling the pan to make it easier to fill).
- Make crust: combine crumbs, sugar, butter, salt and vanilla in a bowl with a fork until evenly mixed. Press firmly into bottom of prepared pan. Bake for 10 minutes.
- Make cheesecake: while crust is baking, beat cream cheese until fluffy with sugar, then beat in eggs, one at a time, until thoroughly mixed, scraping down the sides and bottom of your bowl between each addition. Beat in vanilla. Pour over prepared crust (still hot is fine) and bake for 25 minutes, until puffed but still jiggly like Jell-O when shimmied. Let cool on rack for 5 minutes, and while it does…
- Make topping: whisk together yogurt (or sour cream) and vanilla. Drop spoonfuls of topping all over bars and spread gently in one thin layer. Bake bars with topping for 10 minutes.
- Set pan on a cooling rack and let cool; refrigerate at least 2 hours or ideally overnight.
- To serve: use parchment paper sling to carefully lift bars out of pan and transfer them to a cutting board. Slice into 2×2 squares, and place on a serving platter. Scatter berries all over cake pieces. Keep leftovers in fridge. Enjoy!
Season Generously 