Raspberry Cheesecake Crumble Bars
These raspberry crumble bars are as delicious as they look! Buttery (and easy) crumble is layered with sweetened cream cheese, homemade raspberry jam, and more crumble on top. While there are three separate components to this recipe, every element is quick and simple to make! These will be the absolute talk of your next spring or summer event and I can guarantee everyone will be asking for these again and again.
Layered Raspberry Cheesecake Bars
Ok let’s go over the three main components of this recipe:
- Raspberry Jam – This is made first as it needs some time to cool. However, it’s very quick and easy! I’m opting for a bag of frozen raspberries so there’s no thawing, no measuring, no cleaning, and no picking through rotten berries (because why does every carton always have some??). Just heat on the stove with some sugar, cornstarch, and lemon juice. Once broken down and jammy (about 10 minutes), it’s stored in the refrigerator while we work on everything else.
- Sweet Cream Cheese – Next up is the cheesecake layer of these raspberry bars. I like to do this step by hand, but you could also use an electric mixer. Simply mix together room temperature cream cheese (Philadelphia, always) with sugar, egg, and vanilla. Done!
- Buttery Crumble – This big batch is used for both the crust and the topping. Just combine flour, sugar, brown sugar, salt, and baking powder. Stir in some melted butter and it’s ready to go.
To assemble, about 2/3 of the crumble is pressed into the bottom of our pan. It’s a very thin layer, so use just enough to cover the pan. Then spread the cream cheese as even as possible. In order to prevent the raspberry jam from sinking into the cream cheese, use a spoon to ladle it on top (see image below) and then gently spread it smooth.
Last but not least, break the crumble up into tiny pieces and sprinkle on top. It will mostly cover the jam, but you should still see some red peeking through. Now all that’s left to do is bake!
Raspberry Crumble Bars Baking Tips
While each layer is quick and easy to make, here’s everything you need to know to ensure these bars turn out just right:
- Keep Mixing – When making the raspberry jam, don’t walk away. It’s important to keep mixing otherwise, the jam can burn on the bottom.
- Softened Cream Cheese – It’s very important that the cream cheese is room temperature before mixing this layer. Otherwise, you’ll be left with a lumpy mess. I also always use Philadelphia cream cheese as it yields the best flavor and consistency.
- Flour – For the crumble, I always recommend weighing your ingredients with a scale. If you don’t have one, measure the flour by spooning it into your cup and leveling it off with a flat edge. If you scoop directly into the flour, this will pack it down into your cup and you’ll be left with a tough and dry crumble.
- Baking Pan – For all baking, I suggest using an aluminum or aluminized steel baking pan. Avoid glass or dark metal as these can darken the outside of your dessert OR yield a longer bake time. I always link my favorite pans at the bottom of every recipe card!
- Layering – Each layer of these bars is very thin, so be careful when pressing and spreading as we don’t want to blend any of the layers together!
- Doneness – These bars are done when the tippy tops are golden and they appear evenly puffed. As they cool, they will settle and turn nice and thick and buttery.
- Chilling – Give these bars at least 2 hours in the refrigerator before slicing. This allows all those layers to set so that they hold together once sliced.
Raspberry Cheesecake Crumble Bars FAQs:
Yes! Just swap the flour with a cup for cup gluten-free baking flour. I like Bob’s Red Mill (the blue bag) or King Arthur measure for measure.
You can, but you need quite a bit of raspberries for this recipe so frozen is much more cost effective. Fresh is also a little bit more work as you will need to clean and pick out any rotten berries before measuring.
You can use blueberries (using the jam from my wild blueberry bars) or frozen blackberries! I think strawberries could also work here.
I think that could work! You would need about 2 cups, or however much it takes to get a thin layer on top of the cream cheese. It might be difficult to spread as it has a thicker consistency, so you can try warming it up for less than 30 seconds in the microwave to help thin it a bit.
They last really well so you can make these a day or two in advance! Just note that the longer they’re stored, the more the raspberry color bleeds into the cream cheese so the layers aren’t as distinct. Still delicious, though!
Keep these bars in a container in the refrigerator. Don’t leave at room temperature.
For more berry dessert recipes, check out my:
- Strawberry Pizza
- Fruity Cheese Danish
- Strawberry Rhubarb Crisp
- Blueberry Cream Cheese Cobbler
- BEST Blueberry Muffins
- Fresh Strawberry Sheet Cake
- Roasted Strawberry Cheesecake
Or try my wild blueberry crumble bars and brown sugar berry crumble bars!
Make sure to tag me @butternutbakery on Instagram and leave a review below if you make these Raspberry Cheesecake Crumble Bars. To pin this recipe and save it for later, you can use the button on the recipe card, the buttons above or below this post, or on any of the photos above. Happy baking!
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Raspberry Cheesecake Crumble Bars
- Total Time: 3 hours 5 minutes
- Yield: 12 bars
Description
These raspberry bars look impressive, but are so easy to make! Layered with buttery crumble, sweet cream cheese, homemade raspberry jam, and even more crumble, each bite hits every single texture and flavor mark. They’re sweet, rich, tart, creamy, buttery, and so dang good.
Ingredients
Raspberry Filling
- 12 oz bag frozen raspberries (or 3 cups, 340g)
- 1/4 cup (50g) granulated sugar
- 1 tbsp cornstarch
- Juice of 1 lemon
Cream Cheese Filling
- 12 ounces full fat cream cheese, room temp
- 1/3 cup (67g) granulated sugar
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 large egg
Crumble
- 1/2 cup (100g) light brown sugar, packed
- 1/2 cup (100g) granulated sugar
- 2 3/4 cups (354g) all-purpose flour or 1-to-1 gluten-free baking flour, spooned and leveled
- 1/2 tsp kosher salt
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1 cup (224g) unsalted butter, melted and cooled
Instructions
Raspberry Filling
- In a medium saucepan combine the raspberries first with the sugar and cornstarch, and then juice of the lemon. Stir to coat. Place over medium heat and stir occasionally. After about 5 minutes, the mixture will start to steam and bubble. Stir continuously for another 3 to 5 minutes or until the mixture is thickened and glossy, like raspberry jam.
- Pour into a wide and shallow dish and allow to cool in the refrigerator while we prepare the rest of the layers.
Cream Cheese Filling
- In a medium bowl, mash and mix together the cream cheese and sugar using a fork. Mash in the vanilla and egg, then switch to a whisk to mix smooth and creamy. Set aside.
Crumble
- Preheat the oven to 350F and grease the inside of a 9×13 baking dish. Line the bottom and two longest sides with parchment paper with some overhang for easy removal.
- Add the brown sugar, sugar, flour, salt and baking powder to a large bowl. Use your hands to mix and toss together, breaking up any brown sugar lumps as you go. Use a silicone spatula to stir in the butter. Spend a good couple minutes to ensure the mixture is evenly hydrated and no dry patches remain. It should appear moist but very crumbly.
- Press about ⅔ of the crumble into the bottom of the pan into a thin layer all the way to the edges. Spread the cream cheese on top in an even layer. Spoon the raspberry filling over top and spread even, careful not to disrupt the cream cheese underneath. Break up the crumble and sprinkle it evenly over the surface, nearly covering the raspberry filling.
- Bake for 35 to 40 minutes or until the edges are golden, the surface appears dry, and the center tightly jiggles when the pan is nudged.
- Allow the bars to cool at room temperature for about 20 minutes, then transfer to the refrigerator to cool completely, about 2 hours. Once chilled, lift the bars out, slice into 12 large squares, and enjoy!
Notes
RASPBERRIES – You can also use fresh raspberries for this recipe, but you need quite a bit so frozen is much more cost effective!
- Prep Time: 30 minutes
- Cooling Time: 2 hours
- Cook Time: 35 minutes
- Category: Dessert
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
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Meet Jenna
I’m the creator, baker, and photographer behind Butternut Bakery. Here I share desserts for every diet because I believe everyone should have a chance to indulge!
