No-Bake Lemon Curd Cheesecake Bars
No-Bake Lemon Curd Cheesecake Bars are cool and creamy bites of lemon loveliness. My oven died. It’s gone. Two days ago, I tried to turn it on and found myself devastated – to lose my oven was like losing my arm! I hovered over it,…
No-Bake Lemon Curd Cheesecake Bars are cool and creamy bites of lemon loveliness.
My oven died. It’s gone. Two days ago, I tried to turn it on and found myself devastated – to lose my oven was like losing my arm! I hovered over it, pressing its buttons over and over again, hoping that it was just a fluke, that it would fire up once again.
Melodrama aside, I realize that this could be a blessing in disguise. Not having an oven for the moment mandates a break from home-baked goods, which may not be such a bad thing, at least for a short while. It could mean finding a newer, better oven. And it means rediscovering all kinds of no-bake desserts.
Ironically, or perhaps in a case of foreshadowing, just before my oven’s death, I made these No Bake Lemon Curd Cheesecake Bars. I made them when we were suffering a particularly hot spell and had no desire to heat the kitchen unnecessarily. Every bit, from the graham cracker crust to the layers of lemony creaminess, is oven-free. Perfect for sweltering summer days.
The silver lining in all this is I don’t have to wait for a new oven to make these again.
No-Bake Lemon Curd Cheesecake Bars
These cool and creamy bars are bites of lemon loveliness. If you are pressed for time, you may omit the lemon curd layer between the crust and the cheesecake-like filling. However, if not, do add the layer for that extra punch of lemon flavor.
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cups graham crackers (about 10 sheets)
- 6 tablespoons butter, melted and cooled
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 8 ounces mascarpone cheese or cream cheese (low fat works, too)
- 1 14-ounce can fat free sweetened condensed milk
- 1 package unflavored gelatin
- 3/4 cup boiling water
- 2 cups lemon curd
- fresh raspberries for garnish
Instructions
- Line an 8×8 square pan with overlapping layers of parchment paper. Prepare graham cracker crust by using a food processor or blender to process graham crackers till fine. Add butter and sugar, and pulse. Pour into pan, pressing down with fingers or measuring cup, creating one even layer. Chill in the refrigerator.
- Stir in gelatin into boiling water until dissolved. Let it cool a few minutes.
- Combine 1/2 cup lemon curd with 2 tablespoons gelatin mixture, whisk until smooth. Spread on the chilled crust. Return to refrigerator.
- In a clean food processor bowl, or using an electric mixer, process the mascarpone or cream cheese until smooth. With the processor running, pour in the condensed milk, followed by 1/2 cup of lemon curd, and the remaining gelatin mixture. Pour cream cheese mixture into crust over the lemon curd layer.
- Chill in the refrigerator until set, at least 4 hours or overnight.
- When the cheesecake layer is cool, stir the remaining 1 cup of lemon curd until it is smooth and pourable. Spread over the cheesecake layer and return to refrigerator to chill again, at least 3 hours.
- Cut into squares and serve with fresh raspberries.
Comments
COOKBOOK
first, congrats on your new domain and new oven. can’t wait to see what baked goodies you’re going to share in the future.
the cheesecake bars look amazing. I’d love to dig my teeth into one. love the lemon curd, so refreshing and perfect for summer.
Hi Liren! I have so much to catch up on here! First off, I have to update your link on my blog. :-)
Secondly, these bars are absolutely gorgeous. Retired oven or not, I would make these in a heartbeat. So beautifully photographed, too.
You must have a new oven by now. I bet you’re excited to break it in with tons of delicious sweet and savory treats. :-)
Thanks for all your sweet comments on the blog the last few weeks. I’ve been remiss in responding to them but so, so appreciated! I hope you’re having a great week!
Hi there, these look amazing but I was just wondering if you have a recipe for the lemon curd that you’ve used here… I know there are plenty of lemon curd recipes around but I just wanted to know what this one’s was… thanks =)
Hi Stef! For the sake of convenience, I used a jar of lemon curd from Trader Joe’s. I’m not sure if you have had a chance to taste it, but if not, I can assure you, it is absolutely wonderful. But since you mention the lemon curd, I think I will post soon on a lemon curd recipe!
Hi Liren,
Cool thanks for that! As far as I’m aware, we don’t get the Trader Joe’s lemon curd where I live so it’ll be great to see your recipe for it instead =)
Hi Stef, I just wanted you to know that I posted a recipe for Lemon Curd today. Hope you enjoy it!
The bars look so good.
OMG these lemon bars look so incredible!
Ah! How awful. I was without a microwave for about 3 months and thought I wouldn’t survive. Turns out, I didn’t need it until I wanted to pop some popcorn! We had a toaster oven that usually did the job – just a little slower.
Your bars look fabulous. I’m always looking for more ways to use mascarpone, so thank you!
I have no idea what I would do if our ancient oven kicked the bucket! These bars are a beautiful accomplishment and I’m sure helped ease the mind a little but I’d be in total panic mode (given its grill season you’d think I’d be more relaxed.>.>)
Oh poor oven. Hope normal service is resumed soon. Meantime, look at what you’ve come up with without your oven. These look stunning!
Just stunning!!! Love your fabulous lemon bars~
These look so delicious and refreshing for these hot summer days! I’d love for you to join in my weekend through monday foodie blog hop to share this recipe. i feature 8 blog posts each week! PS….now that you’ve made the switch, can we still follow your RSS through Google reader?
Hi Roz! I’ll have to stop by and check out the blog hop, sounds fun! As for the RSS feed, if you were subscribed before, it should still work (crossing fingers!) and show up in your Google reader. Please do let me know if you encounter any problems!
Love the lemon curd in these bars. Nice and refreshing for a warm summer day. I have a Miele combi oven and I love it. Just hate the cleaning, but will hate the cleaning with every oven.
Hi Lilly! I ended up with a Miele and I can’t wait. If it’s anything like their dishwashers (which I LOVE), I know it will be wonderful.
These look great, def cannot wait to make these for my barbeque dessert! i love lemon curd too, best thing for the summer!
These look so good, I love citrus desserts in the summer, so refreshing!
I can’t even imagine my oven dying!! I can feel your pain! BUT I looooove what you did without the oven… these cheesecake bars are ammmmmmazing!
Gorgeous pics and this is a perfect dessert to make with kids. Simple and easy.
I have whirlpool oven and they are pretty good and I love them. Hope you get your oven soon and get back showing us your wonderful creations :-)
Who needs an oven with beautiful no bake bars like these? Gorgeous photos Liren and the perfect summer treat, thanks for sharing your recipe;-)
The lack of a working oven seems to have been more inspirational than anything. These bars look amazing.
Now you have a perfect opportunity to get the perfect oven!
and oh i forgot to say one more thing.. good luck on your oven venture.
im weak in my knees because I really want to take a bite right now… haha but really, this is such a tease. I love no bake (since i don’t bake much LOL!) have a great weekend Liren!
malou
Gorgeous, absolutely gorgeous photos!! And I love that they are no- bake. My oven is in a similar state. Well, I lost one of them, and now I have the other one that I have not used it 10 years and it is running WAY hot, I’ve burned more than I care to recount.
Good luck on a new oven! I hope you get one of those super cool, top of the line models… I will be green with envy!!
Love the bars!
These are so incredibly beautiful! I’d hate to bust up a set like this. I would, but I’d hate it. Sorry about the oven but all hail the new oven!
Those lemon curd bars look beautiful – so lovely…the pictures are incredible. I just love it – but I’m sorry it came at the expense of your oven. Congratulations on your new domain! I bet you are SO excited!
the pictures look pretty,im sure taste great i love lemon curd,hope the new oven arrive soon :) i will try this recipe for sure.
Those look absolutely amazing! I adore no bake desserts like nobody’s business and our family is obsessed with cheesecake!! Love it!
those bars look like heaven on a plate! I hope your new oven arrives soon, I know how hard it must be without it. It’s funny I just made the same type of dessert in a round tart but with peaches…it is the perfect time of year for that dessert!
I am not happy with my oven, it came with the apartment and takes 20 minutes to heat to 350! These bars look good and would be perfect for my crummy oven (and these hot days!)
Omg! My oven died too! I don’t know what happened, but my new one is getting delivered tomorrow! (it’s been a whole week without baking)
Those look so good. Mmm lemon!
Liren, these look lovely! I just made lemon curd, too, and could simply eat it by the spoonful. But what a great idea to combine lemon curd with cheesecake!!
If I had to purchase a new oven right now, I think Wolf would be the choice:) Your bars look yummy!
They are so tempting. Good luck on your oven venture.