I am cooking up a storm in my kitchen, once again. This time, I went outside and found a million blackberries from our blackberry bush, and figured these would go great with a cheese cake recipe I have. While I was outside, I noticed something pretty cool. My boyfriend sent me a beautiful Hydrangea plant and it had my favorite colors, royal blue. ( He was in Greece when he did this.) I just noticed it is blooming again, and this time it has a beautiful look to it. Check out the pictures below. Okay now for the great recipe.

Meyer Lemon & Blackberry Cheesecake Bars Recipe-

Ingredients-

(For the Crust)

2 cups of graham cracker crumbs

1/4 cup granulated sugar

6 oz fresh or frozen blackberries

1/4 cup granulated white sugar
1/4 cup water

* Optional- tsp of lemon juice

The Cheesecake-

16 ounces cream cheese, room temperature
1/2 cup sour cream, room temperature/ or for a less fattening recipe, use Greek yogurt- plain
2 large eggs, room temperature
1/2 cup granulated white sugar
2 tablespoon Meyer lemon zest

1/4 cup fresh Meyer lemon juice
1/4 teaspoon salt

Directions-

Preheat the oven to 350ºF or 163 C. Butter a 9″x9″ glass pan. Mix the graham crackers, with the melted butter and sugar.Mix and blend together to create a wet sand look.  Pour into the pan and press firmly into the bottom. Bake for 8-10 minutes for a nice golden color. Remove to cool.

In a small saucepan on medium low heat mix together the blackberries, sugar and water. Cook for 8-10 minutes until the raspberries are completely broken down. Place a fine mesh strainer over a bowl and with a silicone spatula press through all the liquid, and dispose of the seeds. Set the liquid aside. ( If you find that the liquid is not thick enough, add about 1 tsp of cornstarch to a few tsp of water, and whisk into the blackberry pan.)Place your oven Temperature to 325 degrees F. Place a tea kettle on high heat on the stove, and boil.

In the bowl of your stand mixer or using a hand mixer with a large bowl, cream together the cream cheese sugar and lemon zest until light for about 4 minutes. Then add the sour cream and eggs one at a time until well combined. ( Make sure to scrape down the sides so you incorporate all of the cream cheese and ingredients.)

Scrape down the sides and bottom and finally add the Meyer lemon juice and salt. Mix to combine. Scrape everything together again and pour into the prepared pan.

When your blackberry sauce is cooled, place in a plastic bottle, for decorating. ( You can find these at Wilton’s or other baking shops.)

Pour the cheese cake filling onto the graham cracker pan. Next smooth out the cheesecake with a spatula, and try to level it out.Take the blackberry sauce and create swirls or even dots to design it how ever you like. ( See picture below.)  Next use a wooden stick or skewer and drag out the sauce to create designs.

Bake for about an hour and fifteen minutes or until the middle doesn’t jiggle. Remove from the oven and let cool completely. You can serve with some fresh mint or a small blackberry on the top.

Kali Orexi!