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Piña Colada Cheesecake Bars
By Laura Rege
Yields:
16 serving(s)
Prep Time:
20 mins
Total Time:
4 hrs 30 mins
Cal/Serv:
471
We’re no strangers to turning a dessert into a cocktail (see our Key lime pie mojitos or our tiramisu white Russians), but it’s less often we go the other direction. That ends now—these piña colada-inspired cheesecake bars are everything you love about the summery cocktail, in a shareable dessert bar package. Think lemon bars, but with a creamy, tropical makeover. These are sure to transport you to an island getaway after just one bite.
Speaking of lemon bars, get excited: for this recipe you’ll be ditching the citrus and making a pineapple curd (!!) that is TOO good. If you’ve never gone beyond lemon curd, this is your sign to start.
Honestly, you could stop there for these bars, but we wanted to take them even more over the top with a little whipped cream, toasted coconut, and maraschino cherries. If you wanted to add some cocktail umbrellas to make these even more fun, we wouldn’t stop you!
Made these? Let us know how it went (and your ideal tropical vacation) in the comments below.
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Ingredients
For the crust
- 1 1/2 cups
finely ground graham cracker crumbs (from 12 graham crackers)
- 1/4 cup
granulated sugar
- 6 Tbsp.
butter, melted
- 1/4 tsp.
kosher salt
For the cheesecake filling
- 2
(8-oz.) blocks cream cheese, room temperature
- 1/2 cup
granulated sugar
- 1 cup
coconut milk, from 1 (13.66-oz.) Thai Kitchen coconut milk
- 3
large eggs
- 1/4 tsp.
kosher salt
- 3/4 cup
untoasted sweetened coconut flakes
For the pineapple filling
- 1 cup
granulated sugar
- 9
large egg yolks
- 1 cup
canned pineapple juice
- 1/4 tsp.
kosher salt
- 10 Tbsp.
butter, cut into 1/2" pieces
For serving
- 2 cups
whipped cream topping
- 3/4 cup
toasted sweetened coconut flakes
- 16
maraschino cherries with stems
Directions
For the crust
- Step 1Preheat oven to 325° and line a 9" square baking pan with parchment paper, leaving an overhang on two sides.
- Step 2In a medium bowl, combine graham crackers with sugar, melted butter, and salt. Transfer to prepared pan, and gently press in to make an even crust. Bake until lightly golden, about 12 minutes. Let cool on a wire rack while making the filling.
- Step 3In a medium saucepan, whisk together sugar and egg yolks, then whisk in pineapple juice and salt. Add butter and place over medium heat.
- Step 4Cook pineapple mixture, stirring constantly and scraping the bottom and sides of the pans, until the butter melts and mixture is thick enough to coat the back of a spoon, about 9 minutes. Remove from heat and strain through a fine-mesh sieve into a medium heatproof bowl. Refrigerate until very cold, at least 1 hour.
For the cheesecake filling
- Step 1In a large bowl, beat cream cheese with sugar until light and fluffy, 2 minutes. Beat in coconut milk, eggs, and salt until smooth. Stir in coconut flakes.Pour mixture over crust and bake until just set, about 45 minutes. Cool completely in pan. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate until well chilled, at least 2 hours.
For the pineapple filling
- Step 1In a medium saucepan, whisk together sugar and egg yolks, then whisk in pineapple juice and salt. Add butter and place over medium heat. Cook pineapple mixture, stirring constantly and scraping the bottom and sides of the pans, until the butter melts and mixture is thick enough to coat the back of a spoon, about 9 minutes.
- Step 2 Remove from heat and strain through a fine-mesh sieve into a medium heatproof bowl. Refrigerate until very cold, at least 1 hour.
For serving
- Step 1Spread cooled pineapple mixture evenly over cooled bars and spread whipped cream on top. Sprinkle with toasted coconut and keep chilled until ready to serve.
- Step 2Use parchment paper overhang to lift cheesecake out of pan. Cut into 16 squares. Top each square with a maraschino cherry before serving.
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