No Bake Guava Swirl Cheesecake Bars
September 21, 2020
Happy Latinx Heritage Month! Growing up in a Puerto Rican household meant that our version of a “cheese board” was saltines, pasta de guayaba and a sharp cheddar cheese, usually served with cafecito after dinner. The sweet guava pairs perfectly with the salty cracker and cheese - to me, it’s a flavor combo that will always taste like home.
It was so fun to play with these sweet / salty flavors and put a Puerto Rican spin on Cloudy Kitchen’s no-bake mixed. berry cheesecake bars. The berries get swapped out for guava and the graham cracker crust is replaced with a saltine cracker crust, all balanced out by a silky smooth cheesecake filling.
And the best part? You don’t need to turn on the oven because these babies are no-bake!
recipe
Adapted from Cloudy Kitchen’s No Bake Mixed Berry Cheesecake Bars
Quantity: 16 bars
Time: ~2 hours
Ingredients:
Guava Coulis
200 g (~1 cup) guava paste, cut into small cubes
100 g (3.5 oz) water
Saltine Cracker Crust
120 g (approximately 1 sleeves) saltine crackers
1 tablespoon sugar
113 g (1 stick) butter, melted
Filling
300 g (1 and 1/3 cups) plus 120 g (1/2 cup + 1/2 tablespoon) heavy cream
2 teaspoons powdered gelatine
450 g (16 oz or 2 packages) cream cheese, at room temperature
130 g (2/3 cup) sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste
1/8 teaspoon salt
Process:
Guava Coulis
In a small saucepan, combine guava paste and water. Heat over medium-low heat until the guava melts into a thick liquid. Set aside to cool.
Saltine Cracker Crust
Grease a 9 inch square pan and line with parchment paper. Let the parchment paper extend beyond two sides of the pan to form a little sling. This will make it easier to remove the bars.
Crush saltines into crumbs. You can use a food processor, coffee grinder or blender.
Combine saltine crumbs, sugar and melted butter, mixing until you have the texture of wet sand.
Transfer crumbs to the square pan and press into an even layer. Set in the fridge or freezer to firm up while you make the filling.
Cream Cheese Filling
In a small pot, combine 120 g of heavy cream with the gelatine. Heat over low heat, stirring, until the gelatine is dissolved. Set aside to cool.
In your stand mixer with the whisk attachment, or in a bowl with a hand mixer, whip the remaining 300 g of heavy cream until soft peaks form, being careful not to over mix. If you used a stand mixer, transfer to a separate bowl.
In your stand mixer with the whisk attachment, or in a bowl with a hand mixer, mix the cream cheese, sugar, vanilla and salt until light and fluffy. Pour the mixture of cream and gelatine into the cream cheese mixture and mix until combined.
Using a rubber spatula or spoon, gently fold the whipped cream into the cream cheese mixture until combined.
Assembly
Remove crust from freezer and pour half of the cream cheese mixture over the top of the crust and smooth into an even layer. I like to use an offset spatula to smooth out the top.
Working a tablespoon at a time, spoon nine small dollops of the guava coulis on the top of the cream cheese mixture. Don’t use too much or else the cream cheese mixture won’t set properly. Swirl with a knife or skewer, then top with the remaining cream cheese mixture. Add another nine small dollops of the guava coulis and swirl to create a marble pattern. You can add a little more couli if desired and repeat the marble technique until you are satisfied with the pattern.
You will have leftover coulis.
Refrigerate for at least three hours or overnight. When ready to serve, remove from the pan by using the parchment paper to lift out of the pan. Then cut into squares or bars. For super clean cuts, run your knife under hot water then wipe dry before each cut.
Tips:
If you don’t have gelatin on hand (or don’t eat it), you can omit. BUT you’ll want to freeze the bars in order for them to firm up. Then move to the refrigerator 30 minutes before serving.
Leftover coulis can be used on toast or frozen and used later.
Make sure your cream cheese is at room temp. Otherwise you’ll end up with lumps.