Piña Colada Cheesecake Bars to kick off this summer party
Only this time I don’t even care if no one shows up! That just means more for me!
Usually I am looking for a fast exit strategy to get my fav desserts away from me so I don’t eat every last crumb
Except this time I don’t even care, I want these all to myself!
Pineapple Butter Rum topping and coconut graham crust is the best pair up!
Creamy and tangy and refreshing and so summery!
But I will warn you ahead of time, be careful you don’t eat all of the topping before the cheesecake is ready!
CLICK HERE FOR THE FULL YOUTUBE VIDEO TUTORIAL FOR HOW TO MAKE THESE CHEESECAKE BARS
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Notes for Success:
Baking everything in a 9″ x 9″ cake pan that has been lined with an overhang of parchment paper will aid in easy removal.
At times I add an addition of firm tofu in place of some of the cream cheese for a lightened up version and to cut some of the fat calories.
I do not find an extremely noticeable difference in the outcome of straight vegan cream cheese versus the tofu addition, so for me I like the tofu version.
Additionally Tofutti Cream Cheese is the only brand I will use for my BAKED recipes *not sponsored
I’ve not had success with any other brand in BAKED recipes; for some reason some other brands I’ve tried have broken down into an oily mess when baked.
However more recently I tried Violife again and it works! Although I still prefer the Tofutti brand
Cornstarch is a very difficult ingredient to measure consistently with a volume spoons measure
So while I list both measures below I cannot stress enough how the grams measure with a kitchen scale is going to give you the best results.
Many times people have complained that their custard or cheesecake is like rubber and they don’t know why!
Yield: 12-16 Bars
Piña Colada Cheesecake Bars
Prep Time
1 hour 30 minutes
Cook Time
50 minutes
Total Time
2 hours 20 minutes
Ingredients
For the Crust:
- Graham Crackers 10 sheets (140g)
- Shredded Flaked Coconut *sweet or unsweet *your option ½ cup (35g)
- Vegan Butter melted 6 tablespoons (85g)
For the Cheesecake:
- Vegan Cream Cheese 12ounce (339g) *see notes
- Firm Tofu 4ounces (113g) * see notes
- Vegan Butter melted 2 tablespoons (28g)
- Coconut Extract 1 Tablespoon (15ml)
- Vanilla Bean Paste 2 teaspoons (10ml)
- Granulated Sugar 1 cup (200g)
- Cornstarch 4 Tablespoons (32g) *see notes
- All Purpose Flour 2 Tablespoons (16g)
- Full Fat Coconut Milk 6fl oz (177ml)
- Vegan Lactic Acid or apple cider vinegar 2 teaspoons
- Salt ¼ teaspoon
- Rum extract *optional 1 Tablespoon (15ml)
- Unsweetened Desiccated Coconut ½ cup (35g) *optional
For the Pineapple Topping:
- 1 Can 20oz Crushed Pineapple in 100% juice this is equivalent to approx 2.5 cups crushed Pineapple in 1 cup juice
- Cornstarch 2 Tablespoons (16g)
- Vegan Butter 4 Tablespoons (56g)
- Spiced Rum Extract or Spiced Rum 4 teaspoons (20ml)
- Shredded Flaked Coconut for the garnish *optional approximately ¼ cup (17g)
Instructions
- First prepare the cake pan with an overhang of parchment paper for easy removal *see video tutorial
- Next prepare the graham cracker crust by crushing the graham crackers in a food processor to fine crumbs.
- Add the melted vegan butter and pulse until it resembles wet sand, then add the coconut just to combine
- Press the crumbs into the prepared greased & parchment lined cake pan evenly on the bottom and up the sides.
- Freeze while you prepare the cheesecake batter
- Placing all of the cheesecake ingredients except for the optional coconut, into the work bowl of your food processor and pulse to blend
- Scrape the sides of the bowl to ensure an even mix then blend again to a smooth mixture
- Pour the batter into the crust and then sprinkle the desiccated coconut over top of the batter, this forms a nice crust on top of the cheesecake bar while baking
- Bake the cheesecake pan in a larger pan (i used a 9″ x 13″ pan) to make a water bath in a preheated 350°F oven and bake for 50 minutes.
- Because we are making bars, the cheesecake should finished baking in less time than a regular deeper cheesecake pan.
- Shake the pan gently if the center is firm to slightly jiggly, but not liquid, it is done.
- Remove the pan from the oven and cool at room temperature.
- The refrigerate to set to cold.
- Meanwhile prepare the pineapple topping by combining the juice from the pineapple can in a small sauce pot with the cornstarch and vegan butter.
- Cook over medium high heat whisking constantly until it comes to a full boil
- Remove from the heat and add the spiced rum extract and the crushed pineapple, transfer to a bowl or container to cool
- Once the cheesecake is completely cold & set, spread the pineapple topping over the entire top then remove it from the pan by pulling it out by the parchment paper flaps.
- Cut into bars and serve!
Notes
Pineapple Cheesecake Bars must be kept refrigerated but can stay at room temperature during service for up to 2 hours.
Cheesecake bars will stay fresh wrapped well in the refrigerator for up to 1 week
I do not love to freeze vegan cheesecakes, I feel they take on a strange texture upon thawing.
