Mixed Berry Cheesecake Bars

Recipes and photo by Lydia Conner, @smileystomach

Ingredients

Crust

1 bag Hagen’s Berry Bomb, ground in food processor or blender

Berry Purée

4 heaping cups super mixed berries or choice, washed and cut into smaller pieces for larger berries
3 Tbsp maple syrup
1 Tbsp cornstarch

Filling

1 cup raw cashews
1 cup coconut cream
3 Tbsp lemon juice
1 ½ Tbsp cornstarch
1/8 tsp salt
1/3 cup maple syrup
1 tsp vanilla (optional)

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350 F (176 C) and line an 8x8 baking dish with parchment paper.
Crust: Grind Warrior Mix into a fine meal. Transfer to prepared dish and spread evenly. Place parchment on top and press into your pan using a flat-bottomed object or your hands. Bake for about 10 minutes. Remove from the oven and set aside.
Berry Purée: While crust bakes, rinse your blender and prepare the berry purée. Place the berries, maple syrup, and cornstarch into the blender and blend until smooth.
Transfer purée to a medium saucepan and heat on medium. Cook, stirring constantly, for 20-25 minutes, until it’s thick, slightly reduced, and darkened in color. Once reduced, you should have ~1 ½ cups (355 ml) of thickened purée. Turn off the heat and set aside to cool slightly.

5. Filling: While your purée and crust are cooling, rinse your blender once more and make your filling. Add raw cashews, coconut cream, lemon juice, cornstarch, salt, maple syrup, and vanilla (optional) to the blender. Blend on high until the mixture is smooth and creamy. Taste and adjust flavor, adding more lemon for zing or maple syrup for sweetness.

6. Add about 1 cup of the berry purée as your first layer on top of your crust and smooth with a spatula to distribute evenly, ensuring you have about 1/2 cup of purée left to decorate the top of your cheesecake. Now gently pour all of the cheesecake batter on top of the berry purée. Gently tap the dish on the counter a few times to remove air bubbles from the cheesecake layer. Lastly, dollop tablespoon-sized scoops of the remaining berry purée on top of the cheesecake layer and use the back of a knife or a toothpick to swirl.
Bake for 45-55 minutes until the edges are slightly brown and the center is still slightly jiggly, but solid.
Cover loosely with a towel or parchment paper and place in the refrigerator to chill for 6-8 hours or, preferably, overnight. After chilling, the top should have a glossy texture and turn whiter in color.
To serve, gently lift the cheesecake out of the pan and cut into 16 equally sized squares. Store leftovers in a sealed container in the refrigerator for 3-4 days or in the freezer for up to 1 month.