Chocolate raspberry cheesecake bars feature a silky cheesecake filling baked on top of a buttery graham cracker crust with with luscious swirls of fresh raspberry sauce and rich chocolate.
It’s just not Valentine’s Day unless we’re indulging in cheesecake! And I’ve got your ultimate fix on deck for today.
I mean, my gosh, does it get any more romantic than raspberries + chocolate all hanging out in cheesecake land?? This is one of those desserts that absolutely no one can resist.
Seriously, don’t even try.
We’re keeping things a little more manageable today and skipping the full-size cheesecake in favor of these low-maintenance bars. They bake up quickly in only an hour and you can prep them way ahead of time for easy dessert serving later.
And yes, you can and WILL nail that swirl! It’s so much easier than it looks and the more imperfect it is the better.
These Cheesecake Bars feature…
- A buttery graham cracker crust
- A silky cheesecake filling
- Swirls of fresh raspberry sauce and rich chocolate
Making the Cheesecake Bars
(scroll down to the bottom of the post for the full recipe)
Ingredients You Will Need
- Graham cracker crumbs
- Unsalted butter
- Granulated sugar
- Cream cheese
- Eggs
- 2% or skim milk
- Vanilla extract
- Kosher salt
- Unsweetened cocoa powder
- Semisweet chocolate
- Raspberries
- Raspberry jam
Choosing Your Pan
I recommend using a square 9-inch pan for this recipe as this size is ideal for achieving that perfect crust-to-filling ratio and gives you 9 decently-sized cheesecake bars for serving.
For best results, I recommend lining your pan with parchment paper to make for easy removal + cutting once you’re ready to serve the bars.
Tips for Perfect Cheesecake Bars
- Pre-bake crust – this sets the graham cracker crust up perfectly before adding the filling and will make for clean slices later.
- Whip cream cheese and sugar – I recommend using either a paddle attachment with a stand mixer or a handheld electric mixer.
- Layer cream cheese filling, raspberry sauce, and chocolate – this ensures that you get swirls of raspberry and chocolate in every bite.
- Bake bars at 325F – we’re going to bake the bars at a slightly lower temperature of 325F for 25-30 minutes. When done, the bars should be slightly jiggly in the center and register 145F on a kitchen thermometer.
- Cool bars, then chill completely – Allow the bars to cool completely on a wire cooling rack, then transfer to fridge to chill for 2 hours or until completely chilled.
- Use parchment paper to remove bars from pan – grasp the parchment paper overhang and gently remove bars from pan and transfer to a cutting board.
- Clean knife between cutting bars – Use a kitchen towel to wipe the knife off between each cut for smooth, clean lines.
Recipe Variations
Try these ideas for a different twist on these bars.
- Use another berry – try blackberries, strawberries, or blueberries in place of the raspberries.
- Try another chocolate – try dark chocolate in place of the semisweet.
Storing Cheesecake Bars
These cheesecake bars store well in refrigerator up to 6 days. For best results, keep bars chilled until ready to serve.
I do not recommend freezing these bars as I find that freezing negatively effects the texture of the cream cheese after thawing.
Every luscious bite of these cheesecake bars is singing with tangy raspberries, rich chocolate, and it all sets up so perfectly in the silky cheesecake base with that soft buttery graham cracker crust holding everything together.
No one in their right mind should be celebrating Valentine’s Day without a stack of these bars on hand!
Save this recipe using the ‘save to recipe box’ button below. If you make it, please let us know! Leave a comment + star rating below, or take a photo and tag it on Instagram with #wholeandheavenlyoven.
More cheesecake cravings to bake next!
Chocolate Raspberry Cheesecake Bars
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Ingredients
Graham Cracker Crust
- 3/4 cup graham cracker crumbs
- 3 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
- 1-1/2 teaspoons granulated sugar
Chocolate Raspberry Cheesecake Filling
- 16 oz cream cheese, softened
- 3/4 cup granulated sugar
- 2 large eggs, room temperature
- 1 tablespoon 2% or skim milk
- 1-1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 tablespoon unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1 oz semisweet chocolate, chopped and melted
- 1/2 cup fresh (or frozen and thawed) raspberries
- 3 tablespoons raspberry jam
Instructions
Graham Cracker Crust
- Preheat oven to 350F. In a small bowl, combine graham cracker crumbs, melted butter, and sugar, tossing until crumbly.
- Press crumb mixture in the bottom and a little ways up the sides of a parchment paper-lined square 9-inch baking dish. Bake crust at 350F 5-7 minutes until a light golden brown. Set aside to cool. Reduce oven heat to 325F.
Chocolate Raspberry Cheesecake Filling
- Place cream cheese and sugar in a large mixing bowl or the bowl of a stand mixer. Use a handheld electric mixer or the paddle attachment on mixer to beat cream cheese and sugar 2-3 minutes until smooth and creamy.
- With mixer running, add eggs one by one beating well after each addition. Mix in milk, vanilla, and salt until smooth.
- Scoop out 1/2 cup cream cheese filling and fold in cocoa and melted chocolate until smooth.
- Pour half of remaining cream cheese filling over cooled crust and gently spread in an even layer. Set aside for a moment.
- In a small bowl, mash raspberries and jam until smooth. Drop half of raspberry filling and half of chocolate mixture by the spoonful over cream cheese filling and use a knife to swirl into the cream cheese. Repeat layers with remaining cream cheese, raspberry filling, and chocolate filling and use a knife to swirl.
- Bake cheesecake bars at 325F 25-30 minutes until cheesecake registers 145F. Allow bars to cool completely on a wire cooling rack, then transfer to fridge to chill 2 hours until completely cold.
- When ready to serve, cut cheesecake into squares and serve chilled with additional raspberries on top. Enjoy!
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