Apple Cheesecake Bars

Spiced apple filling:

1. In a large skillet or frying pan over medium-high heat, melt the butter.
2. Add the chopped apples, light brown sugar, lemon juice, cinnamon and ginger, and stir to combine.
3. Cook for 5-7 minutes over medium-high heat with occasional stirring, until the apples have softened and become tender, and the juices have thickened into a thick, syrupy consistency.
4. In a small bowl, mix together the cornstarch and water, and then add the slurry to the cooked apples. Mix well until evenly distributed and then cook over medium-high heat for a further 1 minute with frequent stirring.
5. Allow the apple filling to cool completely to room temperature and set aside until needed.

Gluten free almond shortbread:

1. Adjust the oven rack to the middle position, pre-heat the oven to 180ºC and line a 23cm square baking pan with parchment/baking paper.
2. In a large bowl, combine the softened butter, light brown sugar and vanilla, and mix well with a wooden spoon or rubber spatula until combined.
3. In a separate bowl, whisk together the gluten free flour blend, almond flour, cinnamon, xanthan gum and salt.
4. Add the dry ingredients to the butter-sugar mixture and mix well until it starts clumping together. Then, give it a knead until you get a homogeneous cookie dough.
5. Press about ⅔ of the shortbread cookie dough (about 380g) into the lined baking pan. Smooth it out into an even layer, this is easiest done with a small offset spatula. Set the remaining ⅓ of the cookie dough aside until needed.
6. Bake the bottom shortbread crust at 180ºC for about 20 minutes or until evenly golden brown. Remove from the oven and allow to cool until warm while you prepare the cheesecake filling. Keep the oven at 180ºC.

Cheesecake filling:

1. In a large bowl using a balloon whisk, mix the cream cheese and yoghurt together until smooth.
2. Mix together sugar and cornstarch, and add them to the cream cheese mixture. Mix well until combined.
3. Add the eggs and vanilla, and mix well until smooth.

Assembling & baking the apple cheesecake bars:

1. Pour the cheesecake filling over the warm shortbread crust and smooth it out into an even layer.
2. Spoon the cooled apple filling evenly over the cheesecake layer – both the apples AND the thick, syrupy apple juices (you shouldn't have any left over).
3. Crumble the remaining ⅓ of the shortbread cookie dough on top, making sure that you get a fairly even coverage with some of the apples peeking through.
4. Bake at 180ºC for about 35-40 minutes or until the crumble topping is golden brown and the filling is only very slightly wobbly when you shake the baking pan.
5. Tip: If the filling is too jiggly, it won’t set properly and could end up too soft (which will make cutting the bars a rather messy business).
6. Allow the bars to cool completely to room temperature in the baking pan and then chill them in the fridge for at least 2 hours or ideally overnight. Once chilled, use the overhanging parchment/baking paper to remove them out of the pan, slice and serve. You can also lightly dust them with some powdered/icing sugar, if you wish.