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Peach Cheesecake Bars
Ingredients
- Gluten free cinnamon shortbread
- 140 g unsalted butter softened
- 125 g light brown soft sugar
- 1/2 tsp vanilla bean paste or 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 240 g plain gluten free flour blend
- 65 g almond flour
- 1 tsp cinnamon ground
- 1/2 tsp xanthan gum
- 1/4 tsp salt
- Cheesecake filling
- 450 g full-fat cream cheese room temperature
- 60 g full-fat plain room temperature; or greek-style yoghurt
- 100 g granulated sugar
- 1 1/2 tbsp cornstarch us; or cornflour; UK
- 2 eggs room temperature
- 1 tsp vanilla bean paste or 2 tsp vanilla extract
- Peach filling
- 4 peaches about 600g; 1 cm; pitted and cut into about 1/2-inch slices; medium; fresh; Make sure that your peaches aren't overly ripe - they should be juicy and flavourful but not too soft. You can use them skin-on or peeled, whichever you prefer.
- 2 tbsp granulated sugar
- 1 tbsp cornstarch us; or cornflour; UK
- 1/4 tsp cinnamon ground
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Directions
Gluten free cinnamon shortbread:
- Adjust the oven rack to the middle position, pre-heat the oven to 350ºF (180ºC) and line a 9-inch (23cm) square baking pan with parchment/baking paper.
- Tip: When lining the baking pan, I recommend leaving some parchment/baking paper overhang, as that will help with removing the bars from the pan later on.
- 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.
- Tip: Don’t cream or aerate the mixture, as that can make the shortbread too delicate and crumbly (note the absence of any raising agents for the same reason).
- In a separate bowl, whisk together the gluten free flour blend, almond flour, cinnamon, xanthan gum and salt.
- 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.
- 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.
- Bake the bottom shortbread crust at 350ºF (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 350ºF (180ºC).
Cheesecake filling:
- In a large bowl using a balloon whisk, mix the cream cheese and yoghurt together until smooth.
- Tip: Make sure to MIX rather than whisk or aerate – you don't want to incorporate too much air into the mixture. If you don't want to do this by hand, use a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment on the lowest speed setting. (I don't recommend using a hand mixer.)
- Mix together sugar and cornstarch (US)/cornflour (UK), and add them to the cream cheese mixture. Mix well until combined.
- Add the eggs and vanilla, and mix well until smooth.
Peach filling:
- Add the sliced peaches, sugar, cornstarch (US)/cornflour (UK) and cinnamon to a large bowl and toss to combine.
- Pour the cheesecake filling over the warm shortbread crust and smooth it out into an even layer.
- Spoon the peach slices evenly over the cheesecake layer – if there are any peach juices left on the bottom of the bowl, don't add them to the cheesecake bars (the extra moisture from the juices could make them too soft and soggy).
- Crumble the remaining ⅓ of the shortbread cookie dough on top, making sure that you get a fairly even coverage with some of the peaches peeking through.
- Bake at 350ºF (180ºC) for about 40-45 minutes or until the crumble topping is golden brown and the filling is only very slightly wobbly when you shake the baking pan.
- 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).
- 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.
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