Ube Cheesecake Bars

 

I would definitely make these again!  They were pretty and tasted good.  Next time, I would try to pipe thicker ube ribbons at the top. I baked this for 27 min.

 

Ube Cheesecake Bars (~from kulinarian.com)

Ingredients

·        1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted

·        3/4 cup granulated sugar

·        2 large eggs

·        1/4 cup ube jam/ube halaya

·        1/2 - 1 tbsp tbsp ube extract

·        1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour

·        1 tsp baking powder

·        1/2 tsp salt

·        8 oz cream cheese, softened at room temperature

·        3 tbsp granulated sugar

·        1 large egg

·        1 tsp vanilla extract

 

Instructions

1.      Preheat oven to 350F. Line an 8 x 8 baking pan with parchment paper and grease. Set aside.

2.      In a large bowl, combine butter and sugar. Beat until well combined. Add 2 eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add ube jam/halaya and ube extract. Beat until well combined.

3.      Place a sieve over the mixing bowl and add flour, baking powder and salt. Sift then stir using a spatula just until combined. Do not overmix. Reserve about 1/3 cup cake batter and set aside.

4.      Pour the cake batter onto the prepared pan. Spread evenly then set aside.

5.      In a medium bowl, beat cream cheese until creamy. Add sugar and beat well. Add one egg and vanilla extract. Beat until mixture is smooth. Pour cream cheese mixture over the cake batter and spread evenly.

6.      Transfer the reserved mixture into a piping bag. Cut the tip to make a small hole. Pipe the ube cake mixture diagonally onto the cream cheese mixture. Drag a clean toothpick or bamboo skewer through the cake batter to get a pretty swirl.

7.      Bake for about 30 minutes or until the top is nearly set. Cool completely before serving. (baked 27 min)