Lemon Bar Cheesecake Squares

Valentine's Day Romantic Dessert #2: 

ASIAN

Alright, this isn't totally asian, but hey it pairs well with the Asian dinner. However, it is also fun to serve a fortune cookie after the meal, especially on Valentine's Day. I love cheesecake, as you probably have discovered through my saying it a hundred times already, but I also LOVE lemon bars.  I was having guests over and couldn't make up my mind on which to make, so I decided to make both!  My oldest daughter said and I quote, "It tastes like a layer of crust, a layer of lemon and a layer of cheesecake." In other words, I succeeded!  It is good, but just make sure not to over cook the cheesecake layer because it is better slightly 'tender.' And it is best cooked the night before serving.  The strawberry sauce is a perfect compliment of flavors to this dessert.

Crust:

2 cubes butter, melted

2 cups flour

1 cup powdered sugar

-Turn oven to 325 degrees. In a 9x13 pan, mix butter, flour and sugar.  Press into the bottom of the pan until evenly covered.  Bake for 12 minutes OR until just before edges turn a slight brown.

Lemon Center:

4 eggs 

2 cups sugar

4 tbsp lemon juice

4 tbsp flour

Place ingredients in a blender and blend until smooth.

Cheesecake:

3-8 oz cream cheese, softened to room temperature

14 oz sweetened condensed milk

3 eggs

2 tsp vanilla

In a mixing bowl, mix cream cheese until smooth, add milk, eggs and vanilla.  Set aside.

Layers:

-Once crust has cooked, pour the cream cheese layer on top.  Spoon a 1/3 of the lemon sauce into different dots on the cheesecake mixture.  

-Set remaining lemon center aside. Return bars to oven and cook about 20 minutes, or until cheesecake mixture looks spongy and set slightly on top.  

-Once, most set, pour remaining mixture over top and cook an additional 30 minutes or until cheesecake barely starts to brown and cracks slightly.  

-Cool to room temperature and refrigerate over night.

-Serve topped with strawberry sauce.

Strawberry Sauce:

1 cups strawberries, fresh or frozen

1/2 cup sugar

Blend strawberries and sugar together, drizzle over cut bars and serve on a polkadot platter!