Classic Cheesecake Bars, Gluten Free

Instructions

1. 1

   Heat the oven and line the pan

   Set a rack in the middle of the oven and heat it to 350°F (175°C). Line a 9x13-inch metal baking pan with parchment, letting it hang over the two long sides by an inch or so. Those flaps are how you lift the whole slab out later, so don't skip them.

2. 2

   Press the crust, then let it rest

   Stir the gluten-free graham crumbs, sugar, and salt together, pour in the melted butter, and mix until evenly damp. Press firmly and evenly into the pan with the flat bottom of a measuring cup. Now let the pressed crust sit for 15 minutes before it goes in the oven: gluten-free crumbs absorb butter more slowly, and you'll often see it pooling on the surface at first. Once that sheen has soaked in, the crust will bake up crisp instead of greasy.

3. 3

   Par-bake the crust

   Bake for 10 minutes, until toasty-smelling and slightly darker at the edges. Set it on a rack and turn the oven down to 325°F (165°C). The crust doesn't need to be cold before filling, just no longer hot.

4. 4

   Beat the cream cheese smooth

   In a stand mixer with the paddle, or a large bowl with a hand mixer, beat the room-temperature cream cheese with the sugar, gluten-free flour blend, and salt on medium for a full 2 minutes, scraping the bowl and paddle twice. Get every lump out now — once the eggs go in, any lump you still see is a lump you'll eat. Avoid the whisk attachment, which whips in air you don't want.

5. 5

   Add the wet ingredients gently

   Drop the mixer to low. Beat in the sour cream, then the eggs one at a time, mixing just until each disappears. Add the vanilla and lemon juice and stop the moment the batter looks uniform. Air beaten in here becomes bubbles that puff, then collapse into cracks.

6. 6

   Rest the batter, then fill

   Let the finished batter stand for 20 minutes before using it. This gives the rice flour and starches in the blend time to hydrate, which keeps the baked filling velvety rather than faintly gritty. Scrape it over the crust, smooth the top, then drop the pan onto the counter four or five times to release air bubbles.

7. 7

   Bake until the center wobbles

   Bake at 325°F for 45 to 50 minutes. Look for puffed, matte edges and a 3-inch circle in the center that still jiggles as one soft unit when you nudge the pan. It will finish setting as it cools, so pull it on the early side.

8. 8

   Cool slowly, then chill hard

   Turn the oven off, crack the door, and leave the pan inside for 30 minutes, then cool completely on a rack. Refrigerate uncovered for at least 6 hours, ideally overnight. The long chill matters even more here — it firms up the gluten-free crust so it holds together under the knife.

9. 9

   Lift and slice

   Lift the cold slab out by the parchment onto a cutting board. Slice with a long thin knife dipped in hot water and wiped dry between every cut, pressing straight down rather than sawing, since the gluten-free crust is a little more crumbly. Cut 4 rows by 6 for 24 bars.

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Baker's Tips

• 1.

  Cold cream cheese is the number one cause of lumpy cheesecake. Unwrap the blocks and leave them on the counter for 2 hours, or cube them to speed it up. They should dent easily under a finger but still hold their shape.

• 2.

  Use brick-style full-fat cream cheese only. Whipped and tub-style versions carry extra air and water and will bake into a loose, weeping filling.

• 3.

  The lemon juice isn't there to make the bars taste lemony — it sharpens the tang of the cream cheese so the whole thing doesn't read as flatly sweet. A teaspoon of finely grated lemon zest alongside it is a good addition if you like more brightness.

• 4.

  If your oven runs hot or you're using a glass pan, start checking at 40 minutes. Glass insulates, so a glass pan may instead need an extra 5 to 10 minutes — go by the wobble, not the clock.

• 5.

  A thin crack or two near the edge is cosmetic and nothing to fuss over. Cover it with a spoonful of berry sauce, salted caramel, or a drift of fresh raspberries before serving.

• 6.

  These are easy to dress up: swirl 1/3 cup of thick fruit jam through the batter with a knife before baking, or fold 1 cup of mini chocolate chips into the finished batter.