No Bake Blueberry Swirl Cheesecake Bars

Instructions for Blueberry Sauce

1. The sauce in this recipe is essentially a blueberry curd. Start by placing the blueberries, lemon juice and sugar in a small saucepan over a medium heat. Cook this, stirring occasionally for a few minutes until the sugar has dissolved and the berries begin to release juices.
2. Transfer the blueberry sauce to a blender or food processor and blitz to break down the berries completely. Then strain this through a sieve, returning the strained juice to the saucepan.
3. While this is still off of the heat, add the lightly beaten egg, while whisking continuous (see note).
4. Return the pan to the heat and cook over a medium heat, while stirring constantly until the sauce has thickened enough to coat the back of a spoon.
5. Remove from the heat and add the butter, stirring to melt smoothly. Then pour into a heatproof bowl or jar to cool completely for an hour or two.

Instructions for the Cheesecake

1. Start by lining an 8" square baking tray with parchment paper.
2. In a mixing bowl, stir together the ingredients for the crust - the cookie crumbs, brown sugar and melted butter - until you have a moistened crumb.
3. Pour the crumb mixture into the lined pan and press firmly to form a base.
4. Set this in the refrigerator to chill while you prepare the filling.
5. In a mixing bowl, use a handheld electric beater to beat together the heavy cream, powdered sugar and vanilla extract until you reach stiff peaks. (see note)
6. In a separate large mixing bowl, whisk together the cream cheese and sugar until smooth.
7. Add the whipped cream to the cream cheese mixture and use a spatula to fold together into a creamy filling. Avoid overbeating and knocking too much air out of the cream.
8. Spoon the filling onto the prepared crust and spread evenly into the edges and corners.
9. Dollop about ⅔ of your blueberry sauce onto the surface of the cheesecake and swirl into the filling. Then re-spread the cheesecake so that you smooth the surface. This will remove the swirl at this stage, but will give you a gorgeous purple top to the cheesecake.
10. Place the remaining blueberry sauce in a piping bag or a ziploc bag and cut a small hole in the end (corner). Pipe the sauce in diagonal lines across the cheesecake and use a toothpick or skewer to gently swirl this. (see note)
11. Set the cheesecake in the refrigerator to chill for at least 4 hours (better overnight), to set.
12. When ready to serve, remove from the pan and cut into 12 bars (2" wide by about 2⅔" long).