Key Lime Coconut Cheesecake Bars
Enjoy Key Lime Coconut Cheesecake Bars, a heavenly mix of lime and coconut in a silky creaminess together, better than any pie ever could be!
These Coconut Lime Cheesecake Bars are heavenly, or maybe I should say sinful. I love the mix of lime and coconut, and the tart and sweet taste you get in every bite!
Key Lime Coconut Cheesecake Bars
Friends, we love these luscious and ultra decadent bars. The coconut graham cracker crust holds its shape, and adds the perfect balanced texture to the creaminess of the middle of the bars.
A hit at every party, there is no way you can eat just one! If you loved our pineapple coconut cake recipe, then you’ve got to try these!
Key lime cheesecake
Key lime is an iconic summer flavor. Yes, the classic pie is great, but cheesecake… cheesecake fuses tang and silky creaminess together better than any pie ever could. This cake can be made with regular lime, but I encourage you to find fresh key limes if they are accessible to you and in season. [Wanna make a no-bake cheesecake?]
The flavors of key lime, pandan, ube
The flavors of this cake are inspired by Southeast Asia—pandan extract and ube, pairing beautifully in both flavor and color.
Pandan provides a subtle vanilla flavor, as well as a natural, vibrant green color, while ube adds a warm, subtle nutty flavor, imparting a stunning purple color.
Buy pandan and ube
The combination of key lime, pandan, ube, and toasted coconut makes for the ultimate, luscious summer dessert.
Buy panda, HERE. [affiliate link]
Buy ube, HERE. [affiliate link]
Ingredients for Key Lime Coconut Cheesecake Bars
To start off with a graham cracker crust, you will need graham crackers, toasted coconut, salt, butter, coconut oil and dark brown sugar.
For the cheesecake:
- Cream cheese
- Sweetened condensed milk
- Crème fraîche
- Eggs
- Key lime juice—you will need about 21 limes + zest + limes to garnish
- Pandan extract (other potential substitutes include 2 tsp vanilla extract)
- Kosher salt
- Toasted coconut to garnish
To finish off the squares, top them with whipped cream, toasted coconut, and a lime wedge. They are tasty and look beautiful. To make the whipped cream you will need: heavy whipping cream, confectioner’s sugar, salt, and ube extract (or vanilla extract).
Is ube a yam or sweet potato?
First of all, ube is a purple yam and you pronounce it “ooh-bae.” It is a staple in Filipino desserts.
Ube has a dark, purple skin and is vibrant purple inside. I looked it up and ube grows above ground on vines (while sweet potatoes grow underground, like a potato).
What does ube taste like?
Ube has a nutty, vanilla-like flavor—on the nuttier side. It’s creamy and pairs well with coconut.
Tips:
- Bake coconut at 350 for 5 min, on the bottom rack, then toss and move to upper rack to toast for 2-3 more.
- Zest the limes before you juice them.
- Pandan adds beautiful green color and vanilla flavor. If you don’t have pandan, simply add 2 tsp vanilla extract.
- If you don’t hav ube, you can use purple coloring, or skip the coloring all together.
- Making sure the ingredients are room temperature is key to achieving a smooth mixture with no lumps.
- The bars get better as they sit, so making them the day before is highly recommended.
How to serve the cheesecake bars
To serve, dollop the purple whipped cream into the center of the cake. Use the back of a large spoon to swirl and push the whipped cream towards the edges, make sure to leave a 3’’ boarder between the whipped cream and the edge of the pan. Dollop on the white and swirl it into the purple. Garnish with the sliced lime, sprinkle with toasted coconut, and serve chilled.
Words cannot describe how good these Coconut Lime Cheesecake Bars are! You have to try them for yourself! There is no way you can eat just one.
They are tasty and look beautiful.
Speaking of beauty, last week we were camping at Lake of the Woods in Oregon and can I just tell you how magnificant the sunsets were?
Happy almost-weekend!
More cheesecake recipes:
No-Bake Berry Cream Cheese Bars
Get the Recipe:
Key Lime Coconut Cheesecake Bars
Ingredients
- Coconut Cracker Crust:
- 10 crushed graham crackers
- 1/2 c toasted coconut
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 4 Tbsp butter, cut into cubes and chilled plus 1 Tbsp room temperature for greasing
- 2 1/2 Tbsp coconut oil
- 1/4 c dark brown sugar
- Filling:
- 16 oz cream cheese, room temperature
- 1 14 oz can sweetened condensed milk
- 8 oz crème fraîche, room temperature
- 5 eggs, room temperature
- ½ c key lime juice, about 21 limes
- 1 Tbsp pandan extract
- 1 tsp vanilla extract, or 2 if not using pandan
- 2 tsp key lime zest
- ½ tsp kosher salt
- 1-2 limes to garnish, cut into rounds, half moons, and quarters
- 2 Tbsp toasted coconut to garnish
- Whipped cream:
- ¾ c whipped cream
- ¼ c confectioners sugar
- Pinch of salt
- 1 tsp ube extract, or purple food coloring, or simply vanilla extract optional
Instructions
- Using a stand mixer or hand mixer, combine the cream, sugar and salt. Whip the cream until soft peaks form. If you plan to use Ube extract (or purple coloring) and want to swirl purple and white whipped cream together, remove about 1/3 cup of whipped cream before mixing in the purple ube extract. Refrigerate until ready to use.
- Preheat oven to 375 and grease a 9x13 baking dish with butter. Set aside.
- In a food processor, combine the crackers, sugar, and coconut. Pulse together until finely ground—about 45 seconds. Pulse in the butter and coconut oil until the crust resembles wet sand and, when squeezed together in your fist, holds its shape, but still crumbles around the edges.
- Sprinkle the loose crust around the edges of the pan. Using a measuring cup, press the crust into the edges of the pan and up the sides 1-2 inches. Fill in the center with the remaining crust, and press until the bottom of the dish is covered. Bake crust for 5-8 minutes, then remove and allow to cool completely before adding the filling.
- Lower the oven to 325 degrees.
- With a stand mixer, beat together the cream cheese, sweetened condensed milk, crème fraîche, eggs, pandan extract, vanilla salt, lime juice, and zest. Mix until smooth, scraping down the sides 2-3 times to ensure all the cream cheese is mixed in. Pour the filling into the cooled crust and transfer to oven. Bake for 35-45 minutes, or until the edges of the cake are firm and set, but the center of the cake has a slight jiggle. Remove from the oven and allow to cool at least 12 hours (preferable overnight) before serving.
- To serve, dollop the purple whipped cream into the center of the cake. Use the back of a large spoon to swirl and push the whipped cream towards the edges, making sure to leave a 3’’ border between the whipped cream and the edge of the pan. Dollop on the white, and swirl it into the purple. Garnish with the sliced lime, sprinkle with toasted coconut, and serve chilled.
Hello and welcome to my home and table!
I’m Sandy—lover of food, family, cooking, THE BIG BOARD, travel, and bringing people together. Through great recipes and connection around the table, we become better, stronger, and more courageous people. Feasting on Life is real, and every time we do it, we grow a little more. Read more...
I made these and they are delicious. However, the color of mine is way more saturated than yours. I reread the recipe 3 times to make sure I measured correctly and I did. It looks very “Mardi Grau”ish I did order different brands of Pandan and Ube then your link. Do you think that could be the issue?
Possibly! I can’t think of anything else … :)