Ube Cheesecake Puff Pastry Bars

Say hello to my most recent kitchen invention!

I invited friends over last week and was planning on serving baked brie in puff pastry (wait for it in the blog soon, lol). Unfortunately, I didn't have the time to make it! I've been meaning to make cheesecake bars from quite some time so I decided to use the puff pastry as crust instead, a la sapopilla bars. I added in the ube halaya I bought from a bazaar last minute because, why not? It turned out great!

Ube is known to be paired with cheese or coconut, so it was no surprise that the flavor of the cream cheese worked well with ube halaya. I would say this recipe is fairly easy as I used store-bought ube and puff pastry.

Note: You can make both from scratch if you have the time.

The only real challenge was cutting up the ube halaya to fit the loaf pan. See tips below!

The puff pastry sprinkled with cinnamon and sugar added chewiness and a crunch factor to the texture of the cheesecake, which is what's missing when you opt for graham crust.

Full recipe here:

Tips on how to portion or cut the ube halaya:

1. Your surface: use a silicone mat or place cling wrap on top of your desired surface. This will prevent the ube from sticking.

2. Place the ube halaya on top of the silicone mat or cling wrap surface.

3. Place another sheet of cling wrap on top of the ube halaya. The cling wrap should be as wide or wider than the ube halaya.

4. Use your hands or the back of a spoon to flatten out the ube halaya. I find using my hands easier and faster. The thickness of the ube halaya will depend on your preference.

5. Once you've flattened it out according to your preferred thickness, remove the cling wrap. Put the loaf pan on top of the flattened ube halaya, bottom side down, and use the bottom as a guide to cut the ube halaya according to the size of the pan.

6. As soon as you're ready to add the ube layer, peel it off the silicone mat or cling wrap surface and add it on top of the cheesecake mixture.

7. Another tip: I prefer cutting the portioned ube halaya into 3 to 4 parts. It makes it easier to add in the ube layer this way.