Baking Cheesecake Bars With The Robot Chef
How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love Generative AI Recipes
Disclaimer
This recipe was done in a temporary Gemini thread, so I’m recalling my process from memory
I’ve made this in the past, so I already know the general steps + ingredients
I accidentally added too much flour to the batter, but it didn’t ruin the dish
A little over two weeks ago I made some cheesecake bars for a birthday party. This is a dessert I’m familiar with, so for me it’s a matter of having the proper amount of ingredients and baking it for the right amount of time. Typically I’ll watch a YouTube video or Google a recipe, but in this instance I didn’t have the correct size baking pan. It’s easy to find to find a recipe for a square 8x8 or 9x9 pan, but all I had was a 7x11 pan. I began googling “7x11 cheesecake bar recipe” and did come across something decent – then I thought I’d test out Gemini!
Human Expertise
AI is a tool, and like any other tool you should know what you’re doing with it. Due to my experience with this dessert, I already knew the following:
Ingredients
Crust
Graham Cracker crumbs (or whatever you desire)
Melted Butter
Sugar
Batter
2 blocks of cream cheese
Sour Cream
Sugar
Eggs
Vanilla Extract
General Steps
Mix the crumbs, melted butter, and sugar together. Layer the crust mixture onto your baking pan. Bake the crust.
Mix the filling ingredients, and pour onto the baked crust. Bake the entire mixture.
Bake until the middle jiggles, but the surrounding area is solid — you don’t want any cracks.
Yes, I’m leaving out more specific steps such as bring the cream cheese to room temperature, how fine to make the graham crackers, etc — but the general idea is there.
Recipe Considerations
Maybe you’re wondering why I wanted to make cheesecake bars instead of cheesecake — because I don’t have a springform cake pan, or any cake pan. Then there’s the issue of a water bath, which is recommended for cheesecakes, but not bars...more work I don’t want to do. I also have a generic blade grinder for the graham crackers, and the 7x11 pan is Pyrex glassware – all of these are important details. Perhaps a saner person would buy/steal the right equipment, but then I wouldn’t get to do this experiment.
Initial Prompt
My first prompt was asking for a cheesecake bar recipe in a 7x11 pan, and I did say “please.”
What it gave me was nothing too out of the ordinary from other recipes, just with the appropriate adjustments. This wasn’t too different from recipes I came across from Google Searches. Sure, there could be some differences in regards to measurement and baking time, but Gemini’s result wasn’t anything impressive. I even found a recipe for a 7x11 pan, so what could AI do that’s possibly better?
But being a one-prompt-wonder with an LLM isn’t the way to go. I’m sure my first prompt already released unnecessary carbon emissions...might as well go all the way and speedrun the climate apocalypse!
Prompt Chaining to Get the Best Output
Whenever I bake, I like to be as meticulous as possible. I use a scale to measure both solid and liquid ingredients, so I brought this level of detail to Gemini. When reviewing the initial output, I noticed it asked for two-and-a-half bars of cream cheese instead of only two. This immediately stood out, so I asked why. The LLM’s response was a 7x11 pan vs other sized pans meant more filling was needed. Now I decided to measure the pan depth, 2 inches, and asked again about the amount of cream cheese – it said stick to 2.5 bars.
I also noticed it asked for flour in the batter. I don’t remember using flour when making this in the past and I further inquired – Gemini said it would prevent cracking. Alright, fine with me! Since you don’t want cracks in in the filling, I asked if my Pyrex pan would be okay to bake this in. The LLM said it was good, and even recommended slightly reducing the baking temperature to accommodate for the glassware.
One other thing I was curious about was substituting brown sugar for this recipe. It told me brown sugar would enhance the crust, but ruin the taste of the filling. And I asked about grinding the graham crackers with a standard blade grinder since I didn’t have a food processor. It told me to grind the graham crackers in 2 second pulses. I recall some other questions I had with the recipe, such as the LLM now telling me to use 5 tablespoons of butter instead of the 6 in the initial prompt. Any changes like that led to further prompts. When I was satisfied with the instructions, I told Gemini to give me the recipe with the modifications, and convert the measurements to grams (except for the eggs and cream cheese).
The Final Output
The recipe is below, but I don’t suggest you follow it unless you have a Pyrex pan of the same size, a generic blade grinder, and an obsession with exact measurements. Despite adding too much flour, the cheesecake bars came out good. The only issue I have is the filling is a little too high, but that’s a personal preference. The people at the party liked how they tasted, and I liked how this came out...now I need to ask Gemini about a good diet plan.
Ultimate Cheesecake Bars (for Pyrex Glass Dish) Recipe
I’ve edited this recipe for easier viewing
This recipe is optimized for your 7x11 inch tapered Pyrex glass dish, including a temperature reduction to prevent cracking and hot spots.
Yields: 16-18 bars
Prep Time: 25 minutes
Cook Time: 48-60 minutes
Chill Time: 6 hours (minimum)
1. Preparation
A. Pan & Oven
Prep the Pan: Line the 7x11 inch dish with aluminum foil or parchment paper. Leave a generous overhang on the long sides to act as a sling for lifting the chilled bars out later. Lightly spray the lining with non-stick cooking spray (I substituted canola oil).
Preheat Oven (Crust): Set oven temperature to 325° Fahrenheit.
B. Ingredients
CRUST
Graham cracker crumbs, 150 grams
Light brown sugar, 26g
Melted unsalted butter, 75ml or 5/8 stick
FILLING
Cream cheese, 2.5 blocks
White sugar, 150g
Sour Cream, 80ml
2 large eggs
Vanilla extract, 5ml
2. Crust Instructions
A. Crumb Preparation (Blade Grinder Method)
Break graham crackers into small pieces and place a small handful into your blade grinder (coffee/spice grinder).
Pulse, Don’t Run: Use short, quick 1-2 second pulses. Do not run continuously, as this generates heat and turns the mixture into paste.
Check: After 5-6 pulses, stop and check the texture. You are looking for a consistency of fine, uniform coarse sand. No large chunks should remain.
Empty the batch and repeat until all 150g of crumbs are prepared.
B. Mixing & Baking
In a medium bowl, combine the graham cracker crumbs, brown sugar, and melted butter. Mix well until all crumbs are evenly moistened.
The Squeeze Test: Squeeze a handful of the mixture. If it holds together in a solid lump, it’s perfect. If it crumbles, add an extra 15mL (1 tablespoon) of melted butter and re-test.
Press the mixture firmly into the bottom of the prepared pan, extending slightly up the tapered sides.
Bake in the 325° oven for 8-10 minutes.
Remove the crust and place it on a wire rack. IMMEDIATELY reduce the oven temperature to 300°.
3. Filling Instructions (I mixed by hand)
In a large mixing bowl, beat the room-temperature cream cheese, granulated sugar, and flour/cornstarch on low speed until completely smooth and creamy.
Add the sour cream and vanilla extract. Beat until just combined.
Add the 2 eggs one at a time. Mix on the lowest speed, stopping immediately once the yolk has disappeared. Do not overmix.
Pour the filling gently over the baked crust.
4. Baking, Cooling, & Slicing
Bake the cheesecake in the preheated 300° oven for 40-50 minutes.
Check Doneness: The edges should be set, but the center should still have a slight, soft jiggle.
Slow Cooling (THE PYREX KEY):
Turn the oven OFF.
Prop the oven door open (2-5 cm wide).
Leave the pan inside the oven for 30 minutes.
Remove the pan and cool completely on a wire rack at room temperature (approx. 1-2 hours).
Once cooled, cover the pan and chill in the refrigerator for a minimum of 6 hours (overnight is best).
To serve, use the sling to lift the entire chilled block out of the pan. Slice into bars using a large, sharp knife, wiping the knife clean between each cut.