Apple Cheesecake Oatmeal Bars

You will be delighted by these Apple Cheesecake Oatmeal Bars with fabulous, complementary flavours and contrasting textures. They are layered, starting with a crunchy oatmeal base, topped with creamy cheesecake, then apple pie filling and finally a delicious oatmeal crumble. They are a guaranteed crowd-pleaser!

• 1 ½ cups (225 g) all-purpose/plain flour
• 1 ½ cups (120 g) old-fashioned rolled oats
• ½ teaspoon coarse sea salt
• ½ teaspoon baking/bicarb soda
• ¾ cup (185 g) butter – melted
• ½ cup (100 g) light brown sugar
• 2 teaspoon vanilla extract

• 250 g (8.8 oz) cream cheese – at room temperature – the block variety
• ¼ cup (55 g) light brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon lemon zest – finely grated
• 1 large egg – at room temperature

• 2 medium Granny Smith apples – peeled, cored and chopped into 1cm (0.5 inch) pieces – prepared weight was 200 g (7 oz)
• 1 tablespoon light brown sugar See Note 4
• 1 teaspoon corn flour/starch
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon