The One About the Chocolate Cheesecake Brownies

The most recent holiday had me missing baking.  I am not claiming I am good at it but the few attempts I have made have churned out ooey gooey baked lovelies.  This batch of chocolate cheesecake brownies is no exception.  The sweet goodness of chocolates swirled with the tanginess of rich cheesecake makes for an incredible tandem for a party in anyone’s mouth.

Here's what you'll need:

An 8x8 baking pan

150g butter, chopped

300g dark chocolate, chopped

3 eggs

1 cup caster sugar and another 2/3 cup caster sugar for the cheesecake batter

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

250g cream cheese, room temperature

1/4 cup cocoa powder

1/4 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

a pinch of salt

Here's how to whip up a lovely batch:

1.  Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.

2.  Grease the baking pan and line it with parchment paper.

3.  Heat butter and dark chocolate in a saucepan or microwave until melted and well-mixed.

4.  Pour butter and chocolate mixture into a big bowl.  Whisk in sugar, 2 eggs, vanilla extract, and salt.

5.  In another bowl, sift together flour (I used half all-purpose flour and half cake flour;  the result was super moist brownies) and cocoa powder.

6.  Slowly add the flour mixture by batches to the chocolate mixture. When everything has been mixed, pour batter into the baking pan.

7.  To make the cheesecake batter, in a food processor or blender, mix the cream cheese, 2/3 cup sugar, and the remaining egg.

8.  Pour the cheesecake batter over the chocolate batter in the baking pan.  Using a chopstick, make swirls to mix the two batters.

9.  Bake in the oven for 40-45 minutes or until a fork/skewer comes out clean when inserted.  Set aside to cool and cut into squares.

Whipping up a batch of these babies is the perfect pick-me-upper for those less-than-eventful days.  They go so well with coffee or tea.  Or with your husband by your side, happily devouring his share. :)

Try it.  You’ll love it.