Cheesecake Brownies

Thursday, 19 Aug 10

If I told you the best brownie I ever had was made from packet mix, you would probably close the window immediately and never visit thewayitcrumbles again. “How can she call herself a foodie?” you would exclaim! Well…I don’t call myself a foodie, and the best chocolate brownie I’ve ever had didn’t come from packet mix. It came from my friend’s lunchbox =D

Ms. Jen had been talking about brownies. For several weeks on end, she would slip them into the conversation ever so casually every now and then, until I was craving them with a vengeance. She’d also mentioned, to my surprise, that those delectably rich, fudgy, crackly-topped brownies had NO chocolate in them. That’s right, not a single square.

I struggled to believe her. A brownie, without chocolate? But the chocolate gives it richness and fudginess and omg-this-is-a-square-of-pure-chocolate-ness…right? I think I even made a batch of ‘normal’ chocolate-laden brownies, which while nice, didn’t quite have the same fudginess. So I caved and made these best cocoa brownies. But stubborn me felt the need to adapt. I made them with the remnants of the caramel from the cheesecake, which resulted in deliciously sticky lickable fingers and crumbs everywhere….And these amazing cheesecake brownies.

This recipe is simple – it doesn’t even need an electric whisk, and it can be done in one bowl if you’re not planning to make the cheesecake component. It’s also relatively cheap since it doesn’t use half a kilo of chocolate like some recipes do, and all the ingredients are likely to be in your pantry already. It’s adaptable – throw on a chocolate ganache, swirl cream cheese or caramel through it, heck put bacon in it. Best of all though, it makes sense – this isn’t just a substitute when you can’t be bothered to melt chocolate, this is an amazing recipe in and of itself – it holds up to other brownie recipes I’ve tried, and blows them out of the water.

Cheesecake topping
Adapted from David Lebovitz

200g cream cheese, at room temperature – i always find in winter that popping the cubed cheese in the microwave for a minute or two on medium softens it more effectively, is this bad?
1 large egg yolk
5 tablespoons (75g) sugar
1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract

Beat together the cream cheese, the yolk, sugar, and vanilla until smooth. Cover and set aside while you make the brownie mixture

Best Cocoa Brownies
Adapted from Alice Mendrich’s Bittersweet, based on Smitten Kitchen and Stonesoup adaptations

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140 grams unsalted butter
1 1/4 cups sugar
3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder (natural or Dutch-process) – use the best and darkest you can
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
2 large eggs, cold
1/2 cup all-purpose flour

Position a rack in the lower third of the oven and preheat the oven to 160°C. Line the bottom and sides of an 8×8-inch square baking pan with parchment paper or foil, leaving an overhang on two opposite sides.

Melt the butter, salt and sugar together, then stir in the cocoa until the mixture is smooth. Allow to cool slightly, and do not be alarmed at it’s ugliness. It will come together once you put the eggs in. Really.

Stir in the vanilla with a wooden spoon. Add the eggs one at a time, stirring vigorously after each one. When the batter looks thick, shiny, and well blended, add the flour and stir until you cannot see it any longer, then beat vigorously for 40 strokes with the wooden spoon or a rubber spatula.  Spread evenly in the lined pan. Dollop cheesecake mixture atop brownie batter and swirl with a knife – the key is to not swirl too much that you lose the pretty contrast between black and white, but enough that you get…pretty swirly things :D I found working fairly systematically worked well. Feathering would too.

Bake until a toothpick plunged into the center emerges slightly moist with batter, about 20 to 25 minutes. Let cool completely on a rack. Lift up the ends of the parchment or foil liner, and transfer the brownies to a cutting board. Cut into 16 or 25 squares.

7 Comments

1. But how could we not make these with cheesecake topping, now that we’ve seen the pretty swirl patterns that you’ve created here =) And I can make these without having to pick up any ingredients – I even have cream cheese in the fridge!

   Comment by mademoiselle délicieuse — August 19, 2010 @ 8:16 pm

2. Oh heaven! These look so good!

   Comment by Moya — August 19, 2010 @ 10:00 pm

3. i agree the swirlies are just too pretty so we gotta make em with the cheesecake topping!

   Comment by chocolatesuze — August 20, 2010 @ 5:20 am

4. Cheap, adaptable, useful recipe for clearing out the pantry. All very good reasons to make these. Looking forward to your bacon brownies. ;-)

   Comment by lobo — August 20, 2010 @ 9:47 am

5. Those look absolutely incredible! Have you ever tried white chocolate brownies? They’re the best!

   Comment by Kathryn — August 21, 2010 @ 1:21 am

6. I’m gonna make those right after work tomorrow! I never thought of cheesecake on top of brownies, it’s genius!

   For the cheesecake on the top it says “Dollop cheesecake mixture atop brownie batter and swirl with a knife – the key is to not swirl too much that you lose the pretty contrast between black and white, but enough that you get…pretty swirly things :D I found working fairly systematically worked well. Feathering would too.”

   Thanks for posting!

   Comment by AknieGirl — August 22, 2010 @ 3:01 pm

7. […] الوصفة اللي استخدمتها ~ Cheesecake Brownies […]

   Pingback by 13 ~ تشيز كيك براونيز « Afnan's Cooking — September 5, 2010 @ 5:00 am

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