Cheesecake Brownie

I love anything with cream cheese. Cupcakes with cream cheese frosting, muffins topped with cream cheese filling and this brownie. If you like cheesecake AND brownie, I bet you will fall for this cheesecake brownie. It is my absolute favorite!

The recipe source is from David Lebovitz’s blog and this is also one of the recipe from his book, Ready For Dessert. I’d made this several times and it just tells how good it is. This brownie has a very intense chocolaty taste due to the addition of chocolate chips to the batter which also adds texture to it. I’ve tweaked the cheesecake part a little by adding the whole egg instead of just the yolk and had increased the vanilla from 1/8 teaspoon to 1 teaspoon simply because I prefer a stronger vanilla taste in my cheesecake. Adding the whole egg will give you a more airy cheesecake. Just a personal preference.

I tend to under-bake them which I always do for all brownies so that they will have a little goo in the middle. I baked this brownie for 30 minutes which I think is perfect because the cheesecake actually starts to brown at 28 minutes. These brownies are simply irresistible especially when they are still slightly warm. And with the creamy cheese swirl, it needs no accompaniment. Just pop them in your mouth.

Cheesecake Brownie (Adapted from here)

Makes One 9-inch (23cm) or 8-inch (20cm) square pan

Ingredients

85g unsalted butter, cut into pieces

115g bittersweet or semisweet chocolate, chopped (I used 70% Belgian chocolate)
2/3 cup (130g) sugar
2 large eggs, at room temperature
1/2 cup (70g) flour
1 tablespoon unsweetened cocoa powder
1/8 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup (80g) chocolate chips (I used semisweet chocolate chips)

200g cream cheese, at room temperature
1 large egg
5 tablespoons (75g) sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Method

• Line a 9-inch (23cm) or 8-inch (20cm) square pan with foil, making sure it goes up all four sides. Use two sheets if necessary. Mist with non-stick spray or grease lightly.
• Preheat oven to 350 degrees (180C).
• In a medium saucepan, melt the butter and chocolate over low heat, stirring until smooth. Alternatively, melt them in the microwave which is what I did.
• Remove from heat and beat in the 2/3 cup (130g) sugar, then the eggs.
• Mix the flour, cocoa powder and salt together in a separate bowl and fold into the chocolate mixture. Add vanilla and chocolate chips. Spread evenly in the prepared pan.
• In a separate bowl, beat together the cream cheese, egg, 5 tablespoons (75g) of sugar, and vanilla until smooth.
• Distribute the cream cheese mixture in eight dollops across the top of the brownie mixture, then take a dull knife or spatula and swirl the cream cheese mixture with the chocolate batter.
• Bake for 30 – 35 minutes. If you like your brownies to have a little goo, remove from the oven at 30 minutes.
• Let cool, then lift out the foil and peel it away. Cut the brownies into squares.
• These will keep in an airtight container for a couple of days but I bet it won’t last more than 2 days. They also freeze well so you can always make ahead for a party.