Cheesecake Brownie Recipe

This cream cheese brownie recipe is a unique twist on two old fashioned favorites; the brownie and the cheesecake. Quite possibly two of my most favorite foods on the planet!

To most people a cream cheese brownie is a regular chocolate brownie with a surprise swirl of cream cheese found in every bite! The cream cheese, as expected, is very similar to the taste of cheesecake so it’s like you have two desserts in one! Really, what could be better.

This cream cheese brownie recipe has an amazing balance of richness (from the brownies) and lightness (from the cream cheese filling). It’s an excellent choice for any occasion and my family loves them! My mom calls them simply decadent.

Yield: 16 brownies

Ingredients:

Brownie Base-

• 2/3 cup (3 1/3 ounces) unbleached all-purpose flour
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• ½ teaspoon baking powder
• 2 ounces unsweetened chocolate, chopped
• 4 ounces bittersweet or semisweet chocolate, chopped
• 8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter, cut into quarters
• 1 cut (7 ounces) sugar
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 3 large eggs, at room temperature

Cream Cheese Filling-

• 8 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature
• ¼ cup (1 ¾ ounces) sugar
• ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 egg yolk

Directions:

1) For the brownie base: Adjust the oven rack to be in the middle-lower position and heat the oven up to 325 degrees. Spray a 9 x 13 inch pan with non-stick cooking spray, coating it lightly. Also, if non-stick spray isn’t really your thing, you could also use parchment paper to line the pan. It gets the job done just the same, but without the grease.

2) Mix the flour, salt, and baking powder in a small bowl. Set the mixture aside.

3) In a medium heatproof bowl set over a pot of almost-simmering water, melt the chocolates and butter, stirring occasionally until it’s smooth. Remove the melted chocolate mixture from the heat.

4) Mix in the sugar and vanilla and then let it sit and cool slightly. Mix in the eggs (one at a time) mixing thoroughly after each addition.

5) Continue mixing until the mixture is completely smooth and then add the dry ingredients, mixing until just barely incorporated.

6) For the cream cheese mixture: In a small bowl mix the cream cheese, sugar, vanilla, and egg yolk until blended.

7) Pour half of the brownie batter into the prepared pan. Drop half of the cream cheese filling atop the brownie batter in the pan. Top that with some brownie batter and continue layering until all of the batters are gone.

8) Use the blade of a knife to gently swirl the two mixes together. All you need to do for that is to place the knife in the batter and move it around in an “S” motion. Be sure not to swirl it too much or you’ll get a brownie, where you can’t tell the difference between the cream cheese and the chocolate! If you do this right, it will create a marbled effect in your brownies.

9) Bake your brownies until the edges have slightly puffed up, about 50-60 minutes. When a toothpick is inserted, it should come out with many crumbs adhered to it…then you know the brownies are done!

10) Cool the cream cheese brownies for at least 5 minutes and then place them on a wire cooling rack and wait until they have reached room temperature.

11) Refrigerate for at least 3 hours (or 1 ½ hours in the freezer).

12) Remove from the refrigerator cut, serve, and taste the decadence!

13) Place the leftovers, if there are any, back in the refrigerator!

14) Enjoy!

This cream cheese brownie recipe is a favorite with the kids and the unique combination of “brownie meets cheesecake” will surprise your taste buds!