Cheesecake marbled brownies

 

 

 

 

 

 

These extraordinarily chocolate-y, cheesecake-y, gooey brownies are the best way to say Thank You, a big THANK YOU in fact. Don’t waste them on something like ‘Thanks for watering my plants’ or watching the dog or some such. They are epic, chocolate-cheesecake brownie nirvana, and only those make an adequate gesture for something big, something so wonderful and delightful like two little boys, for example, delivered healthily and for us being looked after so well, even mollycoddled every minute we have been in the hospital.

If you are not a brownie purist but enjoy a cheesecake version as well, then these are it, I mean they, perfection, nirvana, heaven with (chocolate) knobs on. I never buy chips but chop (good) chocolate and find delight in the odd-sized rubble, especially when I hit the jackpot with a chunky nugget on my piece. Hence the Jackson Pollock look of my brownie slab. A slight reduction of the sugar amount results in a less sweet version but these are in fact sweet, decadent and rich, so no kidding oneself that it’s health food – but cut in little morsels they are not only a big Thank you but the panacea for fraught nerves of overtired people.

Of course, I haven’t had a minute to bake after those delightful guys have arrived (I thought I would but who am I kidding?) but made them a few weeks in advance and they kept beautiful in the freezer. My personal opinion: they were even better afterwards and we’ve made several test batches to work that out. Disclaimer: I am not saying you should in any way or form follow my example. If you are willing to do the research – and empirical data is always worth having – you are doing so at your own risk. In reality we had to make several batches because we’ve ‘tested’ so many that there were none left to even say ta.

While we are on the subject of cooking ahead and having a few things in the freezer for the first weeks/months: I had breezily dismissed the idea as ridiculous and imagining myself as an overly obsessive prepper while we have a larder full of delicious things to cook with. Oh man, I am so glad that I did not listen to myself and when the shit hits the fan (I am not saying literally… yet) I have ragù, Boeuf bourguignon, mushroom barley soup, chicken fricassee, red lentil curry coconut soup, Steak and Guinness pie and carnitas at my fingertips. Once we get past the first few months here will be time to cook everyday food, elaborate meals, bake cakes and experiment again and hopefully I can really realize those lofty plans.

 

 

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Cheesecake marbled brownies

Adapted from the Smitten kitchen with minimal changes

 

Brownie batter:
114g / 1 stick / ½ cup / 4 oz butter
85g / 3 oz dark chocolate (minimum 67% cocoa), chopped
170g / ¾ cup sugar
2 eggs
½ teaspoon vanilla extract
salt
85g / ⅔ cup flour

 

Cream cheese batter:
227g / 8 oz cream cheese (room temperature), creamed
75g / ⅓ cup sugar
1 egg yolk
¼ teaspoon vanilla extract

80g / ½ cup dark chocolate, chopped or chocolate chips

 

Preheat oven to 175° C / 350° F. Line a 20cm / 8 inch square baking pan with two strips of baking parchment for easy brownie removal.

Brownie batter: Gently melt butter and chocolate in a small saucepan over low heat. Remove from the oven and whisk together with sugar, eggs, vanilla extract and a pinch of salt. Incorporate flour (do not overmix) and spread the batter evenly in the baking pan.

For the cheesecake layer mix cream cheese, sugar, egg yolk and vanilla extract into a smooth batter. Spread over brownie batter and using a knife or a skewer draw circles through the two batters until you’ve got a cream and brown marbled surface. Sprinkle with chocolate pieces.

Bake for about 35 minutes until the edges appear firm and baked but the centre is just set (for really gooey brownies). Chill to slice into bite size morsels and serve.

I prefer these served straight from the fridge but they are equally yummy at room temperature.

 

 

 

Deutsches Rezept:

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Schokolade-cheesecake brownies

Nach smitten kitchen mit minimalen Änderungen.

 

Brownieteig:
114g Butter
85g dunkle Schokolade (mindestens 67% Kakaoanteil), in kleinen Stücken
170g Zucker
2 Eier
½ TL Vanilleextrakt
Salz
85g Mehl

Frischkäseteig:
227g Frischkäse (Raumtemperatur), glatt gerührt
75g Zucker
1 Eigelb
¼ TL Vanilleextrakt

80g / ½ Tasse Schokoladenstückchen bzw. gehackte dunkle Schokolade

 

Backofen auf 175° C vorheizen und eine quadratische Backform (20cm) mit zwei über Kreuz gelegten Streifen Backpapier auskleiden, dabei an allen Seiten etwas Papier als Henkel überstehen lassen.

Brownieteig: Langsam Butter und Schokolade über kleiner Flamme schmelzen lassen, dann vom Herd nehmen und mit Zucker, Eiern, Vanilleextrakt und einer Prise Salz verrühren. Das Mehl kurz einarbeiten (nicht zu viel rühren) und den Teig gleichmäßig in der Form verteilen.

Für die Frischkäseschicht den Frischkäse mit Zucker, dem Eigelb und dem Vanilleextrakt zu einer glatten Creme verrühren und über den Brownieteig streichen. Dann mit einem Buttermesser oder Stäbchen Kreise durch den Teig ziehen bis die gewünschte Marmorierung erreicht ist und mit den Schokoladenstückchen bestreuen.

Für ca. 35 Minuten auf mittlerer Schiene backen bis die Ecken aufgebläht sind und fest erscheinen, die Mitte gerade eben fest geworden ist. Kühlen um sie in saubere kleine Würfel zu schneiden und kalt (so mag ich sie am liebsten) oder aber bei Zimmertemperatur servieren.