No Tea After 12 // Chocolate Cheesecake Brownies And A Food Blogger’s Dilemma

Chocolate Cheesecake Brownies And A Food Blogger’s Dilemma

posted in, Dessert on Sunday, September 05, 2010

Taylor HQ has been a busy place the last few weeks...there's been several sets of visitors, many websites built, lots of words written (for other people, obviously, since this blog has been sorely neglected), a few football games watched (Go Blue! Hail! Go Lions!), and a trip to the Natural History Museum and Madame Tussaud's. Oh yeah, and someone whose name rhymes with maudry hailer has a birthday coming up and as such she has mostly been trying to pretend it's not happening / avoid calendars / hide under the covers / think about anything other than getting old / legally change my birth certificate. Other than that, things have been positively boring around here!

Further to all that, I've got a dilemma. Since I've started this 'ere blog, there are certain parts of my body that are no longer in proportion with other parts of my body and I am quite displeased about it. In other words, I jiggle, in places I do not want to jiggle. And thus I have not been baking anything. Sadly, since this has somehow turned into a baking-centric blog I have not been blogging. BUT! Gadzooks! I have found something in the depths of my hard drive that I think you will find very exciting! It's a little throwback to the 1990's and it was one of my most eagerly anticipated desserts at every block party and pot luck I ever attended. Don't even try and pretend you didn't love 90's desserts too! Remember the chocolate cupcakes with cream cheese filling! I love them. And these brownies. That's right people, it's the epic, the chocolatey, the delicious, the crowd-pleasing, the fattening (err) Chocolate Cheesecake Brownie. And I thought they would make a fitting last post for someone who is about to go on a diet and will for the foreseeable future be posting healthy-type things. But don't jump ship just yet, I will be back with the mouth-watering, diet-trashing baked goods that you've all become so fond of...just give me a chance to lose a few lbs first. mmmmmmmkay?

cheesecake brownies

In the meantime, these brownies are unapologetically rich and creamy, with a double-dose of dark chocolate - they are so good I refuse to make them more than once a year, for the sake of my heart's health of course. I made a batch of these not long ago and they were gone, like literally gone, in less than a day. And there is only 2 of us that live in this house (there were no visitors either). I suppose their only redeeming health quality here is the dark chocolate, but it does leave me to wonder if all the good antioxidants are cancelled out by the cream cheese? I'll leave that one to my friend Steph.

Speaking of Steph...and healthy food...and writing...and blogging...I have some exciting news to share with you! I'm very happy to announce that Steph and I are shortly to embark on a joint project that will knock your healthy socks off! Together we will be creating a book of healthy recipes, gorgeous foodie pictures, and tidbits of health related advice. Steph and I are both fully confessed and joyfully unabashed greedy pigs, but that said our combined love of food, photography, and health has led us both to love healthy grub (in large quantities, duh). It's still very early days for this project and you'll have to wait until at least 2011 for a sneak preview but I can say this much...there will be cake in the book. It might be made with spelt flour and agave, but there will be cake. You know I would never leave you hangin' like that right? I love you guys far too much.

Chocolate Cheesecake Brownies

Adapted from Gourmet Magazine, 2007 (RIP).

For the brownie base:
1/2 cup / 4oz unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
2oz / 55g unsweetened dark chocolate, chopped into small pieces
1 cup / 190g sugar
2 eggs
1/2 teaspon vanilla extract
pinch of salt
2/3 cup / 65g plain flour

For the cream cheese swirl
1 scant cup / 8oz / 225g cream cheese, room temperature
1/3 Cup / 65g sugar
1 large egg yolk
1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract

To Sprinkle
1/2 cup / 90g dark chocolate chips

Preheat the oven to 350f / 180c. Butter an 8" / 20cm square baking pan.

To make the brownie batter place the dark chocolate pieces and butter in a large glass bowl and heat over a simmering pan of water until just melted. Remove from the heat and allow to cool slightly, when cooled whisk in the sugar, eggs, vanilla and salt until smooth and very well combined. Stir in the flour until just combined and spread into the bottom of your baking pan.

To make the cheesecake swirl whisk together the cream cheese, sugar, egg yolk, and vanilla extract in a small bowl until smooth. Drop spoonfuls of the cream cheese batter over the brownie batter and swirl into shape with a butter knife. Sprinkle the top with chocolate chips.

Bake for about 35 minutes - the edges will puff up a bit and the center will be just set. Like most brownies, these are best when they are still squidgy and fudge-like.

Makes 12-16.