Red Velvet Cheesecake Brownies

By vealam

Everywhere red velvet goes, cream cheese frosting is sure to follow. But frosting can quickly steal a brownie’s thunder, which is why I decided to complete the red velvet-brownie love triangle with the next best thing: a creamy layer of cheesecake. Feeling weak in the knees? It looks like you just met your Valentine.

Ingredients

• RED VELVET BROWNIES:
• 8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted, plus more for greasing pan
• 1 cup sugar
• 1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 tablespoon red food coloring
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon white vinegar
• 2 eggs
• 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
• CHEESECAKE FILLING::
• 1 package (8 ounce) cream cheese, softened
• 3 tablespoons sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 large egg yolk

Preparation

Step 1

Preheat the oven to 350ºF.

Line an 8x8-inch baking pan with parchment paper and grease it with butter.

In a large bowl, combine the melted 8 tablespoons butter with the sugar, cocoa powder, vanilla, food coloring and salt, stirring to combine. Then stir in the white vinegar.

Whisk together the eggs in a small bowl, and then stir them into the brownie batter. Fold in the flour, just until combined, then pour the batter into the prepared pan, reserving 1/4 cup of the batter for the topping.

In the bowl of a stand mixer (or using a handheld electric mixer), blend together the cream cheese, sugar, vanilla and egg yolk until well combined. Spread the cream cheese mixture in an even layer over the brownie batter then top the cream cheese with dollops of the remaining brownie batter. Using a sharp knife or toothpick, swirl the cream cheese together with the dollops of brownie batter.

Bake the brownies for 30 minutes. Remove them from the oven and let them cool completely before lifting the parchment out of the pan then slicing and serving.

Notes:

Brownies often taste better the second day after they're baked, so feel free to make the brownies in advance and store them in an airtight container.