Vanilla Bean Cheesecake Swirl Brownies
I think Hannah Montana was talking about these brownies when she said you get the best of both worlds. I mean honestly, the brownie is rich, dense and chocolatey, and swirled into the brownie batter is a simple vanilla bean cheesecake that's distributed throughout so that you get a little bit of creamy cheesecake and chocolate in every bite. Talk about YUM!
🍽️ Makes 16
Ingredients
| 8 oz (225 g) | cream cheese, softened (vanilla bean cheesecake batter) |
| ¼ cup (50 g) | granulated sugar (vanilla bean cheesecake batter) |
| 1 | large egg, at room temperature |
| 1 tsp | vanilla bean paste |
| 4 oz (115 g) | 70% cacao dark chocolate, chopped (brownie batter) |
| ¾ cup (170 g) | unsalted butter (brownie batter) |
| 1 cup (200 g) | granulated sugar (brownie batter) |
| ½ cup (110 g) | dark brown sugar |
| 2 tsp (10 ml) | vanilla extract |
| 1 tsp | kosher salt |
| 3 | large eggs |
| ½ cup (60 g) | all-purpose flour |
| ¼ cup (20 g) | unsweetened natural or Dutch-process cocoa powder |
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C). Grease an 8 x 8–inch (20 x 20–cm) pan with butter or nonstick cooking spray and then line the pan with parchment paper, leaving an overhang on all sides. Grease the parchment with butter or nonstick cooking spray and then set it aside.
- To make the vanilla bean cheesecake batter, in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the softened cream cheese until smooth and creamy, about 2 minutes. Add the granulated sugar and beat another 2 to 3 minutes. Add the egg and vanilla bean paste and beat until smooth and well combined. Transfer the vanilla bean cheesecake batter to a separate bowl.
- To make the brownie batter, place the chopped chocolate in a medium heatproof bowl and set aside. In a small saucepan, heat the butter over medium heat and cook, frequently stirring, just until the butter comes to a vigorous simmer. Immediately pour the hot butter over the chocolate and let it sit for 2 minutes, then whisk until the chocolate is completely smooth and melted. Set it aside.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, beat the granulated sugar, dark brown sugar, vanilla, salt and eggs for precisely 10 minutes at high speed. (It will look like a very thick batter.) With the mixer running, pour in the slightly cooled chocolate mixture and beat at medium speed until smooth. Sift in the flour and cocoa powder and use a rubber spatula to gently fold until just combined.
(Note: the source text ends here — the pages describing the swirling of the cheesecake batter and the baking/cooling are not present in the export; the method is incomplete in the source.)
TOTAL TIME: 1 hour 50 minutes. YIELD: 16 brownies.