Brownies part 2 - Cheesecake brownies

To celebrate the return of our friend Martha (and also our return to this blog) we made these cheesecake brownies together. The cheesecake mixture was a bit watery so we couldn't expertly layer it, but overall they tasted good and went down a treat.

Ingredients (original recipe here):

For the brownies 

225g/8oz dark chocolate (minimum 70% cocoa solids) 

150g/5½oz unsalted butter

3 eggs 

225g/8oz caster sugar 

100ml/3½fl oz strong espresso 

100g/3½oz plain flour 

For the cheesecake 

150g/5½oz full fat cream cheese 

50g/1¾oz caster sugar 

1 free-range egg

½ orange, zest only

Method:

1. Preheat the oven to 170°C/325°F/Gas 3. Grease and line a 8in/20cm square cake tin. 

2. For the brownies, melt the chocolate and butter in a bowl set over a pan of simmering water. (Do not let the base of the bowl touch the water.) Remove the bowl from the pan and set aside to cool slightly. Alternatively you can microwave the bowl - it takes about 2 minutes - making sure to stir every 20 seconds or so.

3. Whisk the eggs, caster sugar and coffee in a bowl until well combined. Sift in the flour and chocolate mixture and mix until well combined.

It took a lot of attempts to achieve this action shot.

4. For the cheesecake, beat the cream cheese, caster sugar, egg and orange zest until smooth.

At this point we noticed She's Electric - Oasis was playing on the radio, which happens to feature on our baking playlist. We also made orange juice with the orange, how resourceful.

5. Spoon the brownie mixture into the cake tin then spoon the cheesecake mixture on top and use a knife to cut lines into the mixture to create a marble effect. 

6. Bake in the oven for 25-30 minutes, or until just set. Remove the tin from the oven, set aside to cool completely, then cut into squares. 

We ended up having to cook these for nearly an hour, so prepare yourself for a bit of a wait depending on your oven. 

We hope you have a nice and non-healthy weekend enjoying these brownies!

Alice & Bella