Desserts

Cream Cheese Brownies

I have loved cream cheese brownies ever since I first tasted them at The Dessert Place in Atlanta several decades ago. Recently I was in town giving a cooking class to a group of Atlanta ladies and somehow these brownies made their way into the discussion.   Everyone agreed, they were the best and talking about them made all of us want to try them again – they were really that good!  Unfortunately, The Dessert Place is now closed and their slim cookbook Stressed is Just Desserts Spelled Backwards: A collection of Great Amercian Desserts, doesn’t include the recipe, darn it!

So, I went to work trying to replicate from memory the dense fudgy brownie with the cheesecake swirl topping.   The following recipe is what I came up with and, what I hope, is a pretty close approximation.  I welcome your comments (and the original recipe if anyone has it!)

For years, good old American Philidelphia cream cheese was only available in speciality shops in Paris and cost a fortune. There are other soft cheeses that can serve as substitutes – Kiri or St. Morêt – but Philly cream cheese has more character – a little tangier, a little richer.  Lately it has become more main stream, although still pretty pricey, but I have no trouble finding at my local Monoprix or Carrefour.

 

Cream Cheese Brownies

Cream Cheese Brownies

Ingredients

  • Serves
  • 5 tablespoons (70 g) butter
  • 6 ounces bittersweet chocolate (minimum 56% cacao)
  • 3/4 cup (150 g) sugar
  • 2 large eggs
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1/3 cup (70 g) flour
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 8 ounces (200 g) cream cheese
  • 1 large egg yolk
  • 5 tablespoons (75 g) sugar
  • 1/2 teaspoon vanilla

Instructions

  1. Line the bottom and sides of a 9-inch (23 cm) or 8-inch (22 cm) square pan with parchment paper.
  2. Preheat the oven to 350 °F (180 °C).
  3. Melt the chocolate and butter in a bowl over a pan of simmering water until melted. Remove from heat and stir until smooth. Cool.
  4. Stir the sugar into the chocolate mixture. Add the eggs one by one, beating by hand until combined. Stir in the vanilla
  5. Combine the flour and salt and stir into the chocolate mixture.
  6. In a medium mixing bowl beat the cream cheese, egg yolk, sugar and vanilla until smooth.
  7. Spread the brownie mixture into the prepared pan. Drop the cream cheese mixture by spoonfuls on top of the brownie mixture spreading it out evenly. Taking a knife, gently swirl the cream cheese mixture into the brownie batter to create a marbled effect. Place in the oven and bake 40 minutes for the 8 inch pan, 35 minutes for the 9 inch pan.
https://www.charlottepuckette.com/recipes/desserts/cream-cheese-brownies/

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