Brownie Cheesecake. A luscious marriage of vanilla and fudge!

Brownie Cheesecake. A luscious, creamy vanilla cheesecake sits atop a chocolate cookie crumb crust, topped with mounds of mini brownies and a drizzle of rich chocolate ganache.

Brownie Cheesecake

Originally Published Feb 2018.

I’ve tried many a brownie cheesecake in my day and experimented with making several. Sometimes with a brownie base, sometimes with chunks of brownie baked into the cheesecake itself.

My final version of this recipe settled on a chocolate cookie crumb base, to add a little crunch to this cheesecake. The brownies are not incorporated into the cheesecake layer at all. I had a good rationale for that choice.

Brownie Cheesecake topped with plenty of mini brownies!

I chose to bake little bite size brownies to top the Brownie Cheesecake in order to preserve their chewy, fudgy texture. I found baking them into the cheesecake resulted in them only sinking to the bottom anyway and I like this presentation much better.

Brownie Cheesecake

The creaminess of a perfectly baked cheesecake is also maintained, which I always prefer.  The mix of textures and flavours is simply outstanding in this amazing dessert.

Mini brownies for brownie cheesecake.

Some baking tips for a perfect cheesecake.

A word about baking a cheesecake in a bain marie before starting the recipe. A bain marie is simply a water bath that buffers the direct heat from the sides and bottom of the baking pan. This allows the cheesecake to bake more evenly from the sides to the centre.

Chocolate cookie crumb crust for Brownie Cheesecake.

I bake my cheesecakes in a 9 inch springform pan. I wrap the bottom and sides in multiple layers of wide heavy duty aluminum foil. This forms a sort of boat that the cheesecake pan sits in.

Brownie Cheesecake ready for the oven.

The roll of aluminum foil that I use is about 16 inches wide. I use at least 4 layers of foil to make sure that no water leaks in and ruins the crust of my cheesecake. The aluminum foil wrapped pan is then placed inside a larger baking pan. I use a 12 inch cake pan. Boiling water is then poured into the larger pan filling it from 1/2 to 2/3 of the way to the top.

Brownie batter.

I find it best to pour the boiling water into the pan after it is placed on the rack in the oven. This way, you are less likely to splash water onto the cheesecake or inside the aluminum foil. I reuse the aluminum foil for several future cheesecakes, adding a couple of layers to it each time just to be safe.

Adding the dry ingredients to brownie batter.

Brownies just out of the oven.

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Brownie Cheesecake

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Brownie Cheesecake

Yield: 16 servings

Prep Time: 40 minutes

Cook Time: 1 hour 10 minutes

Total Time: 1 hour 50 minutes

Brownie Cheesecake. A luscious, creamy vanilla cheesecake sits atop a chocolate cookie crumb crust, topped with mounds of mini brownies and a drizzle of rich chocolate ganache.

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Ingredients

For the Cheesecake

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• 1 1/3 cups chocolate cookie crumbs
• 3 tbsp sugar
• 1/3 cup melted butter
• 3 eight ounce packages ounces cream cheese
• 1 cup sugar
• 3 eggs
• 3 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 cup whipping cream

For the Mini Brownies

Toggle ingredient group

• 1/2 cup plus one rounded tablespoon of flour
• 3 tablespoon cocoa powder
• pinch salt
• 1/3 cup butter
• 3 1/2 squares unsweetened chocolate, Melted (or about 1/2 cup dark chocolate chips melted)
• 1/2 cup plus one rounded tablespoon of granulated sugar
• 3 rounded tbsp light-brown sugar
• 1 extra large egg
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

For the Chocolate Ganache

Toggle ingredient group

• 1/4 cup whipping cream
• 1/2 cup dark chocolate chips

Instructions

To prepare the Cheesecake

1. In a small bowl, combine the cookie crumbs,sugar and melted butter.
2. Press into the bottom of a lightly greased or parchment lined 9 inch springform pan. (Grease bottom only!) Parchment paper is ideal here because it makes it very easy to release the cheesecake from the bottom of the pan.
3. Cream together the cream cheese and 1 cup sugar until smooth.
4. Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition.

Beat in the vanilla extract.

1. Finally blend in the whipping cream.
2. To bake the cheesecake
3. Pour over the prepared base and bake in a bain marie (See Note) at 300 degrees F for 60 minutes to 70 minutes. The cheesecake does not have to brown at all in order to be fully baked; the surface of the cheesecake should lose any shine when the cake is properly baked. It can still be slightly wobbly just at the center at this point.
4. Remove the cake from the oven and run a sharp knife completely around the edge of the pan. This will allow for the cheesecake to shrink as it cools and hopefully not crack (but who cares if it does? I am never bothered by a crack or two in the surface) Allow the cheesecake to cool thoroughly on a wire rack at room temperature. (NOT in the fridge). Refrigerate after fully cooled.
5. Top with the mini brownies and drizzle with chocolate ganache before serving.

To prepare the Mini Brownies

1. Sift together flour, cocoa and salt.
2. Melt together butter and unsweetened chocolate over low heat. Do not let this mixture overheat.
3. Remove from heat and cool to lukewarm.
4. Add egg, vanilla and sugars. Stir very well until sugars are almost dissolved.
5. Gently fold in dry ingredients.
6. Pour batter into a 8 inch square baking pan that has been greased and lined with parchment paper.
7. Bake for about 15-18 minutes at 325 degrees F or until the surface of the center of the brownies appears dry and firm. Toothpick test will not work for this recipe but it will tell you if the middle is still liquid. Do not over bake these brownies or they will be dry rather than moist and chewy.
8. Cool completely before cutting into 1/2 inch squares.

To prepare the Chocolate Ganache

In a double boiler, melt together the whipping cream and chocolate chips

1. Drizzle over the brownies and cheesecake.

Notes

A word about baking a cheesecake in a bain marie before starting the recipe. A bain marie is simply a water bath that buffers the direct heat from the sides and bottom of the baking pan to more evenly bake the cheesecake from the sides to the center.I bake my cheesecakes in a 9 inch springform pan that has the bottom and sides wrapped in multiple layers of wide heavy duty aluminum foil which forms a sort of boat that the cheesecake pan sits in. The roll of aluminum foil that I use is about 16 inches wide. I use at least 4 layers of foil to make sure that no water leaks in and ruins the crust of my cheesecake. The aluminum foil wrapped pan is then placed inside a larger baking pan; I use a 12 inch cake pan. Boiling water is then poured into the larger pan filling it from 1/2 to 2/3 of the way to the top.

I find it best to pour the boiling water into the pan after it is placed on the rack in the oven as you are less likely to splash water onto the cheesecake or inside the aluminum foil. I reuse the aluminum foil for several future cheesecakes, adding a couple of layers to it each time just to be safe.

Nutrition Information

Yield

16

Serving Size

16 servings
Amount Per Serving Calories 477Total Fat 37gSaturated Fat 22gTrans Fat 1gUnsaturated Fat 12gCholesterol 131mgSodium 256mgCarbohydrates 32gFiber 2gSugar 25gProtein 7g

The nutritional information provided is automatically calculated by third party software and is meant as a guideline only. Exact accuracy is not guaranteed. For recipes where all ingredients may not be used entirely, such as those with coatings on meats, or with sauces or dressings for example, calorie & nutritional values per serving will likely be somewhat lower than indicated.

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