Cheesecake Brownies

This easy Cheesecake Brownies recipe is the best of both worlds - fudgy brownie base topped with a brownie cheesecake topping. These brownies are a super delicious twist on a classic homemade brownie recipe.

Hi hi - just popping in to share this cheesecake brownies recipe! These easy brownies are a riff on my fudgy homemade brownies recipe, with a brownie cheesecake topping. I am slowly padding out the brownie recipes section on my site - I don't know why it took me so long, but here we are!

I loved the twist up on the classic with my brookies recipe, so I decided to throw a brownie cheesecake recipe at you too just for good measure. This Cream Cheese brownie situation is one I know you will love. I also use the same brownie recipe as the base of my brownie pie (which I can't wait to try with a cheesecake swirl!)

I love making homemade brownies, particularly to use as the base of a brownie bar - if you love these cheesecake brownies be sure to check out my caramel brownie slice recipe, my peanut butter brownie bars recipe and my squiggle slice recipe!

This cheesecake brownies post has all the things you need to know about making homemade brownies:

How to make Cheesecake Brownies

Homemade cheesecake brownies are super easy to make - take your favourite brownie recipe, and add a super quick brownie cheesecake topping. Here's how:

1. Melt together the chocolate and butter. You can either do this in a double boiler, or I prefer to just pop it into the microwave in a heat safe bowl.
2. Add the cocoa powder to the chocolate. This 'blooms' the cocoa powder, bringing out even more of the chocolate flavour.
3. Whip together your eggs, brown sugar, and white sugar. Whipping well until the mixture is thickened is the key to the crackly brownie top the internet loves. Add your vanilla (I use paste, vanilla extract is fine too), and stir in.
4. Add the chocolate and cocoa mixture and whisk well to incorporate.
5. Add the flour and stir until just combined.
6. Transfer the brownie layer to the prepared pan, then make your cheesecake layer.
7. Combine all the cheesecake topping ingredients in a medium sized bowl, and mix until smooth.
8. Dollop most of the cheesecake batter on top of the brownie, and swirl using a spoon or a toothpick. I like to bring some of the brownie batter up to the surface to give a nice swirled texture.
9. Add the remainder of the cream cheese mixture and swirl
10. Bake the brownies until just set, then leave to cool and enjoy!

Tips and Tricks for great fudgy brownies

There are a few things to take note of to ensure that you get the best possible outcome with your cheesecake brownies:

• Room temperature ingredients. For this recipe, that applies to eggs and cream cheese. The butter can be cold from the fridge, as you are melting it with the chocolate. Having room temperature cream cheese and eggs mean your brownie and cheesecake mixture will swirl together well.
• Good quality chocolate. I used Whittaker's 72% chocolate for these brownies - the chocolate flavor is right up front with brownies, so use a good quality chocolate, one you would be fine eating as is.
• Don't over bake. If you over bake your brownie, you run the risk of it becoming cakey. Start checking after 20 minutes of bake time.
• Leave brownies to cool before cutting. I know it is hard. But brownies are so much easier to cut when they are at least slightly cool. If you're in a rush, once some of the heat has gone out of the baking pan, you can put the brownies in the fridge to help speed up the cooling process - I often put a small cooling rack in the fridge to put some air flow under the pan too. Use the freezer if you really need to, but don't tell anyone I told you that.
• Line the pan well. A well lined pan makes life so, so much easier, particularly when it comes to things like brownies where you want to be able to lift them right out of the pan to cut. I use two pieces of parchment paper that both extend over the edges of the pan, and secure them down with binder clips. This means that when it comes time to remove the brownies, I can use the parchment paper as 'handles' to lift them out.

Get all my tips and tricks on how to get the perfect crinkly brownie top in my fudgy homemade brownie recipe!

How to cut Brownies cleanly

I get asked this often - how do you cut brownies cleanly? There are a couple of tricks:

• Wait until they are cool. Even better, give them a wee spin in the fridge before you cut them. This is especially important for a cream cheese brownie recipe like this one.
• Use a nice, sharp chef's knife. This is important. If you want, you can run it under hot water and dry it before you cut it, so you have a hot, dry knife
• Wipe the blade between cuts. This is important for things like brownies which are fudgy. A clean blade will give you the best chance at a super clean cut on a brownie.
• If it all gets wonky and messy, don't worry. They will still taste good. I've been all set to shoot a recipe and cut my brownies wonky and had a meltdown - i've been there I promise. We still ate them.

Can brownies be made ahead of time?

Yes - brownies are a great make ahead dessert. In fact, these cheesecake brownies do best if you make them a few hours before you are wanting to serve them, to give them enough time to cool down before cutting.

If you want super fudgy brownies, once cool, you can put the whole pan, lightly covered with plastic wrap, into the fridge overnight or until completely cool. Cold brownies are my favourite.

Frequently Asked Questions

What tools and equipment do you use?
You can find a full list of the tools and equipment I use on my products page

Which baking pan did you use?
I make my brownies in a 9"x9" square pan, lined with parchment paper overhanging both sides. I find that a metal pan is much better than glass when it comes to baking as glass is a poor conductor of heat.

Do Cheesecake Brownies need to be refrigerated?
Yes - store your cheesecake brownies in an airtight container in the fridge for up to four days.

Can this recipe be made with boxed brownie mix?
I haven't tried it but you certainly could try making a box mix for the brownie base and then adding the topping for easy cream cheese brownies!

How do you tell when they are baked?
Over baked brownies aren't my favourite - you are best to lean toward under baking them than over baking them. Start checking the brownies for doneness after 20 minutes - you are looking for the edges and top to be set and if you insert a skewer into the middle, it should come out with a few moist crumbs attached. If the cheesecake layer splits a tiny bit don't worry - this is just from the eggs baking and contracting, causing a little split.

Can you freeze cheesecake brownies?
From experience, cream cheese doesn't freeze super well. My regular brownie recipe freezes great (just thaw in the fridge before eating), but I wouldn't recommend freezing this recipe.

Can I add chocolate chips?
You can do whatever you like here. I personally don't like chocolate chips in my brownie, but if you do, go for it.

Can I use salted butter?
Yes - if you don't have unsalted butter that is totally fine - just hold back a little on the salt content in the brownie batter.

Do I have to use caster sugar?
No - you can use regular granulated sugar if you like. In New Zealand, our sugar is much coarser, so I call for caster sugar in the recipe. However if you are in the US or you have finer sugar, regular granulated is fine. Either work great in the recipe, caster just dissolves better when being whipped with the eggs to form that crackly top. Another reason why baking with grams is the best - 200g of sugar is 200g sugar.

For more brownie recipes, check out:

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