Strawberry Cheesecake Brownies

These are wonderfully rich and gooey, just as brownies should be (in my opinion). In terms of flavour and texture, it’s a two-fold affair. First, you enjoy the moist, dense chocolate then there’s the slightly lighter, ever-so-slightly tangier hit of cheesecake with the sweetness of strawberry jam. Mmmmm.

  • Servings: 16 squares
  • Prep Time: Brownie – 20 minutes; cheesecake topping – 15 minutes
  • Baking Time: 30 – 35 minutes
  • Difficulty: Fairly easy
  • Equipment: A 20cm/8″ square baking tin
  • Credit: Adapted from a recipe by Rachel Allen

Brownie Ingredients

  • 100g (3½ oz) butter (cut into cubes)
  • 100g (3½ oz) dark chocolate (in chips or broken into pieces)
  • 1 – 2 tsp coffee granules or powder
  • 125g (4½ oz) golden caster sugar
  • pinch of salt
  • 3 eggs, beaten
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • 75g (3oz) self-raising flour
  • 1 tbsp cocoa powder
  • 100g (3½ oz) dark chocolate (in chips or broken into pieces)

Cheesecake topping ingredients

  • 200g (7 oz) full fat cream cheese (At room temperature)
  • 2 egg yolks
  • 75g (3oz) caster sugar
  • Strawberry jam (75g – 125g or about half a jar)

Directions

  1. Preheat the oven to 180°C/fan 160C/350°F/Gas 4. Grease the tin and line the base and sides with baking parchment.
  2. Melt the butter and chocolate in a large heat proof bowl over a saucepan of simmering water. (Or use short blasts in the microwave with frequent stirring.) Add in the coffee granules and stir the mixture, just until smooth.
  3. Remove from the heat and beat in the sugar and salt, followed by the eggs and vanilla extract. Sift in the flour and cocoa powder, add the chocolate chips and stir in.
  4. Tip the batter into the prepared tin and spread out using a spatula.
  5. In a clean bowl, beat together all the ingredients for the cheesecake mixture (except the strawberry jam) until smooth. Gently stir in about 50g of jam using small “blobs”, aiming to marble it rather than fully mix it in.
  6. Dot or pour the mixture randomly across the top of the brownie batter in the tin, then use a skewer or knife to swirl the two mixtures together, right across the tin and up to the edges. Now spoon more “blobs” of jam on top of the mixture. (They need to be small enough to sit on the surface and sufficient so that every square will have one or two when the block is cut later.)
  7. Bake for 30–35 minutes or until the middle of the cake still wobbles slightly when you gently shake the tin – a skewer inserted into the centre should come out with a little moisture on it.
  8. Remove from the oven, place on a wire rack and allow to cool completely in the tin before cutting into squares or slices. (I usually pop the whole tray in the fridge for an hour or two before cutting. It definitely helps. I also use a metal bench scraper, pressing down rather than dragging it along.)

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