One way to combine cheesecake and brownies is in a batch of cheesecake brownies. It’s a fantastic combination of rich cream cheese and decadent chocolate that is also very portable and easy to enjoy. But it’s not the only way to enjoy this combination of ingredients. I put them together in the form of a cheesecake with a brownie base, delivering more brownie and more cheesecake in each bite – and giving you a dessert with a real wow factor on top o it.
This dessert is put together in two parts. First, the brownie base is baked in a springform pan, then a no-baked cheesecake batter is poured on top of it. I like the no-bake cheesecake for this recipe because it has a slightly lighter texture than some cheesecakes, which really highlights the difference between the creamy cheesecake and the dense brownies. The cheesecake still has that luscious, smooth texture to it that you would expect from a cheesecake, it just has a hint of airiness that helps it melt on the tongue and contrast with the chewy brownies.
You can prepare this whole dessert in advance, as it needs time to chill and allow the cheesecake to set up before serving. The cheesecake only needs a couple of hours in the fridge to set up, but you can easily prepare this the night before you want to serve it so you don’t have to do any last minute preparation. For a unique twist, if you want something a little different that just a classic vanilla and chocolate combination, add in a teaspoon of mint extract along with the melted chocolate in the cheesecake batter for a mint chocolate marble dessert!
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Black Bottom Cupcakes are definitely a dessert in my book, but I must be the only one who thinks that way, as just about every coffee shop and bakery that stocks them (including Starbucks) puts these out for breakfast. They are moist chocolate cakes with cheesecake-like centers, rich and decadent – especially if you are eating them in the morning.
The cupcakes are tricky to make because you need to have the right ratio of filling to cake and the filling has to hold together in just the right way to prevent it from (a) sinking into the cake completely or (b) detaching from the sides of the cake as it cools. I have made variations many times with varying degrees of success. All were tasty, but none were perfect. Then I saw a gorgeous picture of the cupcakes in an issue of Cook’s Country and had a feeling that their recipe might be the one I was looking for.
They turned out perfectly, moist and tender with a very rich flavor that doesn’t let you stop at just one bite. The cream cheese filling has miniature chocolate chips stirred into it for an extra boost of chocolate. I did run into one issue with their instructions, which was that I found their baking time, as stated, to be way off. It called for 25 minutes at 400F! While every cupcake and muffin recipe will vary slightly in baking time, it seems odd that 350F will cook most cakes of this size in 15-20 minutes. Why would a signifigantly higher temperature require a longer baking time when the cupcake doesn’t contain any special ingredients? Just about every cupcake would be burned to a crisp with those instructions!
I didn’t want to end up with a whole batch of burned cupcakes, but I still wanted to test their time. I let a few of mine bake at the high temperature for almost the full time and – no surprise – they burned on both the top edges and on the bottom. Black Bottom Cupcakes are supposed to be decadent and moist and, even if the longer baking time didn’t burn them, it certainly would have dried them out. I’ve given a much lower baking temperature in my instructions below, which should produce better (by which I mean unburned) results. If you cakes aren’t done, just pop them in for an extra minute or two. Remember that you can always add time, but you can never “uncook” an overcooked cake.
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