Cream Cheese Brownies

I wanted to do something to use up the cream cheese left over from the Double Chocolate Cheesecake muffins from last time. Another batch of muffins was tempting, but I thought I'd try something new :D In the end, I decided on brownies! (I have no idea how to use cream cheese in any other dish :P)

I actually like making brownies. Compared to cookies, they're less fussy. Once you make the batter, all you have to do is pour it into the pan, and that's it. Unlike cookies, where you have to put tablespoons of dough onto the baking tray. Brownies are also less sensitive than cakes. I think they're the ideal recipe for beginners to baking. In fact, the very first thing (that I remember anyway) that I've baked was brownies with my friends. At that time, we just used the recipe from the back of the Hershey's baking chocolate box and were happy to stick with it, but I realise now that there are many many types of brownies - as there are of anything ;)

What you need:
Brownie base:
2/3 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
2 ounces unsweetened chocolate
4 ounces bittersweet or semisweet chocolate
1 stick unsalted butter (about 110g)
1 cup sugar
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
3 large eggs

Cream cheese filling:
1 8-ounce brick of cream cheese, room temperature (do not use low-fat or no-fat)
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 large egg yolk

What you do:

1. Preheat oven to 160 C and set oven rack at lower middle level.
   
2. Grease an 8-inch square baking pan with butter and fit an 18- by-16-inch sheet of foil into the bottom of the pan (it will overhang the sides, which you will use as handles later to remove the brownies). Coat foil lightly with butter as well.
3. To make the brownie base, stir together in a small bowl the flour, salt, and baking powder. Set aside.
4. Over very low heat, melt together the unsweetened chocolate, bittersweet chocolate and butter, stirring occasionally until completely melted and smooth. Remove from heat and set aside to cool slightly. (I just used a microwave for this. But be careful you don't burn the butter or chocolate!)
5. Into the chocolate mixture, whisk in the sugar and vanilla. Whisk in the eggs, one at a time, fully incorporating each before adding the next. Add dry ingredients and whisk until just incorporated.
6. To make the cream cheese filling, beat together all the cream cheese filling ingredients in a small bowl until of smooth, even consistency.
7. To finish, pour half the brownie batter into the pan. Drop half the cream cheese mixture, by spoonfuls, over the batter. Repeat, layering remaining batter and filling. Use blade of table knife or spoon handle to gently swirl together the batter and filling, creating a marbled effect and smoothing out the top.
8. Bake at 160 C on the lower middle oven rack for 50 to 60 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out with several moist crumbs clinging to it. Cool brownies in the pan for 5 to 10 minutes, then use foil sling "handles" to lift brownies from the pan.
   
9. Place brownies on wire rack and allow them to cool to room temperature. Refrigerate until chilled, at least 3 hours (to hasten cooling, place brownies in freezer for about 90 minutes). Cut into squares and serve.

A pretty long recipe, yes, but its quite simple, don't worry. Its just a bit wordy, that's all ;)

I forgot to take the cheese out of the fridge beforehand, so my cheese was still quite stiff :( Oh well. There's just big lumps of cream cheese in there, which isn't all that bad, really to tell you the truth, ahahaha. It'll be hard to divide it equally, but yeah well. Presentation might have been better if I managed to swirl it through the batter though. Not only that, I only had half the amount of cheese required! D: So the brownies probably aren't as creamy as they are supposed to be.

As far as brownies go, this one isn't too bad. Not as chocolatey as the brownies I usually make (watch out for those! totally amazing!) but more than yummy enough! It was sweet and moist and everything you would ever want in a brownie (yes, I am very easily satisfied :P)

Its a bit fussier than I would have liked (chill 3 hours in the fridge??? Seriously, who can wait that long without eating? Me and Hadi cheated and sliced off a bit, hehe) but its all very simple instructions. I would definitely make this again - with the correct amount of cheese at the correct temperature ;).

Hehe, so...feeling the calories yet? Perhaps you should get one of these! o.0 Yep! I finally got one of them! (And those of you who have to ask...one of what, exactly? Well... :D) In my haste and excitement, I dropped the silly thing on my foot! At 20kg, its no featherweight! But it didn't affect my playing any ;) Ahahahaha (I'm sorry - I just HAD to put this in! :P)


Quote of the day: I don't understand why so many "so called" chocolate lovers complain about the calories in chocolate, when all true chocoholics know that it is a vegetable. It comes from the cocoa bean, beans are veggies, 'nuff said.