Cheesecake-Marbled Brownies

Some chick at my work had a birthday on Thursday...


...so I made her and her coworkers some cheesecake-marbled brownies to celebrate.



When I first saw this recipe on Smitten Kitchen I instantly thought that it would be the new boy bait. Unfortunately, opportunities to bait boys have not presented themselves lately and so the recipe was filed away with everything else on my Google Reader until I started dreaming about birthday cakes... I know I would take a rich, fudgy brownie over cake any day, and when I finally saw those gorgeous photos by Deb again I knew there wasn't going to be another word about how "strange" it was that I make my own birthday cake.


Because birthdays only come once a year, there are no redeeming qualities nutritionally to this recipe - no whole-wheat flour, no added bran or flaxseed, no tub margarine, no low-fat cream cheese...

The added bonus of this recipe is that it's surprisingly easy - the ingredients are a cinch to find and I'm sure if I wasn't snapping photos I would've been in and out of the kitchen in an hour.

  






And the brownies are sooo good. The massage therapist was telling me about The Zombie Survival Guide and how one of the noted "Zombie Attributes" are "may approach while moaning and groaning"...


I think the whole clinic turned into zombies for a little bit there...

Cheesecake-Marbled Brownies
Adapted from Smitten Kitchen
Makes 16 brownies (2 × 2" squares)

Brownie batter:

• 115 g (½ cup) unsalted butter, cut into pieces
  
• 90 g (3 oz) unsweetened chocolate, chopped
  
• 250 mL (1 cup) sugar
  
• 2 large eggs
  
• 2 mL (½ tsp) vanilla extract
  
• 1 pinch salt
  
• 165 mL (⅔ cup) all-purpose flour

Cheesecake batter:

• 1 225 (8 oz) package of cream cheese, softened
  
• 80 mL (⅓ cup) sugar
  
• 1 large egg yolk
  
• 1 mL (¼ tsp) vanilla extract

• 125 mL (½ cup) semi-sweet chocolate chips

1. Put oven rack in middle position and preheat oven to 350°F (180°C). Grease an 8" square baking pan.
   
2. Heat butter and chocolate over moderately low heat in a 3L-heavy saucepan. (You may also do it in a double boiler, or in a metal bowl placed over a saucepan with simmering water.) Whisk occasionally, just until melted.
   
3. Remove from heat and whisk in sugar, eggs, vanilla and salt until well combined. Whisk in flour until just combined and spread in a baking pan.
   
4. Whisk together cheesecake batter ingredients in a small bowl until smooth (something I neglected to do). Dollop over brownie batter and swirl using a butter knife or spatula. Be zealous about it! The more zealous you are, the better the marbling effect - you can tell that Deb's looks marbly while mine kinda looks like cheese pizza...
   
5. Sprinkle chocolate chips over cheesecake-brownie. Bake until edges are slightly puffed and centre is just set, about 35 minutes. Serve at whatever temperature you prefer.
   

Nutrition Info (per 2×2" square): 247 calories, 15 g fat (9 g saturated), 70 mg cholesterol, 26 g carbohydrates (1 g fibre, 20 g sugar), 3 g protein, 75 mg sodium.