Monday, January 24, 2011

"R" is for Raspberry Cheesecake Brownies


We're finally back to our Alphabet Service Projects.  If you've been following along, you may notice that we skipped "Q".  Well, I taught the letter "Q", and we actually do know a little girl from church who's name begins with Q, but I struggled to come up with a recipe that started with "Q" (other than Quiche, but that sounds like a C or a K, which makes it just too confusing for a 3-year old).  Plus I was feeling lazy.  Shame on me.  Maybe we'll come back to it.


Back to the letter R.  We decided to have some friends over for dinner who's last name begins with R, and I made Baked Rotini, Romaine salad with Ranch, Buttered Corn, French Bread Rolls, and these fabulous Raspberry Cheesecake Bars.  Let me just say, the dinner was great, but this dessert was phenomenal.


The slightly tangy raspberries complement the creamy cheesecake and dense chocolaty brownies perfectly.  They're rich, but not so much that you don't want another one.  Like right away.  For my raspberry chocolate loving husband, these were bound to be a new favorite, and they met and exceeded all his expectations.

Update June 2013: Blackberries are equally good in this recipe - I made that version for Father's Day 2013 and Grant couldn't have been happier.  I bet even blueberries would be delicious!


Recipe: (adapted from Cooking for Seven)


1 stick +5 T. (7 oz)  butter, softened
2 cups sugar, divided (I used very scant cups)
5 eggs, room temperature, divided use
7 oz dark chocolate, chopped (I used semi-sweet chocolate chips)
1 cup flour, sifted (I used white whole wheat)
1/4 t. salt
2 t. vanilla extract, divided use
2 (8 oz pkgs) cream cheese, room temperature
5 oz raspberries, fresh or frozen


Directions:
For the brownie batter:
1) Preheat oven to 350° F. Butter a 13” x 9” glass baking dish.
2) Beat the softened butter with 1 cup of sugar until slightly fluffy. Add 3 eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition.
3) Melt the chocolate in a double boiler or in a bowl set over a pan of simmering water. Let cool slightly. Stir into the butter and sugar mixture. Add the sifted flour, salt, and 1 tsp. vanilla extract and carefully fold it in.
For the cheesecake batter:
4) Put the cream cheese in the bowl of your stand mixer. Add the 2 remaining eggs, 1 cup of sugar, and 1 tsp vanilla extract. Beat until it’s a smooth, creamy mixture.
Putting it all together:
5) Spread 2/3 of the chocolate mix on the bottom of your baking tray. Pour the cream cheese on top and spread it out evenly. Now drop little pieces of chocolate mix on top of the cream cheese. Lightly work it in with a fork—like you’re marbling a cake. Push the raspberries into the cream cheese.
6) Bake at 350°F (175C) for 40 to 45 minutes or until the cake feels set when gently touched in the center. Let the brownies cool off completely, then refrigerate several hours,  preferably overnight, before cutting them in squares.

7 comments:

  1. oh, my goodness!! I bet I could even get my husband to enjoy these :)

    ReplyDelete
  2. Ummm...my last name begins with R. Can I have one of those brownies?

    They look so good. I will have to make some soon!

    ReplyDelete
  3. looks amazing! yummmmmmm.....
    for Q - you could do this:
    http://allrecipes.com//Recipe/queen-elizabeth-cake-i/Detail.aspx

    (or just google 'queen' and 'recipe' and see what you get ;) that's how i found this)

    ReplyDelete
  4. Oh my goodness, these look like perfection. I want them for breakfast.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Thanks, Lana! Now I have no excuse to not go back and make something for that cute little girl named Quinn. :)

    Bakergirl...I would have probably eaten some for breakfast too, but I put all the leftovers away in the freezer to save for next weekend. Trying to not eat dessert every day. It's killing me. :)

    ReplyDelete
  6. I just pinned it. It looks like it could be my favorite recipe!

    ReplyDelete
  7. I have just come across your blog! And I have to say I am about to go get busy in the kitchen! Amazing recipes on here & so many I can't wait to try! I haven't had a chance to read all of your recipes.. but if you have not gotten Q yet.. try something with Quinoa :) Many blessings to you & your lovely family from Perth Western Australia.

    ReplyDelete

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...