Sluttishly Easy: Cheesecake Brownies

I've been wanting to make cheesecake brownies since I overheard someone mention them last week. Cheesecake! And brownie! In one cake! Really, there can't be a better cake than that, can there? Well, I can safely say that there isn't. I'm still eating the batch I made. I might never make normal brownies again. These are soft and gooey, like good brownies should be, but they've got soft and creamy cheesecake too. Hurrah! These are actually the best brownies I've ever made, even if I did eat too many of them last night. My friend Dan got to sample them this afternoon and he was pretty happy with them. I have a habit of cooking the mixture for too long, but I've learned over time that if you take it out of the oven about a minute before you think you should, you'll get perfect mix.

This is such a rich dessert, but I'm very tempted to see if you can put the brownie mix in a pie. Then all of my dessert wishes will come true. Can you make brownie pie? I'm excited by the prospect. Until I work out a recipe for that, why don't you have a bash a making these? The mixture fits well in a 28cm baking tin. That small roasting tin you have will work just fine.

You'll need these things:

For the brownie mix

• 170g chocolate. I used milk, but if you're after a richer flavour, stick to dark.
• 100g butter
  
• 200g sugar
• 3 eggs
• 100g plain flour
• 100 grams chocolate chips
• 1 tbsp cocoa powder
• 1tsp vanilla extract
• pinch of salt

For the cheesecake

• 200g soft cheese. I used ricotta, which is very creamy, but you might get a richer favour using mascarpone.
• 1 egg yolk
• 75g sugar
• drop of vanilla extract

Make it!

• Line the baking tray with foil (you'll need to do the sides as well unless you want your brownies to get stuck) and grease lightly. The preheat your oven to about 180 degrees.
• Melt the chocolate and butter together. It's easier to do this in a pan over the hob so you can make sure it's smooth, but if you do it in the microwave, make sure it's properly mixed when you're done. Then beat in the sugar and the eggs.
• Sift the flour and cocoa powder into the mix. Add the salt and vanilla and then the chocolate chips. Make sure everything is all mixed in and smooth. Eat some. Yummy.
• Pour your mixture into the baking tray. Lick the spoon. That's yummy too.
• Grab yourself another mixing bowl and throw in the ingredients for the cheesecake mix. Stir it all up (if you're using mascarpone you might need an electric whisk but ricotta will just mix right away).
• Splodge on top of the brownie mix and then mix it about and swirl so there's a nice marble pattern.
• Bake for 35-40 minutes until just set. The middle will still be a bit stodgy. This is good. Don't overcook them, then you just get cake. Leave to cool and then cut into squares.
• Eat them, vow never to make normal brownies again and then feel a little bit sick.