Dessert: such a small word but can hold a lot of happiness! There are a large number of people in the world who actually love their desserts more than their meals. There have to be; who doesn’t want to be happy after all! Not to mention I am always a representative of this kind of ‘happy people’.
I love to surprise my family with teeny weeny ‘happiness’ once a week. But I can’t make it homemade all the time. Generally I choose simple few scoops of ice cream for those sudden treats. It has been a while I haven’t done any dessert and Bhatty already got cold about them(read, bored with cakes & cookies). So I decided to try some new kind of dessert which I haven’t tried yet: Cheesecake. It’s almost a year now since I started blogging and I found out I have more than a dozen of cake recipe but not a single cheesecake! But this delicious cheesecake is not a bit less popular than a regular cake. In fact it is getting more popular. Itis kind of a soft mousse cake with sweet cream cheese topping on the base of a thin crust. It had to be my call for a Cheesecake!
Whenever I visit our nearest Italian restaurant I like to order some lychee or blueberry cheesecake, if they are available. They are kind of melt-in-your mouth; so soft and creamy. But I had never thought of trying them at home. I always used to think it must be a hard Job to make these to perfection. When I decided to make a cheesecake and was in search for a good recipe I realized it’s not a rocket science; merely easier than regular cake. I believe in ‘your First impression is the Best impression’ so I was looking for a bit different kind of cheesecake and look what I got! This gorgeous Classic Red Velvet Cheesecake Swirl Brownie. It doesn’t have the crumb crust like regular cheesecake. Instead it has stunning red colored brownie layering at the bottom with sweet cream cheese layering and bright red swirls on the surface. Once I saw it couldn’t resist me from trying it. And mark my word guys, it’s worth trying!
Here is the recipe of Classic Red Velvet Cheesecake Swirl Brownie.
Preparation Time: 15 mins
Cooking Time: 50 mins (uncovered) Or, 80 min (covered)
Resting Time: 05 mins
Total Time: 70 mins Or, 100 mins
Yield: 8-10 servings
Ingredients:
For Brownie layer:
Flour: ¾ cup
Powdered sugar: 1 cup
Cocoa powder: ¼ cup
Red food color: 1½ tsp
Butter: 8 tbsp ( I used salted butter, if you are using unsalted butter add ½ tsp of salt)
Egg: 2, large
Vanilla essence: 1 tsp
Chopped walnut: 1/3 cup
For cream cheese layer:
Cream cheese: 250g
Powdered sugar: 1/3 cup
Egg: 1, large
Vanilla essence: 1 tsp
Equipment:
8” or 9” Non-stick Baking pan (preferable spring form pan; if you don’t have any See Tips)
Large mixing bowls
Aluminium foil
Parchment paper
Preparation:
Before you start working on your cake remember few things. First, read the Tips before you start. And second, make sure all the ingredients are at room temperature.
Start with the brownie layer. Beat butter and sugar in a large mixing bowl with the electric beater for 1 min or until smooth.
Crack one egg at a time in the mixing bowl and beat for 1 min on low speed or until the batter is fluffy and pale in color. Don’t over beat otherwise the batter will be crumbled.
Take another mixing bowl and place the sieve on the top of it. Sieve and sift the flour and cocoa powder together in it.
Now put the sieve on the top of the mixing bowl of butter egg mixture and re-sift the flour-cocoa mixture and chopped walnut. Mix with a spatula until everything is incorporated.
Add vanilla essence and red food color and stir with the spatula. Reserve ¼ cup of batter separately. Pour rest of the batter in the previously prepared baking pan. Level off the surface with the spatula for even distribution. Tap off the pan on the kitchen counter few times to remove excess air bubble from the batter. If you have spring form pan you are a blessed one! But what if you don’t own any just like me? Be very careful while preparing the pan. I’ve suffered a lot due to this and added a spring form pan to my shopping list already. For the time being you guys just follow instruction under ‘Tips’ minutely to achieve the successful Classic Red Velvet Cheesecake Swirl Brownie. (See Tips)
Take another mixing bowl and beat cream cheese with sugar in it until cheese is airy and sugar dissolves nicely.
Add vanilla essence and egg in the batter.
Beat the batter with electric beater on low speed for 1 min. The batter will be little thinner than your usual cream. But don’t worry it is supposed to be this way.
Now use your ice cream scoop and place dollops of cream cheese mixture on the top of brownie batter. Spread evenly with the spatula. Add few dollops of reserved red brownie batter on the top of the cream cheese layer. Take a skewer or pin pointed knife and slowly make swirls with the tip. Or you can use piping bag filled with the reserved red brownie batter to make swirls on the top of cheese layer. This worked better for me with a neat swirl.
Now here comes the trickiest part of this simple recipe. And who doesn’t own a spring form pan like me it’s just pain in the ass for them Trust me! Cover the pan with aluminium foil all the way. Just follow instruction under ‘Tips’ minutely to achieve the successful Red Velvet Cheesecake Swirl Brownie. (See Tips)
Preheat the oven to 1800C. Place the entire foil covered baking pan inside the oven. Be careful not to make punches in the foil. Now bake the cake at 1800Cfor 40 mins (if baking uncovered) or 60 mins (if baking fully covered). Use the lower most rack of the oven to bake this cake. After certain time, take out the cake from the oven carefully and do the skewer test to check whether it is done or not. Just follow instruction under ‘Tips’ minutely to remove your Cheesecake Swirl Brownie successfully from oven and how to handle in correct way. (See Tips)
Gently make slices of it with a very sharp & long knife. Take each piece carefully in your palm and remove the parchment paper from the bottom. Arrange the cheesecake pieces on your serving plate. And serve warm with coffee or tea or even with some simple strawberry syrup. This Classic Red Velvet Cheesecake Swirl Brownie can be stored at room temperature up to two days. for further storage keep them in air tight container and refrigerate. But try to consume within next 2-3 days. Remember, the longer you will store them, more chewy they will become.
Tips:
How to prepare the pan if you don’t have spring form pan: Grease the baking pan with 1 tsp of butter. Place parchment paper on the pan in such a way that the paper should be hanging outside the pan over the edges. This will help to remove the cake later with an ease. Now grease the parchment paper too with butter. This will help to remove the paper without any trouble later.
How to save your cheesecake brownie from overdone: Cover the side of the pan with the foil with 4” height. Cover the surface area also with foil. Seal all the edges neatly otherwise by the time your cheesecake will be done the surface will lose the pale yellow color and it will turn into all brown with few red strokes. So be careful; take your time and do this last step neat and clean way.
How to remove your cheesecake brownie from oven: After removing the cake from the oven ,carefully remove the cover from the surface (if using any); don’t make punches in it. Insert a skewer in the middle of the cake. If it comes out clean you are done, otherwise cover the cake again like before (if using any) and send it back to the oven and continue baking for additional 10-20 mins. Once done allow the cake to cool inside the oven. Remember it’s a very delicate cheesecake brownie. So you have to handle it with special care. After 40-60 mins when the cake will be cooled completely remove the pan from oven and carefully remove the foil from all the sides.
How to remove your cheesecake brownie from oven: After removing the cake from the oven ,carefully remove the cover from the surface (if using any); don’t make punches in it. Insert a skewer in the middle of the cake. If it comes out clean you are done, otherwise cover the cake again like before (if using any) and send it back to the oven and continue baking for additional 10-20 mins. Once done allow the cake to cool inside the oven. Remember it’s a very delicate cheesecake brownie. So you have to handle it with special care. After 40-60 mins when the cake will be cooled completely remove the pan from oven and carefully remove the foil from all the sides.
Enjoy!
Sending this to http://www.thatsmyhome.com/articles/talking-tuesday-7-2/
Sending this to http://www.nibblesbynic.com/2014/02/02/munching-mondays-24/
Sending this to http://www.nibblesbynic.com/2014/02/02/munching-mondays-24/
Hi Aankhi,
It is always better to line your pan with parchment paper. As you have a spring form pan, it is not mandatory to use the paper. To your second query, it is important to bake the cheesecake covered otherwise the color will be darker (like brown) and the texture will be crumbled. This will definitely not melt in your mouth.
Thanks for sharing this at Talking Tuesday Over the Fence! It looks delicious!!! Pinned for later….