Chocolate Cheesecake Brownies

Happy Easter! 

Chocolate anyone??? 

Of course you simply cannot celebrate Easter without chocolate! 

I used Nigella Lawson’s awesome Everyday Brownie recipe as a base and added a cream cheese component. And look what happened… Cheesecake Brownies! Yum…

Chocolate Cheesecake Brownies

Ingredients:

1 – 8 oz package cream cheese, softened

3/4 cup sugar

2 eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 1/4 sticks butter

1 3/4 cups packed light brown sugar

1 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

1 cup all purpose unbleached flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

4 eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 cup dark chocolate chips

Directions:

Preheat your oven to 375 degrees. 

Butter the sides and bottom of a 13 x 9 baking dish.

Beat the cream cheese and sugar until smooth. 

Add the vanilla and the eggs beat until completely mixed scraping down the sides and bottom of the bowl. Set aside. 

Melt the butter over low heat in a medium saucepan, add the brown sugar, and stir to combine. Add the cocoa powder, flour, baking soda and the salt stir very well. 

The mixture will be dry. 

Remove from the heat. 

Beat the eggs with the vanilla, add to the mixture in the pan.

Now add the chocolate chips and mix until incorporated. 

Spread the mixture in the prepared baking dish. 

Smooth the batter out and cover with the cream cheese mixture. 

Run a spatula back and forth through the layers of batter so that you get a swirled look. 

Do not over mix. 

Bake for about 25 to 30 minutes or until the edges are set and a cake tester inserted into the center just comes out clean.

This is a link to Nigella's recipe

Carrot Pineapple Spice Cake

Alton Brown’s Carrot Cake with some ah, enhancements!

Sorry Alton! I can never leave well enough alone! I just love your show, Good Eats! It is an amazing testament to the how and why of food science. The wealth of scientific explanations, the visuals that show how ingredients react to and with each other, and your charming whit and sense of humor make it one of the best food shows, at least in my humble opinion. However, sometimes endeavoring to make your recipes can be a bit daunting. All the gadgets, like food scales that weigh ingredients instead of just measuring them. I know, I know it is actually more accurate; and a food thermometer to test whether a cake is done, really, is that necessary? I think not! It is just too complicated! Besides, I am a poor unemployed educator who does not have the funds for such gadgets. Oh and I lost my food thermometer the last time we moved so the Thanksgiving Turkey may be a bit over cooked this year. So, Alton if you have a spare food thermometer it would be a big help... When I saw your carrot cake recipe posted on Facebook, I was inspired. I wanted to make an old-fashioned cake for Easter Dinner and this seemed like a great start, so thank you, Alton!

Carrot Pineapple Spice Cake

Ingredients:

6 medium carrots, shredded

2 1/2 cups, unbleached all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon ground allspice

3 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1 teaspoon ground ginger

1/2 teaspoon freshly ground nutmeg

1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

3/4 cup butter, softened

1 1/2 cups sugar

1/4 cup dark brown sugar, firmly packed

3 large eggs

3/4 cup sour cream

1 – 8.25 oz can crushed pineapple, packed in pineapple juice, drained

Directions:

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Butter and flour two 9-inch round cake pans. Set aside.

Mix the flour, baking powder, baking soda, spices, and salt in medium mixing bowl. Add the grated carrots and toss to coat. In the bowl of the stand mixer fitted with the paddle, beat the butter and sugars until light and fluffy. Add the eggs beat well and add the sour cream and mix. Add the pineapple and the carrot mixture and stir to combine. Do not over mix; however, all the flour should be incorporate into the batter. Pour into the prepared cake pans and bake on sheet pan in the middle of the oven for 23 minutes. Reduce the heat to 325 degrees and bake for another 1o minutes or until a toothpick or a cake tester inserted into the center of the cakes, comes out clean.

Remove the cakes from the oven and allow them to cool for 15 minutes. Remove the cakes from the pans and cool completely on cake racks.

Frost with my Cream Cheese Frosting recipe, below…

This is a link to Alton’s recipe: http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/alton-brown/carrot-cake-recipe/index.html

Cream Cheese Frosting

Ingredients:

12 oz cream cheese, softened

1/2 cup butter, softened

1 – 16 oz package powdered sugar, sifted

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Directions:

Beat the cream cheese with the butter until creamy and smooth. Add the vanilla extract and stir to combine. Add the sugar a little at a time and mix after each addition. Beat until smooth after the final addition of the sugar.