Blackberry Cheesecake Swirled Brownies

Friday, April 27, 2012

Blackberry Cheesecake Swirled Brownies

I’m not sure how many of you were around back in September of 2009 when I posted these Pumpkin Spice Cheesecake Brownies, but let me tell you, those brownies are amazing. I have been wanting to use them as inspiration for another recipe for a long time now.

When I decided to host a party with all purple food, my mind wondered back to these brownies. I decided to try mixing blackberry with chocolate to make these Blackberry Cheesecake Swirled Brownies. These were a HUGE hit to say the least.

I’m only sad that I served them at the same party as the Purple Ombre Cake because they really didn’t stand a chance compared to that cake. At any other party, they would have been the star of the show.

This recipe could be adapted to almost any flavor of cheesecake that you’d like. The blackberry pairs really well with chocolate, which I was pleased to learn. I preferred these served at room temperature, even though they should be stored in the fridge.

One Year Ago: Fudgey Banana Brownies and Cranberry Raisin Almond Banana Bread
Three Years Ago: Spicey Orange Shrimp
Four Years Ago: Perfect Summer Salsa, Dairy Free Cheesecake Pops, and Roasted Red Pepper Hummus

Blackberry Cheesecake Swirl Brownies

Yield: 16 brownies

Ingredients:

For the Blackberry Sauce
6 oz fresh blackberries
1 Tbsp sugar
1 tsp cornstarch
1/2 tsp lemon juice
2 tsp water
For the Brownie Batter
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter
1 cup + 2 Tbsp sugar
1/2 cup + 2 Tbsp cocoa
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp espresso powder, optional
1/2 Tbsp vanilla
2 eggs
3/4 cups flour
For the Cheesecake
8 oz cream cheese, softened
1 egg
1/2 cup sugar
2 Tbsp + 2 tsp flour
1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract

Directions:

For the Blackberry Sauce
Place blackberries and sugar in a pan and heat until the blackberries release their juices.

Combine cornstarch, juice, and water in a small bowl. Stir together until smooth.

Add slurry to pan and stir to mix completely. Bring mixture to boil for a few minutes. Allow to cool to room temperature.

For the Brownie Batter
Preheat oven to 350F. Grease an 8x8" square metal baking pan.

In a saucepan set over low heat, melt the butter, then add the sugar and stir to combine. Return the mixture to the heat briefly, just until it's hot, but not bubbling; it'll become shiny looking as you stir it. Heating this mixture a second time will dissolve more of the sugar, which will yield a shiny top crust on your brownies.

Transfer the sugar mixture to a medium-sized mixing bowl, if you've heated it in a saucepan. Stir in the cocoa, salt, baking powder, espresso powder, and vanilla.

Whisk in the eggs, stirring until smooth. Add the flour, again stirring until smooth.

For the Cheesecake
Beat the cream cheese in the bowl of a mixer until smooth. Add remaining ingredients and beat until well combined.

Add the blackberry sauce and stir until distributed.

To Assemble the Brownies
Spread about 2/3 of chocolate batter into prepared pan, and spoon cheesecake batter over. Dollop remaining brownie batter over cheesecake batter. Swirl the batters together by running a butter knife back and forth through the pan.

Bake for 40 minutes, or until center is set. Cool completely on wire rack and chill before cutting and serving.

Brownie batter recipe adapted from My Go-To Brownie Recipe, originally from King Arthur Flour. Blackberry sauce recipe from me. Cheesecake recipe adapted from Pumpkin Spice Cheesecake Brownies

Bars and Brownies, Dessert

7 comments »

22 Responses to “Carrot Cake and Cheesecake Cake”

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Lauren @ Healthy Food For Living — April 13, 2011 at 4:45 pm

Give me a moment to compose myself… ok. This is the cake that my dreams are made of! Carrot cake and cheesecake are my two favorite cakes, so combine them into one amazing dessert, and I’m in total bliss. It looks phenomenal, and I would dominate a big slice ;).
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lms — July 13, 2011 at 4:16 pm

This cake was phenomenal!!!!! I have now made 3 versions and I think the carrot was the best. Everyone raved over it and we all thought it was better the 2nd day! YUM is an understatement!
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Matt — January 27, 2013 at 3:49 pm
I’m confused, how did the become a red velvet cake during the assembly?
- beantownbaker — January 27th, 2013 @ 4:07 pm
  
  That was a typo in the recipe since this was based on the red velvet cheesecake cake that I had made. I fixed it. Hope that helps.
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Chewy — March 29, 2013 at 11:19 am
Do i have to put the cheesecake pan in a roaster with water? I dont have a roaster? Before I purchase one I thought Id ask. Ive made many cheesecakes in the past and never did this

Thanks
- beantownbaker — April 1st, 2013 @ 8:35 am
  
  Yes, you are using a water bath to bake the cheesecake. So the water should come up about half way on the side of the pan that the cheesecake is in. I usually use a disposable roasting pan since I don’t have a roaster either. Hope that helps.
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Sarah Ross — March 31, 2013 at 3:45 pm
Just made this for Easter and everyone loved it.. Thank you
- beantownbaker — April 1st, 2013 @ 8:36 am
  
  Glad it was a success for you. This is a great Easter cake.
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Brandi — March 31, 2013 at 5:10 pm
I made this for Easter today as well, and it was great, everyone said so. I couldn’t eat much, it’s SO thick and rich. I don’t think it would have been half as great without the cheesecake. LOVE that and what a super easy recipe for the cheesecake.

The cake was quite a bit more work than I am used to, and I had to change a few things up based on what I had, in cae this helps anyone else…

I didn’t have brown sugar, subbed coconut palm sugar.

I used toasted almonds instead of pecans and was pleasantly surprised that I actually like them when toasted, as I don’t normally like them at all, they were so light and crispy.

I do not have a stand mixer, I used my Ninja blender with the whipping cream attachement (I didn’t know that it would work but it worked just fine!)

My food processor is broke and couldn’t find my grater, so I used my blender for the carrots, worked just fine.

I skipped the parchment paper bc I was out and that was no biggie.

The cake looked picture perfect and tasted amazing, no complaints here. Thank you!!!
- beantownbaker — April 1st, 2013 @ 8:37 am
  
  So glad this worked out for you. Thanks for coming back and posting the changes you made. I am sure they will be helpful for other readers.
  
  Toasted almonds are one of my favorite nuts! What a great substitution.
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Joann — July 21, 2013 at 3:49 pm
How many people will this feed? It is a combo of my two favorite things so I want to make it for a Bunco group.
- beantownbaker — July 21st, 2013 @ 3:51 pm
  
  It will easily serve 12-16
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Amy — October 13, 2013 at 12:23 pm
I made this for my mom’s 60th birthday and everyone loved it. My dad announced that it was his favorite cake ever, so…I’m about to go buy the ingredients to make it again for HIS 60th next week 🙂 Thanks!
- beantownbaker — October 15th, 2013 @ 5:02 pm
  
  Wow! Now that’s a compliment! So glad everyone enjoyed it 🙂
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Sarah — December 10, 2013 at 11:33 am
Hey there!

Wonderful recipe 🙂 just curious, when you assembled the cake, is the top layer bottom side up, or right side up? Did you trim the rounded top off?

Thanks!
- beantownbaker — December 10th, 2013 @ 4:56 pm
  
  If I remember correctly, my layers came out pretty flat. If they were round, I would trim the top off. I always put the top layer upside down when I’m stacking a layer cake.
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Robin — April 24, 2014 at 9:19 pm
Made this for Easter, for my husband’s side of the family. Perfect cake recipe! Takes time to make, but nothing difficult. Turned out beautifully and tasted wonderful. I didn’t tell anyone about the cheesecake layer, so when I cut the first piece everyone was just thrilled to see that middle layer. The cake is a feast for both the eyes and the palate. It also travels well, which is a bonus for a 3-layer cake. I will make this cake again, and again, and again. Thanks!!!
- beantownbaker — April 27th, 2014 @ 2:46 pm
  
  So glad you enjoyed it!!
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Anndrea — January 29, 2016 at 3:08 am

Just tried to make this… and I am curious if other people who had success used the volume or weight measures??
I used the weight and was quite precise BUT the cake is now seemingly exploding in my oven.. I am thinking some of the ounces are wrong but am not sure. (I have checked the recipe about 5 times to make sure i measured correctly too…)
Quite disappointed but hopefully I can still salvage something from it.
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Margaret Jimenez — March 26, 2016 at 8:22 am

hi! I wanted to make this for Easter tmrw..but I only have 10″ pans..both for the cheesecake & cake..can u PLEASE help me w/ the adjustments? I tried googling it, but it’s just not happening & I WANT to make this recipe..it has 5 stars! THANK U, THANK U!
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Margaret Jimenez — March 26, 2016 at 8:24 am

what I left out, was, I don’t want my cakes to be thin..I LOVE/prefer a high cake 🙂
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Lani — September 22, 2016 at 6:55 pm

Hello! Will the cheesecake tend to soften and tilt or sink in if it’s in a slightly warm environment or if I make it into a 5-6″ layer cake? I’m thinking of having one cake layer at the bottom, then the cheesecake, then the rest of the 2-4 layers cake layers. I am wondering if the cake will hold (with the cheesecake layer) if I put a center dowel?