In honor of National Cream Cheese Brownie Day (February 10) I created these brownies. Valentine’s Day is just around the corner, and the chocolate, raspberry and cream cheese are decadent enough to serve as a special Valentine’s treat. These bars are a fudge like brownie swirled with cheesecake and raspberry puree. They are delicious, indulgent, and very pretty! When I took them out of the oven my daughter commented that they were “lovely” and she knows what she is talking about.
Pro Tips:
Reserve about 1/4 cup of the puree for drizzling on the side, or use it on top of ice cream or other treats. I considered reducing the size of the batch, but the recipe I developed uses nice round measurements or units. Rather than making a recipe where you use 3/4 of a bag of frozen raspberries, and since you are already putting in the time to make the puree, I figured it was best to round up. You can always find a use for just a little extra raspberry sauce!
Bring your eggs and cream cheese to room temperature before mixing up the recipe.
I always use a metal baking pan for brownies, bars, and cakes. Glass pans do not heat as quickly or as evenly which can lead to over baked sides, and bottoms with a gooey underbaked center. I was reminded of this after a friend made the brownies in a glass pan and said her bake time was a lot longer and the center was still goo. If you will be using a glass pan, line it with foil sprayed with cooking spray, make sure your oven is well heated, increase your baking time, and know that results may vary. Thank you to friends who give me feedback and remind me that my kitchen supplies aren’t always what everyone else has in their kitchen!
This is no time to try to reduce fat or calories. Use a full fat cream cheese in this recipe.
It may go without saying, but I prefer to err on the side of caution. These are a cream cheese brownie, and the cream cheese really should be refrigerated. It’s fine to serve them at room temperature, but unless you are planning to eat the whole batch in one sitting, you should plan to make room in your refrigerator. As a bonus, I think these are really good chilled.
Raspberry Cream Cheese Brownies
A decadent fudge like brownie swirled with cheesecake and raspberry puree that is just the right level of indulgence!
- Prep Time: 30 minutes
- Cook Time: 30 minutes
- Total Time: 1 hour
- Category: brownies and bars
- Cuisine: dessert
Ingredients
For the Puree:
One 12oz bag of frozen raspberries
1/4 cup sugar
2 Tablespoons water
For the Cheesecake Layer:
One 8oz package of cream cheese at room temperature
1/4 cup sugar
1 egg
1/4 cup sour cream
For the Brownie Layer:
1 cup brown sugar
1 cup sugar
1 cup flour
1 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 cup butter, melted
4 eggs
Instructions
Preheat oven to 325 and line a 9×13 metal baking pan with parchment paper.
In a saucepan combine frozen raspberries, sugar, and water. Heat to boiling and allow to simmer at a low boil for 3 minutes. Remove from heat and press the berries through a fine sieve to remove the seeds.
Mix cream cheese, 1/4 cup sugar, 1 egg, and 1/4 cup sour cream in a small bowl and set aside.
In a large bowl, mix brown sugar, sugar, flour, cocoa powder and kosher salt. Stir in melted butter and 4 eggs.
Spread the brownie batter into the pan. Drop dollops of the cheesecake batter over the top of the brownie batter then drizzle with raspberry puree. Using a table knife or skewer, swirl the cream cheese and raspberry gently through the brownie batter to create a marbled effect.
Bake the pan of brownies for 25-30 minutes. My batch took 28 minutes to set without over baking. Let brownies cool, then chill completely before slicing.
Notes
Reserve 1/4 cup of the raspberry puree for another use.
Use full fat cream cheese.
Brownies will keep in the refrigerator for 5 days.
Keywords: brownie, cream cheese, raspberry, fudge, chocolate, bars
Bake up a batch of these decadent brownies to share with someone you love!
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