I wanna be a Browniebabe!

The lovely Myriam is once again hosting her monthly Browniebabe event, where someone's delectable brownie will win a lovely Browniebabe apron!

Even though I have lots of aprons, I would not object to adding this lovely one to my collection. So when Myriam asks, who wants to be the next Browniebabe, I must answer.....

Memememememe! (hehehe)

I wanted to do this for the first two months, but with school and work ending, then our holidays, I just could not find the time to make much of anything. I'm sure my blog showed that.

But vacation time is over, I am home with the children, and have a bit more time for baking and experimenting. With the beautiful weather, we've been able to have friends over more often, and I've enjoyed being able to make desserts for them.

Now I have one question - is it cheating that my brownie also involves cheesecake?

Technically this is a recipe for a low fat chocolate cheesecake on a low fat brownie base. The recipe actually calls for using a low fat boxed brownie, but that would never do! Instead I followed the recipe for the cheesecake portion, but subbed my basic brownie recipe for the bottom instead. Making them mini's provided a form of portion control.

Shockolate Cheesecake

From Janet and Greta Podleski of Eat, Shrink and Be Merry

• 1 x box (15.5 oz/440 g) low-fat brownie mix (such as Betty Crocker Fudge Brownies) I subbed this brownie recipe for the boxed, low-fat recipe. My brownies are NOT low-fat!
• 2 cups 1% cottage cheese
• 1 cup light sour cream (not fat-free)
• 1 x pkg (8 oz/250 g) light cream cheese, at room temperature
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 6 ounces (170 g) semi-sweet chocolate squares, melted and cooled slightly (see Tip)
• 1 cup fat-free egg substitute or 4 whole eggs
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1 cup fresh raspberries
• Melted chocolate for drizzling (optional)

Directions:

Shockolate Cheesecake

1. Spray a 9-inch springform pan with cooking spray. Prepare brownies according to package directions, baking in springform pan instead of regular cake pan. Brownies should bake in 20 to 25 minutes.
2. Remove pan from oven and reset temperature to 325ºF. Set brownie crust aside to cool slightly while you prepare filling.
3. To make filling, whirl cottage cheese, sour cream and cream cheese in a blender until perfectly smooth. Scrape out mixture into a large mixing bowl. In a small bowl, sift together sugar, cocoa and flour.
4. Gradually add sugar mixture to cream-cheese mixture and beat on medium speed of electric mixer until well blended. Add melted chocolate and beat again, scraping down sides of bowl as necessary. Add eggs and vanilla. Beat just until eggs are incorporated into batter.
5. Before pouring batter over crust, lightly grease sides of pan. This will help prevent cheesecake from cracking as it cools. Pour batter over brownie crust and smooth top.
6. Place on middle oven rack and bake for 60 to 70 minutes. Cake will be puffed up and center will jiggle slightly when pan is shaken.
7. Turn off oven, open oven door halfway, and leave cake in oven to cool for 1 hour. Remove from oven, run knife around edge of pan to loosen cake from sides, and cool completely. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight.
8. To serve, remove sides of pan, slice thinly (it’s rich!), and serve with fresh raspberries and chocolate drizzle, if desired.

One Bowl Brownies
from Kraft Canada

4 squares Unsweetened Chocolate, chopped
3/4 cup butter
2 cups granulated sugar
3 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
1 cup flour
1 cup toasted pecans (optional)

Preheat oven to 350F. Microwave chocolate and butter in a large microwavable bowl on high for 2 minutes, or until melted. Stir in sugar until well blended; mix in eggs and vanilla. Stir in flour and nuts, if using.

Spread mixture in lightly greased 13 x 9 inch baking pan.

Bake 30-35 minutes or until wooden toothpick inserted in centre comes out clean. Do not overbake!


My notes:
Instead of using the springform pan, I used individual paper cups for each brownie base. I filled them 1/4 full and had a very large brownie base. I had so much left over brownie batter that I made two bite brownies mixed with M&M candies for the children, who aren't fond of cheesecake.
After filling 18 mini brownie bases with the cheesecake, I had enough batter left over to still make a full sized cheesecake. Since I had used the brownies somewhere else, I made a quick graham cracker crust for it - and let me tell you, you want the brownie base for this cheesecake! It makes a HUGE difference in the taste and texture of the entire recipe!