Today, I messed up a recipe. And I had sorta kinda messed up another one this week already, so my little heart feels very vulnerable right now. Thankfully, I know I can always find comfort in the basics. Such as brownies. Or cheesecake. Or both.
I haven’t told you about my friend Alex. My friend Alex, though she might not know it, is actually one of my oldest friends. She’s all kinds of awesome. We don’t see each other very often, but it always feels like opening a Fererro Rocher whenever I see her. This week, I dropped by her sparkling new apartment. Like, she bought and furnished a beautiful apartment on her own. I’m always in awe of people who can take charge, you know, like adults. Of course, I had to celebrate her adult-ness one way or another. I decided to go with the two ways that work best: cheesecake and brownie (and since I only had muffin pans, it was muffins, too.) These were a homerun with Alex, and it made me so happy because the afternoon spent chatting on her couch was clearly the highlight of my otherwise (still) crappy week. So I was glad I could let her know that, albeit with chocolate and cream cheese. A great means of communication.
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Cheesecake brownie muffins
Prep time: 20 minutes
Cooking time: 20 minutes
Yields about 10 muffins
Ingredients:
For the brownies:
- 2 eggs
- 3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
- 2/3 cup butter, melted
- 1 cup sugar
- 3/4 cup flour
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp baking powder
For the cheesecake:
- 5 oz cream cheese
- 1 1/2 tbsp sugar
- 1 small egg yolk
Directions:
1. To make the brownie: Preheat oven to 360°F. In a large bowl, whisk together the eggs, the cocoa powder, salt, baking powder and vanilla extract, until combined. Stir in the sugar and butter until well combined. Stir in the flour gradually with a spatula. Set aside.
2. To make the cheesecake: In another bowl, combine the cream cheese, sugar and egg yolk, stir until well combined. Transfer to a pastry bag or a zip lock bag (if you use a zip lock bag, you will cut the tip with scissors and use it as a pastry bag.)
3. To assemble: Spoon 1 tbsp of brownie batter in each muffin pan, then pipe about the same amount of cheesecake filling onto it. Add 1 tsp of brownie batter on top. Bake for about 20 minutes, until an inserted toothpick comes out clean. Let cool a few minutes before removing from pan.
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My tips:
- I made these muffin-size because I only had a muffin pan. If you have a mini-muffin pan, just reduce the baking time to about 12 minutes (check with an inserted toothpick to make sure they are ready.)
- Store in an airtight container –but you won’t need to, these will go pre-tty quickly.
Source: Just a Taste.
