Black-Bottom Brownies

Tue May 21, 2019 1:12 am

Makes 16 bars; Working time: 25 minutes; Total time: 1 hour, plus cooling

Ingredients:
For brownie

For cheesecake topping

Directions:

Place a baking sheet on the middle rack of the oven and preheat to 350°F. Butter an 8x8-inch baking pan. Line bottom and sides with parchment paper, leaving a 2-inch overhang on 2 sides; butter paper.
Make the brownie: Melt butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat; remove from heat. Add chocolate, and stir until melted and smooth. Stir in vanilla. Add sugar and stir until mixture is smooth and shiny. Stir in cocoa, espresso, and salt; cool 10 minutes.
Whisk eggs into chocolate mixture until incorporated. Add flour and stir until smooth. Transfer 1/4 cup batter to a bowl; set aside. Transfer remaining batter to prepared pan.
Make the cheesecake topping: Beat cream cheese with an electric mixer on medium speed until smooth; 1 to 2 minutes. Reduce mixer speed to low. Beat in egg, sugar, and vanilla until fully incorporated, stopping to scrape down sides as necessary, 30 seconds to 1 minute. Spread over brownie batter.
Dollop reserved chocolate batter on top of cream cheese layer and gently swirl with a butter knife. Place the pan on top of the hot baking sheet and bake until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out with moist crumbs attached, 35-40 minutes. Cool in pan on a wire rack.
Use paper to lift brownies from pan. Remove paper and cut brownies into shapes with a witch hat cookie cutter or into 16 bars.