"You don't understand what I mean now, but someday you will: the only trick of friendship, I think, is to find people who are better than you are-not smarter, not cooler, but kinder, and more generous, and more forgiving-and then to appreciate them for what they can teach you, and to try to listen to them when they tell you something about yourself, no matter how bad-or good-it might be, and to trust them, which is the hardest thing of all. But the best, as well." (excerpt from "A Little Life" by Hanya Yanagihara). Back in college and subsequently in graduate school, I used a yellow highlighter when I came across something in a book I felt had significance. Which early on meant pages upon pages were drenched in yellow. Nowadays I simply bend the corners of only those pages containing passages striking a chord, ones often lingering with me for days. Sometimes the elegance or profoundness of the author's words will cause me to gasp or even weep. When I came across the aforementioned quote from the book I am currently reading, it felt as if I was experiencing something akin to part epiphany, to part validation. I couldn't help but think the (unspoken) concept of a quality, enduring friendship, one grounded in kindness, generosity, and forgiveness, was held reciprocally between myself and my closest, most trusted friends. On some levels it explained what has drawn me to some of the people, some very different from me, who have crossed and remained in my life's path. At the same time, I gained some insight into some of those unbalanced relationships/friendships causing me the most angst, the ones I should have walked away from a long time ago. All because of a lack of or significant change in shared give and take reciprocity. Maybe like people, books also come into your life for a reason. While there are takeaways from almost every book I read, as of recent, none has resonated more with me. Thank you for letting me share my reflections with you. To return this kindness, I want to share with you the amazing, potentially last meal worthy, brownie recipe I recently found.
Years ago I came across a recipe for Marbled Cheesecake Brownies, however, in typical fashion I couldn't remember if that recipe was from a cookbook, cooking magazine, or one I cut out the newspaper. What all this means is that I either had to spend a countless number of days going through my cookbook, cooking magazine, and recipe collections or spend a finite number of hours doing some on-line Marbled Cheesecake Brownies research. Although I have a fair amount of discretionary time in my life, I went with least time intensive option. The recipe rating system on Epicurious has a fair degree of reliability, however, judging recipes posted elsewhere requires you to make inferences about their potential deliciousness based on recipe source, ingredient proportions, recipe directions, and, sometimes even the accompanying photo of the finished product. Ultimately I decided to use King Arthur Flour's Chocolate Cheesecake recipe, however, after looking at the directions I knew I would make some changes to them based on my years of brownie and cheesecake making experience.
Cheesecakes were made in Rome as far back as 1 A.D., however, the cream cheese version of the cheesecake we have all grown to love originated centuries later in New York in 1929. Brownies have a much shorter, yet slightly conflictual history with both Boston (MA) and Bangor (ME) staking their claims for its' invention in 1906 and 1907 respectively. Although there seems to be agreement that brownies were an east coast invention. Combining the tangy, rich creaminess of a cheesecake with dense, fudgy rich chocolate brownies was destined to be a marriage made in dessert heaven. Whoever conceptualized Marbled Cheesecake Brownies (aka Swirled Cheesecake Brownies, Cream Cheese Brownies, Chocolate Cheesecake Brownies) was a genius. Currently an unknown (or rather yet to be claimed) originator, but nonetheless a genius. Which means there is still time for anyone with a really good, believable (possibly verifiable) story to come forward and take credit for conceiving these incredibly delicious, decadent brownies.
Since its' inception the brownie has gone from its' early chocolatey, cake-like version to a confection having a myriad of multi-ingredient variations. These Marbled Cheesecake Brownies may be one of the better, possibly the best variation of all. Although a brownie slathered in a German Chocolate Frosting could come in a close second.
Knowing that a brownie batter has a tendency to thicken as it cools, I decided it made the best culinary sense to begin by making the cheesecake batter. After creaming the room temperature cream cheese in a standing mixer with a whisk attachment, the granulated sugar was added until well incorporated. The eggs were added in one at a time, scraping the bowl with a spatula between additions to ensure there were no clumps of cream cheese. After blending in the vanilla and heavy cream, the final ingredient added was the all-purpose flour. The resulting mixture was creamy, light, and fluffy.
The chocolate flavor of the brownies comes from both Dutch Process Cocoa and (bittersweet) chocolate chips. While these brownies are completely assembled in a pot, care needs to be taken to ensure the mixture isn't too hot before the eggs are incorporated (bits of scrambled eggs in brownies aren't exactly the best of combinations). After all of the ingredients are incorporated, you will end up with a very thick brownie batter.
Half of the brownie batter is poured into the prepared baking pan and smoothed with an offset spatula before the cream cheese layer is added. The remaining brownie batter is dropped in dollops on top of the cream cheese layer. I dropped large dollops, however, the next time making smaller dollops would make the swirling process a little easier. To swirl the cheesecake layer with the top brownie layer use either a fork or knife (I used a fork) making sure you don't allow your utensil of choice to go down to the bottom brownie layer. How much of the cheesecake shows on top depends on how much you swirl. The less the swirl, the larger the streaks of cream cheese. Conversely the more you swirl the less cream cheese streaks (I swirled more but still had a discernible cheesecake layer when the brownies were cut. Notes: Lining your baking pan with parchment pan will make the removal and ultimate cutting of these brownies effortless. In my world baking brownies in a metal pan versus a glass pan is always preferable.
The brownies are baked in a preheated 350 degree (F) oven for 45-50 minutes. My baking time was 50 minutes. I generally start checking for doneness at least 5 minutes before any recommended baking time, just in case my oven is off. If these Marbled Cheesecake Brownies are underbaked, they will be difficult to cut and gooey in not a good way. If overbaked, they will be dry in the worst of ways.
Once the brownies are baked and cooled to room temperature, they should be wrapped and refrigerated for at least 4 hours or overnight (preferable) as this makes cutting them easier.
Cutting the Marbled Cheesecake Brownies into 24 squares makes them the perfect serving size. They are on rich side. I think they taste best served slightly chilled with a glass of milk. They are a picnic, barbecue, feed a sweet tooth, graduation party, or even after a long run perfect treat.
These are some seriously delicious brownies. And from what I remember, even better than the ones I made years ago. The investment of time searching for a 'new' recipe turned out to be a great use of my discretionary time. February 10th in National Cream Cheese Brownie Day, but I wouldn't wait until next year to make these Marbled Cheesecake Brownies. And, if by chance, you are looking for a way to extend a kindness to someone you value and treasure as a friend, especially a chocolate and cheesecake loving friend, a plate of these brownies would speak volumes.
Marbled Cheesecake Brownies (modified version of King Arthur Flour's Chocolate Cheesecake Brownies)
Ingredients
Brownie Batter
1 cup (16 Tablespoons) unsalted butter
2 1/4 cups granulated sugar
1 1/4 cups dutch process cocoa
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon espresso powder
1 Tablespoon vanilla
4 large eggs, room temperature
1 cup all purpose flour (recommend King Arthur's flour)
2 cups semisweet or bittersweet chocolate chips (54-60% cocoa) (Recommend Ghiradelli Bittersweet 60% Cocoa Chocolate Chips)
Cheesecake Batter
16 ounces cream cheese, room tempeature
3/4 cup granulated sugar
2 large eggs, room temperature
2 teaspoons vanilla
1/4 cup heavy cream
1/2 cup all-purpose flour (recommend King Arthur's flour)
Directions
1. Lightly spray and line a 9"x12" inch metal baking pan with parchment paper. Set aside.
2. Preheat oven to 350 degrees (F).
3. To make the cheesecake batter:
a. In a standing mixer with a whisk attachment, beat the cream cheese until smooth and there are no lumps.
b. Beat in granulated sugar.
c. Beat in eggs one at a time until fully incorporated.
d. Beat in vanilla and heavy cream until blended.
e. On medium speed, blend in flour until fully incorporated. Set aside.
4. To make the brownie batter.
a. In a large saucepan, melt the butter. Then stir in the sugar, cooking until mixture is smooth and shiny. Note: Stir constantly. This mixture will be thick.
b. Remove from heat and stir in cocoa, salt, espresso powder, and vanilla until blended. Allow the mixture to cool slightly (approximately 3-5 minutes). Note: If mixture is too hot, the eggs will curdle. If the mixture is allowed to cool longer than 5 minutes, blending in the eggs will be slightly more difficult.
c. Using a whisk, beat in eggs, one at a time, until blended.
d. Whisk in flour and baking powder, stirring until smooth. Note: Batter will be very thick and possibly look a little grainy, but do not worry.
e. Stir in chocolate chips. Note: If batter is slightly warm, the chips may begin to melt slightly. Again, not to worry.
5. Spoon half of the brownie batter into the prepared pan. Smooth with an offset spatula.
6. Pour cream cheese batter over brownie base layer.
7. Dollop remaining brownie batter on top of cheesecake layer. Using a fork or knife, swirl the two together. Note: Allow some of the cheesecake batter to show through. In other words, don't overswirl.
8. Bake for 45-50 minutes or until the top springs back when pressed lightly and edges are set. Note: Can test with a cake tester. Look for the tester to come out clean.
9. Remove from oven and cool to room temperature. Cover and chill at least 4 hours (or overnight) before cutting.
10. Serve slightly chilled. Store covered in the refrigerator.
Sheep at Harmony Home Farm, Little Compton, RI
