Prepare and bake these squares in less than an hour. A Valentines Day special to day the least. A crunchy chocolate biscuit base with a dense red velvet brownie that’s been swirled with a luscious vanilla scented cheesecake.
Preheat the oven to180ºC. I’ve used a rectangle baking tin to make these, check out the equipment section for more information.
In a blender add the chocolate biscuits and blend until fine. Transfer to a mixing bowl, add the melted butter and stir to combine, the mixture should resemble wet sand. Dump into the baking tin and flatten the crumb mixture evenly using your hands or the back of a spoon. Ensure it covers the tin in one single layer.
In a stand mixer let us make the brownie batter, add the butter, sugar and beat well until light and fluffy. Add the eggs and beat again until well incorporated. Add the food coloring and beat again until evenly distributed.
Add the flour, cocoa powder, salt, vinegar and stir until combined and no dry ingredients are visible. Pour 3/4 of the batter into the baking tin and set aside.
In another mixing bowl add all the ingredients for the cheesecake and beat until combined, do not over mix. Dollop the batter into the baking tin and top with the remaining red velvet batter.
Using a knife, tooth pick or spatula make swirls in the brownie and don’t over do it at this stage. Place into the oven and bake for 28-30 mins until the sides are set and the center is dry on the top but still has a giggle.
Let it cool in the pan before cutting into squares and serving.
Notes
If your dry ingredients have lumps, sieve them together.
The vinegar can be swapped for lemon juice in this recipe.
You can cut the squares smaller and get 24 pieces instead.
The cream cheese must be at room temperature in order for the cheesecake batter to be smooth.
Butter must be soft in order for it to be mixed into the brownie batter well.
If you do not want to make these red velvet, remove the food color and you’ve got chocolate brownie cheesecake bars.