I recently bought the Hummingbird Bakery Cookbook and decided to start working my way through the recipes. The first recipe to catch my eye was this raspberry cheesecake brownie. In case it's not clear from the title, that is a layer of brownie, under a layer of cheesecake, and topped with raspberry whipped cream.
The light raspberry cream perfectly balances the rich dark chocolate brownie layer. YUMMY. There will definitely be more Hummingbird recipes to come!
Ingredients
For the brownie
200g dark chocolate200g unsalted butter
250g icing sugar
3 eggs
110g plain flour
For the cheesecake
400g cream cheese150g icing sugar
½ teaspoon vanilla extract
2 eggs
For the cream topping
300ml whipping cream100g icing sugar
150g raspberries
Instructions
Preheat the oven to 170°C and line a baking tray of about 33 x 23 x 5cm with greaseproof paper.
For the brownie
Roughly chop the chocolate and put it in a heatproof bowl over a pan of simmering water (do not let the base of the bowl touch the water) and leave until melted and smooth. Alternatively, if you're impatient like me then put it in the microwave but keep checking on it every 10 seconds and give it a good stir each time - when it only has a few lumps left, take it out of the microwave and stir through until it is fully melted and smooth.
Put the butter and icing sugar in a bowl and beat until well incorporated. (If you have an electric mixer, use the paddle attachment.) Add the eggs one at a time, mixing well and scraping any unmixed ingredients from the side of the bowl between each egg. Then gradually mix in the flour until you get a smooth mixture. Slowly pour in the melted chocolate and mix thoroughly. Pour into the pre-lined baking tray and level the surface (you want the layers to look equal when the final result is sliced).
For the cheesecake
Beat together the cream cheese, icing sugar and vanilla extract until smooth and thick. Add one egg at a time, mixing well and scraping any unmixed ingredients from the side of the bowl between eggs. The mixture should be very smooth and creamy.
Pour the mixture on top of the brownie and, again, level the surface.
Bake in the preheated oven for 30-40 minutes, or until the cheesecake is firm to the touch and light golden around the edges. Once out of the oven, leave to cool completely, then cover and refrigerate for 2 hours, or overnight if possible.
For the cream topping
Beat the cream, icing sugar and raspberries until firm.
Take the cheesecake brownie out of the fridge, take it out of the baking tray and turn the right way up (i.e. brownie on the bottom). Spread the raspberry cream topping evenly over the cheesecake. If you have some leftover raspberries, you can use them to decorate.
BON APPETIT!
