Swirled Strawberry Cheesecake Brownies
March 3, 2023
If there’s one thing I love most about baking, it’s probably when I get the opportunity to combine two different desserts into one decadent morsel. That’s what happens here, where rich and chocolatey flavors swirl together with the sweet tang of fruit and cream cheese. These fudgy strawberry cheesecake brownies are a total delight!
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What You Need to Get Started
You can easily find all of the ingredients for these strawberry cheesecake brownies at your grocery store:
- Fridge: Butter, Eggs, Cream cheese, Strawberry jam
- Pantry: Vegetable oil, Dark chocolate, Granulated sugar, Brown sugar, Vanilla bean paste, Flour, Espresso powder, Chocolate chips
- Equipment: Baking pan, Parchment paper, Mixing bowl, Flexible spatula, Stand mixer or hand mixer
How to Make Strawberry Cheesecake Brownies
When you can’t decide between brownies or cheesecake, I have good news for you: you can make both at the same time. And what’s even better? Strawberry pairs excellently with both rich fudgy chocolate and tangy-sweet cream cheese. It’s a triple-flavor dual-dessert, for a total win all around.
The brownie base here is pretty simple, following a super-easy one-bowl batter recipe. It uses melted dark chocolate and very little flour which makes for some of the gooiest fudgy brownies you’ll ever try.
The cheesecake on top is what makes these decadent little morsels totally worth it though. The recipe is pretty typical of cheesecake, simply scaled down to be more of a feature than the whole dessert. We mix in some strawberry jam for a fun pop of fruity flavor throughout.
While the flavors are truly the star here, this is one dessert that deserves center stage when it comes to presentation as well. Really get in there with your butter knife to mix the dark brownie batter and the bright cheesecake together, creating a fun field of swirls in each bite.
When you are making these, be sure to give them plenty of time to cool. Fudgy brownies and cheesecake both need a little extra time outside of the oven to firm up into a solid bar, perfect for cutting into squares and serving.
I usually recommend making brownies at least one day in advance, and these will also benefit from that overnight rest. However, you can definitely cut and serve them fresh, as soon as they are cooled to room temperature. If there are any left over, store these babies in the fridge to keep the cheesecake topping fresh.
Something fun about this recipe is that it’s versatile, so you can totally make it your own. You can mix and match flavors to create your own unique version. For example, you could substitute the strawberry jam with raspberry, or mixed berry, or even add some chopped nuts into the brownies for some extra crunch.
Here’s a decadent dual-dessert dream: sweet and tangy strawberry cheesecake meets rich and fudgy brownies, and both are swirled into a beautiful bite!
How to Serve Strawberry Cheesecake Brownies
Brownies are one of my favorite desserts to serve a crowd, especially if it’s a dessert-table, serve-yourself kind of situation. The swirls on top here will just add to the appeal, and one of these treats is sure to end up on everyone’s plate. Fill out the spread with other fruity bites like Blueberry Lemon Bars with Gingersnap Crust and Buttercream and Plum Jam French Macarons.
If you are serving a plated dessert, then you can definitely dress these brownies up as well. Try serving each alongside a perfectly-sized scoop of Strawberry Ice Cream and don’t forget the Homemade Whipped Cream on top. Keep the classy theme going with some Chocolate Old Fashioned Cocktails.
Or if you are simply snacking on your own, you’ll want a creamy drink to wash these down. Try these strawberry cheesecake brownies paired with a cozy Raspberry White Hot Chocolate on a chilly evening. Or for something more refreshing, serve them alongside a Caramel Vanilla Iced Latte.
Use Up Leftover Ingredients
- Use up extra dark chocolate in a Flourless Miso Chocolate Torte with Butterscotch Sauce
- Add some chocolate chips into Fig, Pecan, & Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Cookies
- A spoonful of strawberry jam adds some sweetness to a Strawberry S’mores Martini with Honey Toasted Marshmallow Syrup
- Spare cream cheese is the perfect excuse to make a Honey Nectarine Cheesecake with Ginger Sour Cream
- Make espresso powder the star in Espresso Chocolate Chip Muffins
- Include vanilla bean paste in a batch of “London Fog” Macarons: Earl Grey Cookies with Vanilla Buttercream
Swirled Strawberry Cheesecake Brownies
Ingredients
Fudge Brownies
- 4 Tbsp Unsalted Butter
- ¼ Cup Vegetable Oil
- 9 oz Dark Chocolate broken into pieces
- ¾ Cup Granulated Sugar
- ¼ Cup Brown sugar
- 3 Eggs
- ½ tsp Vanilla Bean Paste or vanilla extract
- ⅔ Cup All-purpose flour
- 1 tsp Espresso Powder
- ½ tsp Salt
- ⅓ Cup Chocolate Chips
Strawberry Cheesecake
- 8 oz Plain Cream Cheese
- ¼ Cup Granulated Sugar
- ¼ Cup All-purpose flour
- ½ tsp Vanilla Bean Paste or vanilla extract
- 1 Egg
- ⅓ Cup Strawberry Jam
Instructions
Fudge Brownies
- Preheat the oven to 350°F with a rack in the middle, and line a rectangular baking pan (about 8x10 or 8x11, 8 cup capacity) with greased parchment paper.
- In a large mixing bowl, add the butter, oil, and chocolate pieces. Microwave in 30 second increments until the chocolate is melted, stirring after each increment.
- Stir until smooth. Then stir in both sugars until incorporated. Add in the eggs, and vanilla bean paste. Stir until everything is fully combined.
- Add in the flour, espresso powder, and salt. Fold the dry ingredients into the chocolate mixture. Continue mixing until smooth. Fold in the chocolate chips.
Strawberry Cheesecake
- Add the cream cheese into the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Mix on medium until softened.
- Add the sugar and flour, and continue mixing until combined. Add in the egg and vanilla, continuing to mix until incorporated. Then finally mix in the strawberry jam until the color is distributed throughout.
Finish and Bake
- Spread about half the brownie batter into the prepared pan. Top with about half the cheesecake batter. Then layer scoops of brownie and cheesecake batter until you have used all of each.
- Use a butter knife to swirl the chocolate and cheesecake together, as much or as little as you'd like.
- Bake for 45-55 minutes, until there is only a slight, uniform jiggle, and a toothpick comes out clean.
- Allow the finished brownies to cool completely in the pan on a trivet. Then use the parchment paper to lift them out of the pan, and cut into 24 squares.
- Serve the brownies room temperature or warmed slightly in the microwave, or as part of a brownie sundae.
Notes
Special Equipment
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