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Cheesecake Brownies are rich, chocolatey, and fudgy brownies topped with a sweet and creamy cheesecake layer! It’s a decadent dessert recipe that is surprisingly easy to make!
We love brownies, and we love cheesecake, so naturally the two should go together!
Cheesecake Brownies Equal Double The Goodness
Two of my favorite things: thick, fudgy brownies (especially if you’re talking homemade brownies), and rich, creamy cheesecake.
The idea to marry these two will probably be the reason I can no longer zip my pants, but did that stop me? Absolutely not.
We took a simple brownie recipe that always turns out thick and fudgy, made with chopped chocolate, cocoa powder, AND chocolate chips (hi, we don’t skimp here) and then we swirled in the easiest layer of cheesecake to make a double decker dessert that’s worth sharing with friends. Or hoarding for yourself. You do you, I’ll understand either way.
If you’re craving cheesecake check out my chocolate swirl cheesecake or these cheesecake bites!
♥ What We Love About This Recipe:
- Fudgy: These are extra chocolatey and fudgy brownies! We’re using chopped chocolate, chocolate chips, and cocoa powder. That’s a whole lot of chocolate! You’ll love these rich chocolatey cheesecake topped brownies.
- Cheesecake: We love the fudgy brownies but the simple cheesecake topping is pretty wonderful too! It’s rich and creamy and it goes perfectly with the brownies.
Ingredient Notes:
For the brownie layer:
Wet Ingredients – The brownie batter starts with some pretty standard ingredients including butter, eggs, and vanilla extract.
Dry Ingredients – You’ll also need some granulated white sugar, all-purpose flour, salt, and cocoa powder. You can use any type of cocoa powder you like but we love Hershey’s Special Dark for brownies.
Chocolate – These are extra chocolatey brownies! We’re adding chopped bittersweet or semisweet chocolate along with some milk chocolate chips. These are going to be rich, fudgy brownies!
My Favorite Cocoa Powder!
This cocoa powder is Dutch-processed, giving it a rich, deep flavor and color. Hershey’s brand is inexpensive and easy to find.
For the cheesecake layer:
Cream Cheese – Start with room temperature cream cheese for preparing the cheesecake topping. It’ll need to be softened for easy mixing.
Other – You’ll also need one large egg yolk, some granulated white sugar, and vanilla extract.
See the recipe card for full information on ingredients and quantities.
My Favorite Vanilla!
A good quality vanilla really does make a difference and this is my favorite brand.
How to Make Cheesecake Brownies:
Melt the butter and chocolate in a double boiler, stir until smooth, and beat in the sugar, eggs, and vanilla.
Whisk together flour, cocoa powder, and salt and stir into the brownie batter. Stir in the chocolate chips and spread the batter into the pan.
Use an electric hand mixer to beat together softened cream cheese, egg yolk, sugar, and vanilla until smooth.
Drop large spoonfuls of the cream cheese mixture over the batter. Use a knife or offset spatula to swirl it into the batter.
My Favorite Hand Mixer!
It’s so easy to whip up dessert with this cute hand mixer. It doesn’t take up much space and is a must for any kitchen!
Bake uncovered for 35 minutes at 350 degrees or until batter in the center has just set. Let cool completely before lifting out the brownies and slicing into squares.
Helpful TipS!
Time Saver:
Start with a box of brownie mix in place of our homemade brownies to cut a bit of time! Doctoring up a box of brownies is an easy way to get a gourmet treat on the table and it will still taste amazing!
Slicing Brownies:
To get the most perfectly sliced squares of brownies without any mess use a plastic knife! It’ll cut right through much cleaner than a metal knife will.
Freezing & Storage:
These cheesecake brownies can be stored in an airtight container in your refrigerator for about 5 days. These should not be stored at room temperature due to the cream cheese topping.
These cheesecake brownies can be frozen! Let them cool completely before placing on a baking sheet to chill in the freezer for an hour. Then transfer them to a freezer safe container or bag for up to a few months.
Recipe FAQs:
These brownies are ready when the center has just set, or when a toothpick inserted in the center comes out mostly clean.
This simple cheesecake topping is just a mixture of softened cream cheese, granulated sugar, vanilla, and an egg yolk.
Fudgy brownies are softer and have a richer, more chocolatey flavor. A cakey brownie is a bit more crumbly and cake like. Fudgy brownie recipes use more fat than flour, and that mostly means more butter or chocolate.
More Brownie Recipes:
- M&M Brownies
- Marshmallow Brownies
- Halloween Brownies
- Homemade Brownies
- Loaded Reese’s Brownies
- Nutella Brownies
Cheesecake Brownies
Ingredients
For the brownie layer:
- 6 tablespoons butter cut into pieces
- 4 ounces semisweet chocolate chopped
- 2/3 cup granulated sugar
- 2 large eggs room temperature
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1/2 cup flour
- 1 tablespoon cocoa powder
- 1/8 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 cup milk chocolate chips
For the cheesecake layer:
- 8 ounces cream cheese room temperature
- 1 large egg yolk
- 1/3 cup granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
For the brownie layer:
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a 9×9 pan with foil and spray with cooking spray. Alternately, line the pan with parchment paper.
- Melt the butter and chocolate in a double boiler (see notes), stirring until smooth. Remove from heat and beat in the sugar, eggs, and vanilla.
- Whisk together the flour, cocoa powder, and salt and stir into the brownie batter. Stir in the chocolate chips. Spread in the prepared pan.
For the cheesecake layer:
- Beat together the cream cheese, egg yolk, sugar, and vanilla extract until smooth using an electric mixer.
- Drop large spoonfuls of the cream cheese mixture over the brownie batter. Use a knife or offset spatula to swirl the cheesecake through the brownie mixture, being sure to bring up a bit of the brownie layer to the top while swirling.
To bake:
- Bake for 35 minutes or until the batter in the center of the pan is just set. A toothpick inserted near the center of the pan should come out mostly free of brownie batter. Remove from the oven and allow to cool completely.
- Lift out the brownies using the foil and cut into squares to serve.
Elizabeth White says
Cant wait to make this with my grand daughter, but how can we change the vanilla flavour cheesecake mixture to a Caramel flavour that she will be happier with?
Karly Campbell says
I haven’t tried these with a caramel flavor. I’d probably test adding some caramel bits to the brownie batter or swirling in caramel sauce with the cheesecake batter, but I can’t promise it will turn out how you expect since I haven’t tried it myself.
Esther @ x3baking says
Thanks for sharing this! If it wasn’t for this post, I wouldn’t have found this recipe. 🙂 I made them and they were awesome. Yummy!
Annalie says
Both of my parents are at work, so just I just walked to the nearest supermarket to buy cream cheese for these babies!! CanNOT wait to devour them!! Thanks for the inspiration! 8]
Ashley says
Mmm delicious! I made cheesecake brownies once many years ago and was a bit disappointed, so I’ve always wanted to try them again. I’m sure this David Lebovitz recipe is amazing!
Shaheen says
I would love a piece! I made the Baked brownie topped with cheesecake. Absolutely loved it!
Erin @ Making Memories says
Oh my! I would like a couple of these right now! They look so yummy! Thanks for the recipe!
www.makingmemorieswithyourkids.blogspot.com
Natalie (The Sweets Life) says
glad you’re back-and with an awesome recipe no less! I’ll be trying these soon, on a big cheesecake kick lately!
Barbara says
Well, this is certainly a recipe to drool over, Karly! All that divine dark chocolate and cream cheese. I have the recipe, but have never made it…guess it’s on for July 4th celebrations!
abbey says
i’ve always wanted to try this recipe! looks so sinfully good!
grace says
oh karly. leave it to you to take two of my least favorite desserts (yes, that’s right, i said it) and combine them into a beautiful and oh-so-tempting creation. gorgeous swirls.
Karly says
Miranda,
I don’t have a double boiler either. I generally just put a glass bowl over a pot of simmering water. You don’t want the bowl to touch the water, though, so make sure it is large enough to rest on the edges of the pot. I’ve heard some horror stories about using that method where the bowl explodes or shatters, but I’ve never had any problems and do it quite often.
The bar of chocolate melts just like chocolate chips, so I’d just chop it up small and then melt it as you would chocolate chips. 🙂
Good luck!
Karly
Matt says
@Miranda: If you’re brave (and very careful) you can hold a small pot over a larger pot to simulate a double boiler. It’s tedious and a tad risky, but it works. I also don’t have a double boiler and have used this method several times when I want to be absolutely sure I don’t accidentally burn the chocolate.
These brownies look amazing! Definitely adding this to my weekend baking list. ^_^
Miranda says
I actually bought for the first time bar of semi sweet baking chocolate but I’m scared to use it, especially in the microwave. Any tips? And I don’t have a double boiler.
Jessica @ How Sweet says
I love so many of David’s desserts. These just look fabulous.
Joanne says
lebovitz is certainly a genius, especially when it comes to dessert! This recipe sounds and looks fantastic. I ‘ll keep my fingers crossed that your blog stays healthy!