Raspberry Cheesecake Brownies

Last weekend Josh and I drove up to his Grandpa Child's "acre garden" to pick raspberries. It's a HUGE patch and we were there picking for 3 hours-but we had dropped the children off at my mom's and I had a giant Diet Coke, so it was pretty much a vacation.

 We picked enough raspberries to fill 6 large boxes with the plans to make raspberry jam (which we happen to know nothing about).

 And we did-12 jars full: none (zero. 0.) of which set up. So now we have 12 jars of raspberry syrup-for which I will not be posting the recipe. But I did make sure to save enough fresh berries for these Raspberry Cheesecake Brownies from my Hummingbird Bakery cookbook, and I was very deserving of the 5 that I ate.

Raspberry Cheesecake Brownies
Makes 15 medium-sized brownies


Brownie Dough:
6 1/2 oz. bittersweet chocolate, chopped (I used a cup of chocolate chips)
1 stick plus 5 Tablespoons butter
2 cups powdered sugar
3 eggs
1 cup all-purpose flour


Cheesecake Layer:
14 oz. cream cheese
1 1/4 cup powdered sugar
1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
2 eggs


Cream Topping:
1 1/4 cups whipping cream
3/4 cup powdered sugar
1 cup raspberries, plus extra to decorate


Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Grease a 9x13 inch baking pan.
For the brownie dough: Melt the chocolate in the microwave by heating for 30 seconds, stirring, and heating for 30 seconds until smooth. Cream the butter and sugar with an electric mixer until fluffy. Add the eggs one at a time, mixing well until smooth. Slowly pour in the melted chocolate and mix thoroughly. Pour into the prepared pan and smooth the dough.


For the Cheesecake: Cream the cream cheese, sugar, and vanilla with electric mixer until smooth and thick. Add one egg at a time, mixing well. The mixture should be very smooth and creamy. Spoon on top of the brownie base and smooth over. 
Bake 30-40 minutes, or until the cheesecake is firm to the touch and light golden around the edges. The center will still be pale. Let cool completely, then cover and refrigerate for 2 hours, or overnight if possible.


For the Cream Topping: Combine the cream, sugar, and raspberries in a mixing bowl and whip with electric mixer until firm but not stiff. Spread the topping evenly over the brownies and cut into squares. Decorate with more raspberries.