Cheesecake is a delicious dessert but does not get made at home nearly enough. It can seem like a daunting dessert to attempt but if you take it step by step you’re guaranteed a treat everyone will be in awe over. The ingredients for making your own may already be in your kitchen!
What You’ll Need
- Sugar
- Cream Cheese
- Eggs
- Cocoa Powder
- Sour Cream
- Butter
- Chocolate Chips
- Flour
- Vanilla Extract
Break It Down
The best way to go about baking this dessert it by breaking it up into different steps. The best part is there is no time crunch as it is best cold! One day you could make the brownie crust and cheesecake filling one day. Put it all together the next. Then enjoy it the day after. Putting it all together that day you want to serve it may be a bit overwhelming so be sure plan ahead.
The Perfect Timing
With other desserts that have a tried and true baking time that is not the case with a cheesecake. There can be so many variations based on the size of your springform pan, how thick you are making your cheesecake, how much water you add to the roasting pan, your oven, and even the temperature of the ingredients you are using.
It will seem strange that you’re baking the brownie crust…twice. Yes. This is strange. Trust me, it just works. Finding the best length of cooking time for this is one where you can insert a toothpick into the center and it will come out clean and when it stays together when attempting to remove from the springform pan.
The best time for the cheesecake may be a bit more difficult to see. You will be adding the cheesecake filling on top of the already baked brownie crust. This portion of cooking time will last about 50 minutes, but again, this can vary. You want to turn off the oven when the edges of the cheesecake seem to hold on to the edge of the pan but the center will gently move if you jiggle the pan. Once you reach this point turn off the oven but keep the dessert in the oven. This allows for a gentle cool down and reduces the risk for cracking.
Overall, once you make more than one cheesecake you’ll start to get a feel for how it should be looking. This means the more cheesecake you make the better you’ll be! Win-Win!
Make It Your Own
Once you have your crust and cheesecake cooled and ready to go you can stop there or customize it however you’d like. In the photos you can see I covered it in Cool Whip and added a pint of fresh raspberries! A delicious options may be drizzling caramel sauce and adding peanut butter cup shavings. You don’t have to stop there. Maybe you want to top it with a scoop of moose tracks ice cream to level up your dessert game? Let me know in the comments below you to finished off your Cheesecake with Brownie Crust!
Cheesecake with Brownie Crust
Ingredients
Brownie Crust
- 3/4 Cup All Purpose Flour
- 2.5 TBSP Cocoa Powder
- 8 TBSP Salted Butter (1 stick)
- 1/4-1/2 Cup Milk Chocolate Chips
- 1 Cup Sugar
- 2 Eggs
Cheesecake
- 16 Ounce Full-Fat Cream Cheese
- 2/3 Cup Sugar
- 2/3 Cup Sour Cream
- 3 Eggs
- 2 TSP Vanilla Extract
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 350 degrees (Fahrenheit). Spray a 9-inch springform pan with non-stick spray.
- Start with baking the brownie crust In a medium bowl combine coco powder and flour.
- In a medium sized pot melt your butter and chocolate chips. Once melted allow to cool for a few minutes then mix in eggs and sugar to the pot. Then, add in the four and cocoa powder mixture and combine.
- Add brownie mixture to the springform pan. Cook in oven for 25 minutes, or until a toothpick can be inserted and removed cleanly. Remove from pan and allow to cool on a cooling rack.
- Now start on the cheesecake. Add cream cheese to a medium bowl and use an electric mixer to beat until fluffy.
- Mix in sugar and sour cream. Use a silicone spatula to carefully mix in eggs and vanilla. At this point the cheesecake may appear to have a yellow tint. This is normal.
- Place the cooled brownie back into the springform pan. Add cheesecake mixture on top. Pat pan on counter to remove any air bubbles. Cover the crack between the bottom and sides of springform pan with aluminum foil. Add the pan to a large pan. This will likely be a roasting pan. Add water to the pan, careful to not get the cheesecake wet. Cook in oven for 50 minutes, or until edges are still and middle will move if springform pan is moved. Turn off oven but allow cheesecake to sit in oven for 20 additional minutes.
- Place cheesecake on cooling rack. Once cool place in fridge 8-24 hours before cutting.
Notes
- You can top with anything you would like. I covered mine in cool whip and topped it with a pint or raspberries.
- A delicious addition may be shave and hunk of Reeses or caramel drizzle.
- I used a 9-inch springform pan.
Leave a Reply