Brownie Mosaic Cheesecake

I baked this cheesecake for my friend’s birthday. I am in this phase that I don’t want anything that is too overly chocolaty.

After much searching, I finally landed on it on one of my favourite food blogs: Smitten Kitchen. Most people bake cheesecake brownies – where the brownies are the dominant one. However, this time, there is a role reversal. The cheesecake has finally decided it has suffered enough and decides to take over. Voilà! A brownies cheesecake! The brownies are baked, then cubed and to be dunked into the yummy cheesecake batter later. I halved the original recipe and used a heaping 1 cup of cubed brownies.

After the brownies, it’s time for the crust. The recipe called for chocolate teddy biscuits. I opted for a half teddy biscuits and half chocolate digestives. These teddy biscuits are reminiscence of my childhood. When I was young, they were sold in small little packets costing around 50 cents per packet, and I would always savour these biscuits, taking a small bite each time. They are not very good quality chocolate biscuits, but I would know nothing of that when I’m so young, would I?

All the biscuits go into a Ziploc back and then are bashed using a rolling pin into fine crumbs before mixed into melted butter and then pressed into little ring moulds. I made a double crust and manage to get them into 4 4-inch ring moulds. These ring moulds that I used are bottomless. I place them on a baking sheet and just fill them with the crust and then the cheesecake batter. Well I do not intend to bake it in a water bath so I guess that is why I don’t really care about using a ring mould with a bottom. It will also make the removal of cheesecake from the mould much easier.

I know most cheesecakes have a perfectly white top. I am not sure whether I baked mine correctly because… I made a mistake while baking the cheesecake. The oven setting was changed such that only the top heater will operate, not the one at the bottom. This resulted in my cheesecake to brown a little too quickly at the top. I wonder what would have happened if I have baked them properly. Thankfully the cheesecake still earned various positive feedbacks from my friends and family. (:

Overall, this cheesecake is absolutely delicious and fantastic. It is a must-try if you are in love with brownies and cheesecake. The brownies tasted like soft chocolate cubes. The cheesecake is creamy and rich, but well balanced with the thick-enough chocolate crust. I would definitely make this again but this weekend, I will need to bake some brownies first, if I can get some time out.

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Brownie Mosaic Cheesecake

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INGREDIENTS

 

Brownies

• ▢ 55 grams dark chocolate, minimum 70% cocoa content
• ▢ 70 grams unsalted butter
• ▢ 1 egg
• ▢ 50 grams caster sugar
• ▢ few drops vanilla extract
• ▢ 25 grams self-raising flour, sifted

Crust

• ▢ 5 ounces finely ground chocolate cookies
• ▢ 5 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
• ▢ 1/4 cup sugar
• ▢ 1/8 teaspoon salt

Cheesecake

• ▢ 8 oz cream cheese, softened
• ▢ 1/2 cup sugar
• ▢ 2 large eggs
• ▢ 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
• ▢ 1 cup brownie cubes

INSTRUCTIONS

Brownies

• Preheat the oven to 190 degrees Celsius. This time I used a shallow 9 inch square tin. Grease it and lay piece of baking paper at the bottom, slightly extending the sides. Depending on the size of your cheesecake, you might want a smaller tin to bake thicker brownies.
• Melt the chocolate and butter in a bowl over a pan of simmering water (double boiler), then remove from the heat and set aside to cool slightly.
• Beat the eggs, sugar and vanilla until the sugar has been incorporated. Stir in the melted chocolate mixture with a large rubber spatula before gently folding in the flour till combined. Try not to overmix. Pour the batter into the prepared tin and bake for 15 to 25 minutes until the center is just firm to the touch. The insides will still be slightly wet so don’t use the tooth-pick test – it won’t be accurate! Set the tin on a wire rack to cool completely.
• Refrigerate the brownies until cold, and using a pizza cutter or anything you like, cut the brownies into cubes until they amount to 1 heaping cup – or into shapes if you fancy. Let the remaining brownies make their way into your stomach while you prepare the crust and the cheesecake. (:

Crust

• I used a mix of chocolate digestive biscuits and teddy biscuits. Graham crackers work well too.
• Set 4 4-inch ring moulds into a baking sheet. Stir together crust ingredients and press onto bottom and 1 inch up side of the ring moulds. Fill right away or chill up to 2 hours. If you fancy, use a 8-inch springform pan.

Cheesecake

• Preheat oven to 170 degrees Celsius.
• Make filling and bake cake: Beat cream cheese and sugar with an electric mixer until fluffy, about 5 minutes. Then beat in eggs, 1 at a time, and then vanilla, beating on low speed until each ingredient is incorporated and scraping down bowl between additions.
• Fold brownie cubes in very gently. Pour filling into crust and bake in baking pan (to catch drips) in middle of oven 20 minutes, or until cake is set but center is still slightly wobbly when pan is gently shaken. Let cool completely on a rack. Transfer (with the ring moulds) onto a new clean plate and refrigerate overnight.

Serve

• To serve, remove the cheesecakes from the refrigerator and leave it out for 15 minutes. Using a hot damp tea towel or hair-dryer, warm the outsides of the ring moulds and gently remove the ring moulds. Serve in whichever way you like. (:

NOTES

1. Overall recipe adapted from Smitten Kitchen’s Brownie Mosaic Cheesecake
2. Brownies adapted from 500 Chocolate Delights by Lauren Floodgate

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