For this Bake Along #58 this brownies recipe by Nigella Lawson from her cookbook How to be a Domestic Goddess, is the chosen one. She uses thin slices of cream cheese sandwiched in between brownies batter and baked till just cooked. Tastewise, unusual idea indeed, cheesy, chocolatey and well fudgey lol! I enjoyed eating this very moist and dense brownies while it's still warm but not cold...I find it too dense when cold.
Cream Cheese Brownies
( Nigella Lawson)
4 ounces bittersweet chocolate
1/2 cup unsalted butter
2 large eggs
3/4 cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/3 cup plus 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
pinch of salt
7 ounces cold cream cheese
(9-inch square pan, greased and lined with parchment or wax paper)
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
Melt the chocolate and butter over medium-to-low heat in a heavy-based saucepan. While you're waiting for it to melt, idly beat the eggs in a bowl with the sugar and vanilla. Measure the flour into another bowl and add the salt. When the chocolate mixture has all but completely melted, take the pan off the heat. The bits of unmelted chocolate or butter will continue to dissolve if left. Leave for a bit longer to cool slightly before beating in the eggs and sugar. Finally, add the flour and beat until smooth.
Pour half the mixture into the pan, slice the cream cheese as thinly as you can and top the brownie mixture in the pan with these thin slices. Pour over the remaining half of brownie-gunge, using a rubber spatula or whatever to make sure each bit of cheese is covered. Then put in the oven and bake for about 20 minutes : the top should be slightly paled and dry, but a cake tester poked within should reveal a still-sticky center. Cool for about 10 minutes before cutting into little squares, and eat warm or cold, though the cooler they are the easier they'll be to lift out.
Makes 8-10 (I cut mine into 12 pieces and they are still quite large!)
