Go Back
Print
Red velvet brownies arranged on a heart shaped plate.

Red Velvet Cheesecake Brownies

Red Velvet Cheesecake Brownies are bites of heaven with a fudgy red velvet brownie layer topped with a tangy cheesecake swirl.

Course Breakfast, Dessert, Snack
Cuisine American
Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 30 minutes
Total Time 50 minutes
Servings 16

Ingredients

Red Velvet Brownie Layer

  • ½ cup butter 1 stick, melted
  • 1 cup granulated sugar
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • ¼ cup cocoa powder
  • 2 teaspoons red food colouring gel
  • 1 teaspoon white vinegar
  • 2 eggs at room temperature
  • ¾ cup all-purpose flour
  • ¼ teaspoon salt

Cheesecake Swirl Layer

  • 250 g cream cheese softened to room temperature
  • ¼ cup granulated sugar
  • 1 egg

Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Prepare an 8” x 8” baking pan. Line it with two long pieces of 8” wide parchment paper laying each in opposite directions extending the ends over each side of the pan tocreate handles. If necessary use cooking spray to stabilize the parchment paper.

Red Velvet Brownie Layer

  1. In a large mixing bowl add melted butter, sugar and vanilla; with a spatula stir to combine. Add cocoa powder and stir to combine. Add food colouring and vinegar and stir to combine well. Blend in eggs and stir to combine. Add flour and salt and stir until completely combined and smooth.

  2. Into a measuring cup, set aside just under ½ cup of the brownie batter for the topping. Pour the remaining brownie batter into the prepared baking pan and spread evenly. Set aside.

Cheesecake Swirl Layer

  1. In a medium bowl, using a mixer, blend together cream cheese, sugar and egg until smooth and creamy and no lumps remain.

  2. Drop dollops of the cream cheese mixture on top of the brownie batter base to cover most of the base. Then evenly drop about 12 dollops of the reserved brownie batter on top of the cream cheese. Create the marble swirl with the tip of a chopstick or skewer. Gently swirl the cream cheese topping and dollops of brownie batter in a figure 8 random pattern without disturbing the bottom brownie layer.

  3. Bake for 30 minutes until a toothpick inserted comes out with moist crumbs. Remove from oven to a rack, leave in pan to cool slightly for 1 hour then refrigerate for 2 hours or overnight before cutting. Lift the brownies out of the pan by lifting the parchment paper handles. Cut into 16 squares, wiping the knife clean after each cut. Store the brownies in a covered container in the refrigerator.

Recipe Notes

  1. The red velvet batter can be mixed by hand. But I recommend the cheesecake batter be mixed with a mixer to ensure a smooth lump free cheesecake batter.
  2. When swirling the cheesecake batter be careful not go too deep as you don’t want to disturb the brownie base.
  3. Before removing baked brownies from the baking pan to cut, it is important to chill them. They need time to set as they will be too soft to cut if still warm.
  4. For the best clean cuts, cut cold brownies and wipe the blade of the knife clean after each cut.
  5. Do not over bake the brownies. If you put a toothpick in the centre of the pan to test, it should come out with moist crumbs clinging to it. This will make for moist, fudgy brownies that melt in your mouth.