Smitten Kitchen's Cheesecake Marbled Brownies, Unmarbled
Dear Deb,
I am so sorry I panicked. It wasn’t your fault. It was all mine.
You see, I’m just not that good at this baking stuff. I’ve had some pretty bad experiences in the past. Shortbread that blackened just five minutes into our relationship. An angel food cake with so much promise in the beginning that couldn’t commit to rising in the end. So you have to understand that when the cheesecake batter in your Cheesecake Marbled Brownies recipe remained lumpy no matter how hard I whisked, and when no matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t swirl my brownie and cheesecake batters into a beautiful pattern like yours…I lost my marbles and panicked.
You have to understand that I didn’t plan on grabbing my electric mixer and whipping everything together into a frenzied mess. And I didn’t plan on cheating my unmarbled brownies under a coating of melted chocolate. It simply happened. You know how it is.
Can you pardon my indiscretion if the brownies turned out beautifully? Because they did. Moist, dense and delicious straight from the oven and just as moist, dense and delicious the next day. Or would that make it even worse?
For what it’s worth, I am guilt-ridden by my bad behaviour and am sorry that my panic has brought your recipe to this point. I am still smitten with you and only hope you will find it in your heart to forgive me.
xo
A Humble Chef in Her Messy Kitchen
P.S. Would it offend you if I shared my unmarbled version of your recipe?
{RECIPE} SMITTEN KITCHEN’S CHEESECAKE MARBLED BROWNIES, UNMARBLED
{MAKES} a 9″ square pan of brownies
{SMITTEN KITCHEN’S INGREDIENTS}
Brownie Batter:
1/2 C unsalted butter, cut into pieces
3 oz. unsweetened chocolate, chopped
1 C sugar
2 large eggs
1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract
1 pinch salt
2/3 C all-purpose flour
Cheesecake Batter:
8 oz cream cheese, well softened
1/3 C sugar
1 large egg yolk
1/4 tsp pure vanilla extract
Messy Kitchen’s Chocolate Coating for Unmarbled Brownies:
1 C semisweet chocolate chips
{DIRECTIONS, ADAPTED IN A PANIC IN THE MESSY KITCHEN}
one. Put oven rack in middle position and preheat oven to 350°F. Grease an 8-inch square baking pan.
two. Simmer a pot of water over medium-low heat. Place a large metal bowl over the pot.
three. Make brownie batter: Heat butter and chocolate whisking occasionally until melted. Remove bowl from heat and whisk in sugar, eggs, vanilla and a pinch of salt until well combined. Whisk in 2/3 C flour until smooth.
four. Make cheesecake batter: In a separate smaller bowl, whisk cheesecake batter ingredients together until smooth. PANIC when mixture looks unbeleievably lumpy.
Cream cheesecake batter ingredients together until smooth using an electric mixture.
five. Dollop cream cheese batter over brownie batter and try to swirl. PANIC again when mixture looks an utter and complete mess. Completely lose marbles and… Add cheesecake batter to brownie batter and cream together with an electric mixer on medium-low speed until smooth.
six. Spread batter into prepared pan and bake about 35 minutes or until the center is just set.
seven. Make messy chocolate topping: In a large metal bowl set over a simmering pot of water, melt 1 C of semi-sweet chocolate chips. Spread melted chocolate over brownies. Wait at least 15 minutes for chocolate to set.
eight. Cut into squares and serve warm or at room temperature.
{INSPIRED BY}
A delicious recipe for Cheesecake Marbled Brownies from Deb at Smitten Kitchen, messily and apologetically unmarbled in the Messy Kitchen.
