So I’ve seen a few of these floating around pinterest and I thought they looked nice and festive so I gave them a try. Essentially it’s a (red) chocolate and vanilla flavoured brownie with dollops of cheesecake mixture on top, swirled in to a nice pattern. It’s the perfect balance of sweet and tangy. And it’s good. Really, really good.

This week has been a bit of a disaster in terms of baking… My hand mixer broke! I was halfway through making doughnuts on Saturday and it just died on me and the doughnuts became a bit of a lost cause. I also made red velvet cake on Saturday and it just re-ignited my love for all things red velvet. Is it chocolate? Is it vanilla? Who knows… But it’s pretty and red so it’s a winner in my books. I’ll do proper posts for my classic red velvet cake and baked doughnuts over the next few months.

So, I have a new mixer now. It’s pink and has currently taken pride of place in my tiny uni kitchen and everyone must work around it. It’s not just a hand mixer either, it has a stand! Now it’s by no means a Kitchenaid or a Kenwood, but it (just about) does the job and I’m not going to complain! This recipe is super easy and literally takes about 10 minutes to throw together. Perfect if you’re busy with assignments and uni stuff like I am (this is when Christmas is simultaneously the best and worst time of the year).

Makes about 14-16 brownies

For the brownie layer:

2 large eggs

115g butter

200g granulated sugar

2tsp vanilla extract

20g cocoa powder

1 tbsp red food colouring (you can add as little or as much colour as you like, be aware of adding more than this amount as the taste may come through)

1tsp white vinegar (white wine vinegar also works)

100g plain flour

For the cheesecake layer:

225g cream cheese (I used Philadelphia)

50g caster sugar

1 egg yolk

1/2 tsp vanilla extract

First, pre-heat your oven to 170°FAN. Line a 20cm square tin with baking parchment, leaving some overhang for ease of removal.

Whisk the eggs in a small bowl and set aside. Melt the butter in a microwaveable bowl, stopping and stirring every 30 seconds. Add the sugar, vanilla, cocoa powder, white vinegar and red food colouring to the melted butter, in that order, stirring after each addition. Whisk in the eggs. Fold in the flour and pour in to the tin, reserving a few spoonfuls to go on top of the cheesecake layer.

To make the cheesecake layer, mix together the cream cheese, sugar, egg yolk and vanilla until just combined. Dollop it on top of the brownie layer and top with the remaining brownie mixture. Carefully drag a skewer or a knife through the brownie and cheesecake mixture, creating a swirled effect. Bake for 25-30 minutes, until a skewer comes out clean.

Let the brownies cool completely before cutting them, I let them cool to room temperature and then put them in the freezer for 15 minutes to speed up the process. Dust with icing sugar, just because it’s Christmas.

Recipe adapted from Food Network.