47 thoughts on “P&Q: Espresso Cheesecake Brownies”
Yowza! These are truly yummy. I didn’t make the sour cream topping; they were too pretty to cover up.
Agreed! The swirl was so pretty there was no way that I could put the topping on.
Espresso…. what could be finer? :)
I left the sour cream topping off too–the swirls were just too gorgeous. But was I the only one who didn’t think these were that great? For some reason, the cheesecake topping came out somewhat eggy (I don’t mind “eggy” in things like flan, but this threw me off). The brownie part was yummy, though.
I was the opposite – I liked the cheesecake part better than the brownie part!
yes, really good! i was worried about my cheesecake part b/c it was so runny/liquidy, but it baked up perfectly!
Any creative subs for the espresso? I’m excited to make these… they sound gorgeous!
I was thinking of just leaving the espresso out and maybe adding some fresh raspberries to the cheesecake layer? Maybe it would work-putting them on top of the cheesecake layer and pressing them down a bit before baking. That is my idea or maybe some white chocolate, melted in with the cheesecake batter. Maybe both? I am not sure yet what I am going to do.
I think you could sub any of your favorite cheesecake flavors for that layer – how about oreo? Anything that goes with chocolate…
Yum… oreo? Now I’m anxious to run to the store!
subbing
I made 1.5x recipe (brought them to a neighborhood party). I used a 9×13 pan which was a perfect size but I worried about whether they would cook through. I did end up having a big problem with doneness, and thought I’d overcooked them. Some time in the fridge did wonders for texture, thank goodness. But it hit me afterwards that I should have used 2 8×8 pans, which would have eliminated the undercooking/overcooking issues.
I also skipped the topping, although my swirling wasn’t stellar. I loved the cheesecake layer but for once I thought that a Dorie recipe needed something; cocoa nibs or semisweet chips in the brownie layer would have been perfect, I think. It’s possible that had I used a different pan everything would have been different.
i thought it was a little lacking in chocolate flavor myself, so instead of the straight sweetened sour cream topping, i melted some bittersweet chocolate and stirred that in with the sour cream for a chocolate topping. tasty!
These are sitting in the fridge right now and I’m skipping the topping as well. They aren’t gorgeous, but they are pretty. Looking forward to giving them a try, though.
The cheesecake batter was incredible. I only had an 8×8 pan instead of a 9×9. So I decreased the temp to 335 and increased the time to 50-55 minutes. They are cooling now, but my brownie batter was considerably thicker than my cream cheese mixture. Therefore it wasn’t too easy to swirl. You can’t see the swirls very well on the top of mine, so I am going to use the topping. it’s killing me that there’s all this refrigerator time! UGH
Amanda…I wish I had read this before I made mine…I used an 8×8 pan, but kept temp and time as is. After 35 minutes they looked cooked around the edges and liquid in the center. By the time I took them out, the edges were overdone, teetering on burnt.
I didn’t make the topping either, and added rasberry preserves into my swirl. The hints of red mysteriously disappeared while baking in the oven, but you can taste a small hint of raspberry flavor.
Maybe toasted ground almonds? For the espresso.
I cannot wait to make these!
Thanks for all the suggestions!
I used a 8×8 pan and cooked them for 10 min. longer. I left the espresso out and made Dories Frosting. I know they are super pretty with the swirly chocolate art but don’t skip the frosting. They came out perfect and were sooo good !
I’m going to make these, they sound good! But…not sure if I can blog them, my PC is having major hissy fits (or maybe it’s me) and not working right. I can type it up on Mr.s laptop but I have nothing photo wise on here. I’ll see what I can do.
I’m eating one right now *g* Unfortunately, though the cheesecake is amazing, my brownie layer turned out dry and uninspired. I don’t have a 9″ square pan so I used round, and I did bake the full 35 minutes since I didn’t notice much browning at 30. I also noticed that the brownie batter was very thick – maybe I should’ve tried making the cheesecake part first. I wonder if anyone else had the dry brownie problem and if we were doing anything similar!
Judith, I had the same problem with the brownie dough. Impossible to swirl. Guess I took too long to make the cheesecake mixture. The second time, I made the cheesecake stuff first, then the brownies. Still a little thick. So I added a little less than a tablespoon of water to the leftover brownie dough and stirred it up. Swirled perfectly.
I had the same problem with the brownie batter. It was gloppy and impossible to swirl. They’re in the oven now, and I’m hoping for the best.
Judith—I had the *same* issue. In fact, I made them twice- both times the brownie layer was thin and dry. Seemed overbaked. I didnt have enough of the batter for the swirls. The cheesecake layer turned out very nice both times. Wonder if I maybe needed to double the recipe? I used a 9×9 pan for mine.
When I saw how nice all the others looked—wondered what happened with mine (as I am new to this)!! Glad to know I wasnt the only one!
I am going to keep trying until I get it right! :) I love the recipe and the combo of cheesecake, brownie & espresso!
I doubled the recipe and baked in a 13×9 (hello stick of butter, half pound of chocolate, and almost a dozen eggs!) for 45 minutes. The cheesecake part was *just* baked through, still very creamy. Oh, and no espresso – these were going to work, and the guys on the floor are not all fans of coffee. WONDERFUL!
I loved this recipe. I was going to leave off the topping but read some blog posts about them praising the contrast of the sour cream topping with brownie cheesecake base, so I halved the topping and added it. Truly, I probably would have been happier without it, but the brownies all in all get a thumbs up!
Steph mentioned “a little lacking in chocolate flavor”. I thought I would add some natural cocoa powder to add a boost of chocolate. Any comments? Thanks, I really appreciate these Q&A before heading into a recipe.
If you are low on cream cheese, Marscapone cheese worked out beautifully in this recipe!
Overall, I think these were ok, The cheese layer and sour cream frosting were the best, My brownie layer was a bit dry.
These are great! I made the topping, and thought there was a lot for a small (8×8) pan. My brownie layer was a tiny bit dry too, but I baked it until it wasn’t so jiggly…about 50 min for 8×8.
My brownie layer was a little uninspired as well. If I made these again I may try underbaking by a couple of minutes. I was nervous the brownie layer underneath would be raw and it was…not.
Hm…I baked mine at 325 degrees for 30 minutes. I don’t trust 350 and usually always use 325 and bake a little longer, or not. :) Took these out of the oven after it stopped “jiggling” in the center. I also added to the brownie batter a cocoa/canola oil mixture (based on others’ comments of not being “chocolatey”) – 3 tbs cocoa and 1 tbs oil. Guess I could have just added an ounce of unsweetened chocolate with the bittersweet chocoalte (duh). It seemed to thin the batter a little – so swirling was easy. They’re cooling now… time will tell
I just put mine in the oven. I doubled it, but used 2 8×8 pans. I omitted the espresso and added chopped mini oreos to both and melted white chocolate to one batch of the cheesecake batter. I also added mini chocolate chips to the brownie batter. Had a little bit of trouble swirling the brownie part into the cheesecake, so it isn’t looking pretty as of yet.
took these to the scrapbook retreat this weekend and people loved them! :)
I made these today – they were perfect and soo good! I baked mine in a 9×9 for 35 minutes. As many others did, I skipped the topping, and these are plenty decadent w/o it.
I’m not a big coffee person so I decided to make orange cheesecake with the brownie. (I LOVE chocolate+orange flavors!) Just left out the espresso powder and added zest of one orange, juice of one orange and 1/2 tsp orange extract. Probably will leave out the topping b/c I think the swirls are so purdy. Not sure how it will taste but it smells amazing in the oven right now!
It’s the end of summer and I’m just not feeling anything that doesn’t contain fruit. Maybe I’ll put in cherries or something…
Do you guys think that I could use Nutella for the swirls?
Anybody else not like the sour cream layer? I loved the rest of the brownie.
For a second week a row – I almost skipped this one (not being a big fan of cheesecake). But in the spirit of being open minded and several requests for sweets – I went ahead with this.
I loved the combination of flavors and textures in this dessert. CB’s orange/brownie version sounds like fun too and gets me wondering about other combinations.
I’ll be making this for a work lunch on Wednesday. Hope they go over well! (I’m the new kid at the job)
Im not sure if I will get to them tonight or not, but I think Im going to go with a peanut butter layer by adding a few TB to the cream cheese mixture. Ive made the espresso before and they are fab, but I feel like fooling around this time.
I just made them and they are doing the “oven cool” right now. I decided to use this old fashioned cheesecake technique for the beginning of the cooling because i used an 8×8 pan and wasn’t completely sure they were done. In the meantime, I don’t see how I will be able to stay awake long enough to put the sour cream frosting layer on. And, I definitely won’t be awake to taste them because DH is taking them to work at 6:30 a.m.
BTW, used half a shot of espresso instead of the powder and the batter tasted amazing!
DORIE commented on my blog! Is this normal for her to do? I am so excited!
I am going to have to bow out of this week — I have two birthdays to celebrate and two cakes to bake. We don’t need brownies in the mix. Unfortunately. I’m a bit disappointed. I will be making these though!
My husband and I loved this!! I baked it more like a cheesecake though and after your reviews decided to stick to just 30 minutes of baking! Thanks Melissa for chosing this! :)
I made the brownies today and they were delicous with complex flavors exploding in my mouth. Great! The only thing I will do next time is use a sour cream with more stabilizers and thickeners (gum, etc.). I used regular sour cream with only three or four ingredients and it seemed a little thin. Very good and great eye appeal.
Tuesdays with Dorie 
Yowza! These are truly yummy. I didn’t make the sour cream topping; they were too pretty to cover up.
Agreed! The swirl was so pretty there was no way that I could put the topping on.
Espresso…. what could be finer? :)
I left the sour cream topping off too–the swirls were just too gorgeous. But was I the only one who didn’t think these were that great? For some reason, the cheesecake topping came out somewhat eggy (I don’t mind “eggy” in things like flan, but this threw me off). The brownie part was yummy, though.
I was the opposite – I liked the cheesecake part better than the brownie part!
yes, really good! i was worried about my cheesecake part b/c it was so runny/liquidy, but it baked up perfectly!
Any creative subs for the espresso? I’m excited to make these… they sound gorgeous!
I was thinking of just leaving the espresso out and maybe adding some fresh raspberries to the cheesecake layer? Maybe it would work-putting them on top of the cheesecake layer and pressing them down a bit before baking. That is my idea or maybe some white chocolate, melted in with the cheesecake batter. Maybe both? I am not sure yet what I am going to do.
I think you could sub any of your favorite cheesecake flavors for that layer – how about oreo? Anything that goes with chocolate…
Yum… oreo? Now I’m anxious to run to the store!
subbing
I made 1.5x recipe (brought them to a neighborhood party). I used a 9×13 pan which was a perfect size but I worried about whether they would cook through. I did end up having a big problem with doneness, and thought I’d overcooked them. Some time in the fridge did wonders for texture, thank goodness. But it hit me afterwards that I should have used 2 8×8 pans, which would have eliminated the undercooking/overcooking issues.
I also skipped the topping, although my swirling wasn’t stellar. I loved the cheesecake layer but for once I thought that a Dorie recipe needed something; cocoa nibs or semisweet chips in the brownie layer would have been perfect, I think. It’s possible that had I used a different pan everything would have been different.
i thought it was a little lacking in chocolate flavor myself, so instead of the straight sweetened sour cream topping, i melted some bittersweet chocolate and stirred that in with the sour cream for a chocolate topping. tasty!
These are sitting in the fridge right now and I’m skipping the topping as well. They aren’t gorgeous, but they are pretty. Looking forward to giving them a try, though.
The cheesecake batter was incredible. I only had an 8×8 pan instead of a 9×9. So I decreased the temp to 335 and increased the time to 50-55 minutes. They are cooling now, but my brownie batter was considerably thicker than my cream cheese mixture. Therefore it wasn’t too easy to swirl. You can’t see the swirls very well on the top of mine, so I am going to use the topping. it’s killing me that there’s all this refrigerator time! UGH
Amanda…I wish I had read this before I made mine…I used an 8×8 pan, but kept temp and time as is. After 35 minutes they looked cooked around the edges and liquid in the center. By the time I took them out, the edges were overdone, teetering on burnt.
I didn’t make the topping either, and added rasberry preserves into my swirl. The hints of red mysteriously disappeared while baking in the oven, but you can taste a small hint of raspberry flavor.
Maybe toasted ground almonds? For the espresso.
I cannot wait to make these!
Thanks for all the suggestions!
I used a 8×8 pan and cooked them for 10 min. longer. I left the espresso out and made Dories Frosting. I know they are super pretty with the swirly chocolate art but don’t skip the frosting. They came out perfect and were sooo good !
I’m going to make these, they sound good! But…not sure if I can blog them, my PC is having major hissy fits (or maybe it’s me) and not working right. I can type it up on Mr.s laptop but I have nothing photo wise on here. I’ll see what I can do.
I’m eating one right now *g* Unfortunately, though the cheesecake is amazing, my brownie layer turned out dry and uninspired. I don’t have a 9″ square pan so I used round, and I did bake the full 35 minutes since I didn’t notice much browning at 30. I also noticed that the brownie batter was very thick – maybe I should’ve tried making the cheesecake part first. I wonder if anyone else had the dry brownie problem and if we were doing anything similar!
Judith, I had the same problem with the brownie dough. Impossible to swirl. Guess I took too long to make the cheesecake mixture. The second time, I made the cheesecake stuff first, then the brownies. Still a little thick. So I added a little less than a tablespoon of water to the leftover brownie dough and stirred it up. Swirled perfectly.
I had the same problem with the brownie batter. It was gloppy and impossible to swirl. They’re in the oven now, and I’m hoping for the best.
Judith—I had the *same* issue. In fact, I made them twice- both times the brownie layer was thin and dry. Seemed overbaked. I didnt have enough of the batter for the swirls. The cheesecake layer turned out very nice both times. Wonder if I maybe needed to double the recipe? I used a 9×9 pan for mine.
When I saw how nice all the others looked—wondered what happened with mine (as I am new to this)!! Glad to know I wasnt the only one!
I am going to keep trying until I get it right! :) I love the recipe and the combo of cheesecake, brownie & espresso!
I doubled the recipe and baked in a 13×9 (hello stick of butter, half pound of chocolate, and almost a dozen eggs!) for 45 minutes. The cheesecake part was *just* baked through, still very creamy. Oh, and no espresso – these were going to work, and the guys on the floor are not all fans of coffee. WONDERFUL!
I loved this recipe. I was going to leave off the topping but read some blog posts about them praising the contrast of the sour cream topping with brownie cheesecake base, so I halved the topping and added it. Truly, I probably would have been happier without it, but the brownies all in all get a thumbs up!
Steph mentioned “a little lacking in chocolate flavor”. I thought I would add some natural cocoa powder to add a boost of chocolate. Any comments? Thanks, I really appreciate these Q&A before heading into a recipe.
If you are low on cream cheese, Marscapone cheese worked out beautifully in this recipe!
Overall, I think these were ok, The cheese layer and sour cream frosting were the best, My brownie layer was a bit dry.
These are great! I made the topping, and thought there was a lot for a small (8×8) pan. My brownie layer was a tiny bit dry too, but I baked it until it wasn’t so jiggly…about 50 min for 8×8.
My brownie layer was a little uninspired as well. If I made these again I may try underbaking by a couple of minutes. I was nervous the brownie layer underneath would be raw and it was…not.
Hm…I baked mine at 325 degrees for 30 minutes. I don’t trust 350 and usually always use 325 and bake a little longer, or not. :) Took these out of the oven after it stopped “jiggling” in the center. I also added to the brownie batter a cocoa/canola oil mixture (based on others’ comments of not being “chocolatey”) – 3 tbs cocoa and 1 tbs oil. Guess I could have just added an ounce of unsweetened chocolate with the bittersweet chocoalte (duh). It seemed to thin the batter a little – so swirling was easy. They’re cooling now… time will tell
I just put mine in the oven. I doubled it, but used 2 8×8 pans. I omitted the espresso and added chopped mini oreos to both and melted white chocolate to one batch of the cheesecake batter. I also added mini chocolate chips to the brownie batter. Had a little bit of trouble swirling the brownie part into the cheesecake, so it isn’t looking pretty as of yet.
took these to the scrapbook retreat this weekend and people loved them! :)
I made these today – they were perfect and soo good! I baked mine in a 9×9 for 35 minutes. As many others did, I skipped the topping, and these are plenty decadent w/o it.
I’m not a big coffee person so I decided to make orange cheesecake with the brownie. (I LOVE chocolate+orange flavors!) Just left out the espresso powder and added zest of one orange, juice of one orange and 1/2 tsp orange extract. Probably will leave out the topping b/c I think the swirls are so purdy. Not sure how it will taste but it smells amazing in the oven right now!
It’s the end of summer and I’m just not feeling anything that doesn’t contain fruit. Maybe I’ll put in cherries or something…
Do you guys think that I could use Nutella for the swirls?
Anybody else not like the sour cream layer? I loved the rest of the brownie.
For a second week a row – I almost skipped this one (not being a big fan of cheesecake). But in the spirit of being open minded and several requests for sweets – I went ahead with this.
I loved the combination of flavors and textures in this dessert. CB’s orange/brownie version sounds like fun too and gets me wondering about other combinations.
I’ll be making this for a work lunch on Wednesday. Hope they go over well! (I’m the new kid at the job)
Im not sure if I will get to them tonight or not, but I think Im going to go with a peanut butter layer by adding a few TB to the cream cheese mixture. Ive made the espresso before and they are fab, but I feel like fooling around this time.
I just made them and they are doing the “oven cool” right now. I decided to use this old fashioned cheesecake technique for the beginning of the cooling because i used an 8×8 pan and wasn’t completely sure they were done. In the meantime, I don’t see how I will be able to stay awake long enough to put the sour cream frosting layer on. And, I definitely won’t be awake to taste them because DH is taking them to work at 6:30 a.m.
BTW, used half a shot of espresso instead of the powder and the batter tasted amazing!
DORIE commented on my blog! Is this normal for her to do? I am so excited!
Pingback: Confectiona’s Realm » Blog Archive » Tuesdays With Dorie: Espresso Cheesecake Brownies
I am going to have to bow out of this week — I have two birthdays to celebrate and two cakes to bake. We don’t need brownies in the mix. Unfortunately. I’m a bit disappointed. I will be making these though!
My husband and I loved this!! I baked it more like a cheesecake though and after your reviews decided to stick to just 30 minutes of baking! Thanks Melissa for chosing this! :)
I made the brownies today and they were delicous with complex flavors exploding in my mouth. Great! The only thing I will do next time is use a sour cream with more stabilizers and thickeners (gum, etc.). I used regular sour cream with only three or four ingredients and it seemed a little thin. Very good and great eye appeal.