Turtle Cheesecake Brownies
Thick, cakey and delicious Turtle Cheesecake Brownies have a dense, chocolaty brownie layer, a sweet cheesecake layer and lots of caramel, chocolate and walnuts or pecans!
Ohhh mama. How do I even begin to talk about today’s recipe?
It is damn delicious. It’s very rich and decadent. And it is sure to put me in an early grave.
Worth it.
Turtle cheesecake brownies just so ridiculously rich and intense and as I said, downright delicious. You start with a thick brownie layer, top it with a cheesecake layer swirled with caramel, nuts and chocolate chips.
One important thing to note with this recipe is the type of brownie. Because as we all know, there is more than one type of brownie. I’ll be the first to say maybe this recipe isn’t for you.
These brownies are neither super cakey nor fudgy. They lie somewhere in between. I’d say they’re a little more cakey – they’re thick and dense but not fluffy. But they hold their shape well so you wont have to worry about having brownies that turn into brownie crumbles after one day.
I also decided to forgo the whipped egg white method I use in my other cheesecake recipes. It’s temperamental and the difference in texture is best enjoyed as just a regular cheesecake. The bad boys are more like brownies with a tasty cheesecake layer vs cheesecake bars with a brownie bottom.
It just doesn’t warrant the extra love and attention it needs.
So the recipe is pretty straightforward, but here are a few tips should you run into any issues.
Troubleshooting Tips
As mentioned above, this recipe is for a dense, dry, cakey brownie. This is because of the cocoa powder. If you want a slightly softer, richer brownie, add chocolate chips or a chopped chocolate baking bar (semi sweet) to the batter.
Make sure your butter is just melted. Too hot and the butter will separate and once you add it to the batter, it will scramble your eggs.
And since the ingredients aren’t weighed in this recipe (cups vs grams), amounts can vary slightly. Pro-tip: when measuring dry ingredients, spoon them into your measuring cups. Don’t use measuring cups as a scoop. If a recipe requires a densely packed ingredient, it should specify in the ingredient list.
Which leads me to my final tip.
Since this batter can run dry, and accounting for variations in dry ingredient weights, if your batter is too dry – like it is crumbly and wont come together – you can add up to 2 TB of melted unsalted butter, or if you’re adding extra chocolate melt it first and stir it in. The batter will be very thick and dry, but should still resemble a brownie batter and not have any streaks.
So give it a shot and tell me what you think!
Until next time. X
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Turtle Cheesecake Brownies
Turtle Cheesecake Brownies
Thick, cakey and delicious Turtle Cheesecake Brownies have a dense, chocolaty brownie layer, a sweet cheesecake layer and lots of caramel, chocolate and walnuts or pecans!
- Total Time: 3 hours 55 minutes
- Yield: 9-16 brownies 1x
Ingredients
- 3/4 cup All Purpose flour
- 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 2/3 cup cocoa powder
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1 tsp vanilla
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted
- 2 eggs
- 8 oz cream cheese, softened
- 1/3 cup granulated sugar
- 1/2 tsp vanilla
- 1 egg
- 1/4 cup walnuts or pecans
- 1/4 cup mini chocolate chips
- 1/4 cup caramel sauce
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F and line a 9×9″ square pan with foil. Make sure enough foil hangs over the edges of the pan so that you’ll be able to lift it out later.
- Spray the foil with nonstick baking oil.
- In a medium bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, salt, and cocoa powder.
- In a separate bowl, combine the butter, sugar and vanilla.
- Add it to the flour mixture and stir, then mix in both eggs until no streaks remain. If the batter is too dry, add up to 2 Tbsp unsalted butter or melted chocolate of choice.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer or with a hand mixer, beat the cream cheese, sugar, vanilla and egg together until you get a smooth, creamy batter.
- Spread the brownie batter in an even layer in the foil lined pan.
- Pour the cheesecake batter on top and smooth.
- Drizzle 2 Tbsp of the caramel sauce over the cheesecake layer and gently swirl it together.
- Bake for 40-45 minutes or until the cheesecake layer is set.
- Let cool at room temperature for 1 hour.
- Top with the walnuts or pecans and the mini chocolate chips, then transfer to the fridge and chill for at least 2 hours.
- Lift the brownies out of the pan and cut into 9 slices.
- Drizzle the remaining 2 Tbsp of caramel sauce on top of the brownies and serve.
Notes
Tools
- 9×9″ square pan
- foil
- nonstick spray
- medium mixing bowl
- small mixing
- hand mixer or stand mixer with paddle attachment
Keep refrigerated and serve chilled.
Pecans are traditionally used in turtle desserts, but walnuts are a delicious substitution.
Makes 9 3″ square brownies or 16 roughly 2″ square brownies
See post for additional tips
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 45 minutes
- Category: Dessert
- Method: Oven
- Cuisine: American
- Diet: Vegetarian
Can you just box brownie mix?