Crushed Velvet

So I'm pretty sure one of my sisters sent this recipe to me via pinterest and it has been just sitting there waiting ever so patiently for me to try it out. Well today was the day.

Say hello to these little darlings! Red velvet cheesecake brownies! Can you say yum?

Now, I can safely say that I've never been a huge fan of red velvet cake. Don't get me wrong, it's good, but it certainly has never been my favorite. So this was an iffy idea for me. But I figured that since it was also cheesecake there was no way I could not like it.



So things get mixed up separately for this recipe. For the red velvet brownies we need:
- 1/2 cup melted butter
- 1 cup sugar
- 1/4 cup cocoa
- 1/2 tsp vanilla
- 1 tbsp red food coloring
- 1/8 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp white vinegar
- 2 eggs
- 3/4 cup flour
And for the cheesecake part we need:
- 1 8oz pkg cream cheese
- 3 tbsp sugar
- 1/2 tsp vanilla
- 1 egg yolk






Alright. Since the brownies make up the bottom layer we have to get them done first.  Which is, of course, what the recipe says to do. Right after we preheat the oven to 350 degrees that is.

So combine the butter, sugar, cocoa, vanilla, food coloring and salt in a large bowl and stir. I used my mixer as always for this so I just set the speed at 1. Next we add the vinegar.

I've never understood why it recipes tell you to mix certain things separately. Perhaps I'll have to Google that. Anywho, I'm getting off track.

Whisk the eggs together and add them to the brownie mixture.  Fold in the flour until just combined and then pour the batter into an 8x8 greased pan. But you have to save 1/4 cup of the mixture to use as the topping.

                 

Now for the cheesecake layer. Yum!

It's pretty simple. Jut mix together the cheesecake ingredients until they're all smooth. No big deal. :) And then spread the oh so delicious cheesecake over the brownie layer. And yes, I may or may not have sampled some before I did that step. No judging allowed. It's cheesecake after all.

Do you remember that extra brownie mixture we saved? Well now is the time to use it. Top the cheesecake layer with a nice even dollop of that brownie mixture and use a toothpick to make it all swirly. Ooh, pretty.

Once you've made them all swirly put the pan in the oven for 30 minutes. When done, remove the pan from the oven and let cool. Usually after about 5-10 minutes I'll take a cookie sheet with a piece of parchment paper on it and place it over the pan. Then I hold them together and flip them so the cake comes out. Very rarely do I have to cut the cake out when I do it this way.