Cheesecake and Praline Brownies

There is nothing we can do, we can’t escape the perfect blend of cheese and chocolate in our Parisian Zimmer. Our followers already know that I am a chocolate freak at any time of the day, ready to eat it in any form, for me it is the ultimate raw material.

 

But My love, on the other hand, loves chocolate only at certain hours, but cheesecake she’s ready to eat any time of the day. Therefore, this matter sometimes creates impossible situations – what pastries will we take with the coffee in the morning selection? chocolate? cheese? Maybe for example with fruit? However, when it comes to salty cheese, I am the first to stand in line, but in cakes and pastries, not really, I will always prefer chocolate.

So in honor of our favorite Shavuot, we decided to join forces and combine our two loves together, chocolate and cheese. A wonderful combination that makes cheese more comforting and chocolate less sweet. But to make this combination even more interesting, I decided to add to these brownies also a Praline paste, that connects the chocolate to the cheese and therefore creates an addictive flavor combination.

 

Cheesecake and Praline Brownies
24-cm square pan

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Ingredients

for Brownies:

200 grams butter

220 grams dark chocolate (at least 70%cocoa)

3 large eggs

140 grams sugar

100 grams all-purpose flour

40 grams good cocoa powder

100 grams mixed nuts (pecans, walnuts, hazelnuts, pistachios), chopped

50 grams praline paste (caramelized hazelnut or almond paste)

For Chocolate decoration:

3-4 tbsp of brownies batter (not baked)

2-3 tbsp of coffee liquid (I use espresso)

For Cheesecake batter:

450 grams cream cheese

100 grams sugar

1 tsp vanilla extract

2 large eggs

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Preparation

Brownies:

1. Preheat the oven to 180C degrees and line a 24-cm square pan with parchment paper. 

2. Melt butter and dark chocolate in a double boiler or the microwave. Cool to room temperature. 

3. Beat eggs and sugar until light yellow and fluffy.

4. Add melted chocolate to egg mixture and beat until smooth.

5. Add flour and cocoa powder, and mix until well combined, then add nuts and stir together. 

6. Reserve 3-4 tbsp of brownie batter in a small bowl, and pour the rest of the mixture into pan.

7. With a tsp make dots of praline paste on top of the brownie batter (like in the photo).

Cheesecake batter:

8. Put the cream cheese s in the bowl of a stand mixer, and using the whisk attachment, beat until it’s creamed.

9. Add the sugar and vanilla, mix and while mixing on low add the eggs and beat until you get a smooth cream.

10. Pour the mixture over the bownie batter in the pan and spread evenly.

Chocolate decoration:

11. Mix 3-4 tbsp of brownie batter with 2-3 tbsp of coffee liquid, until the batter is thinner.

12. With a tsp make dots of brownie batter on top of the cheesecake batter (like in the photo).

13. Swirl the brownie batter around, I like to use Chopsticks 🙂

14. Bake for 10 minutes at 180C, then reduce temp’ to 160-165C for another 30-35 minutes, bake till a toothpick poked in comes out clean, but not too dry.

15. Cool completely; then cut to big or small cubes.

 

 

Bon-Appetit

Sharon