Why Not Both?

I love when you can pair two things together that are absolutely fantastic on their own to make one substantially amazing thing that brings you unbridled joy...you know, like adding bacon on top of Poutine, or Cinco de Mayo falling on a Taco Tuesday, or your favorite song coming on the radio AND you hit every green light on the way to your destination. Life can be good, but pairing a few key elements together can make it friggin' magical. So the other day I wanted brownies, but then I also kinda wanted cheesecake. Instead of having an internal debate about dessert hierarchies, in a moment of sheer brilliance, I thought to myself, "Why not both?" This wonderful thought led to a beautiful, perfect-in-every-way dessert mashup: a dulce de leche cheesecake with a fudge brownie crust. The heavens parted, angels wept; there's talk I may even win a Nobel Peace Prize because of this amalgamation of scientific baking excellence.

It really is THAT good.

It may not look like much, but I can say with certainty it is (cue Chris Traeger voice) *literally* the best cheesecake I have ever made and/or eaten. Fudgy brownies are one of my all-time favorite, O.G. desserts, but I have a weakness for cheesecake like most men have for blondes (in both instances there's usually a lot of drooling). Is it low calorie? HA! Well, sort of. It's 374 calories for one slice (12 slices total), which, all things considered, is way less than two bites of ANY cheesecake from Cheesecake Factory, so it's got that going for it, too. And it is worth every single calorie. Amazingly decadent chocolate base? Check. Creamy cheesecake batter? Check. Sweet swirls of dulce de leche in each bite? That's a Texas-sized 10-4. And in the realm of difficulty, this is probably one of the easiest cheesecakes I've ever made to boot. Well, what are you waiting for? Bust out the springform pan and get to baking!

Oh yes, it's even GLUTEN FREE.

Gluten is evil and tries to kill me even when I just *think* about smelling a slice of bread. Thankfully, I am way late to the game with going gluten free (I was admitted to the club in December), so wonderful things like gluten free fudge brownie mixes exist already. I scooped this brand up at Publix, and it is now the only brownie mix I am ever using for the rest of my life. It is perfect in every way if you're into a super chocolatey and moist fudge brownie (it even has recipe options for those that prefer them drier and cakier). All you need:

• 1 box of King Arthur Flour gluten free fudge brownie mix
• 2 eggs at room temp
• 1/2 cup of low fat butter, melted and slightly cooled
• 2 TBS water

Preheat your oven to 350 and line an 8" springform pan with Parchment paper and spray generously with cooking spray. In a medium bowl, dump the three wet ingredients and whisk together until mixed. Then add in the brownie mix and whisk until completely incorporated. Pour this into your prepared pan and tap on the counter to release bubbles:

Of which there will be plenty, as you can see.

Now, bake in the middle rack of your oven for 30-35 minutes. You don't want the brownie completely cooked since it will go back into the oven for more cook time with the cheesecake batter. Underbake by about 5 minutes. I believe the box recommended 35-40 minutes, and in my oven, 35 left some good crumb action on my toothpick, so I removed it then. I placed on a cooling rack in the freezer while I made my cheesecake batter. Once cool enough, wrap the pan in a crockpot liner (trust me) and place a few layers of foil over this to keep the water bath from leaking in later. No one wants a soggy bottom.

Simple, but effective.

I absolutely HATE full fate cream cheese. In my first return trip to the commissary since March (base gates were closed, things were weird, thanks, COVID), guess what they didn't have? Yep. Not a single brick of reduced-fat cream cheese. This is what I get for trying to save some money (I love you, Publix, but hot damn you're expensive). I severely reduced the amount of cream cheese in my batter because of this, so here's how it would've been made in a perfect world:

• 16 ounces 1/3 fat cream cheese at room temp (I used 12 ounces of full fat, more on that later)
• 1/3 cup of Swerve granular
• 1/2 cup of light sour cream at room temp
• 1 TBS vanilla extract
  
• 1 tsp caramel extract (forgot to put in the recipe picture!)
• A pinch of salt
• 3 eggs at room temp
• 1/2 cup of God's Nectar (a.k.a., dulce de leche), set aside
  

Dump the cream cheese into your stand mixer bowl and beat on medium-high until fluffy, about three minutes. Then add in the sugar, mixing on medium high until things are light and airy again, two or so minutes. Add the extracts, sour cream, and salt, mixing on medium high for 1-2 minutes until fully incorporated. Now, with the mixer on LOW, add in the eggs one at a time, making sure each egg is fully mixed in before you add another. Keep the speed at low so you don't whip your eggs and cause extra air to get added into your cheesecake batter...this will make it crack as it bakes. Reserve 3/4 cup of cheesecake batter and pour the rest into your springform pan on top of the brownie crust.

Don't worry, I didn't forget about the best part.

Now, take that 1/2 cup of dulce de leche and place in a medium bowl. Add in 3/4 cup of your prepared cheesecake filling, and mix until magic happens:

Caramel magic.

So here's where my skimping on the cream cheese became a problem...my dulce cheesecake batter was now way heavier than my regular cheesecake batter. So, when I took my dulce mix and dropped it by the spoonful into the regular batter....

Before I realized my crucial error.

I swirled the dulce cheesecake blobs around with a knife, but after a swirl or two, most of my dulce filling sunk below the surface of the lighter regular filling.

Sigh. *THISCLOSE* to perfection...visually, anyway. I still maintain a better cheesecake you have never eaten.

Sad but still very much aware the end result would be cheesecake (so not too sad), I took my cheesecake and put it into a large roasting pan. I filled this with very hot water to about halfway up the sides of the pan; a water bath will help keep cracks from forming. Bake for 50-55 minutes at 350. The center will still be very jiggly (like Jello) but the sides will be set. At this point, turn the oven off, crack the door, and leave the cheesecake to finish setting for 1 hour in the cooling oven.

Some subtle, sexy swirl action going on.

Once that hour has lapsed, remove the cheesecake from the roasting pan, ditch the foil and crockpot liner, and place on a cooling rack. Use a very sharp knife to run around the edges of the springform pan and release any of the cheesecake that will be sticking to the side of the pan. At this point, place into the fridge to set for at least 4 hours if not overnight (I ALWAYS go overnight, adding a layer of plastic wrap on top after about 4 hours in the fridge). A good rule of thumb is to make a cheesecake like 3 days before you actually want cheesecake, and then the timing is absolutely perfect.

Of course, when it looks this amazing, the wait no longer matters one iota.

When you're ready to go to town, carefully remove the sides of the springform pan and transfer to a serving plate. I was itching to take photos, so my springform bottom is still in these shots.

Doesn't matter...still looks edible.

So my swirls weren't very pronounced, but it's got a mesmerizing visual effect going on anyway:

You're getting hungry...

Serving this cheesecake can be a bit of a beast since the fudge brownie and soft cheesecake filling don't yield nice crisp, clean slices straight out of the fridge. If you're looking to serve slices that could be featured on the cover of Good Housekeeping, throw your cheesecake in the freezer for 2 hours, then slice and serve. I did this in order to remove the springform pan bottom and Parchment paper without the cheesecake falling apart as well.

Oh hey there, playing peekaboo, I see, dulce!

So my swirls may have sunk into the cheesecake, but my swirls sunk into the cheesecake...this makes eating a slice like a magical treasure hunt where you get to strike gold with literally every forkful. I love a happy accident. The ratio is pretty much 50:50 brownie base to cheesecake, and to me, that's just plain spellbinding. Every bite gives me a chocolate to creamy caramel ratio that is absolutely the greatest thing my taste buds have ever been privileged to experience. Add some melted dulce de leche on top of each slice to take things to what some might consider hedonistic, but what I call, "The best thing that will ever happen to you...especially during quarantine."  I'm not kidding- I have never been more proud to have my inner fat kid come up with a dessert mashup like this. I plan on making this for every major holiday, social gathering, and Tuesday from now until I die of sugar shock. If you have leftovers (ha), be sure to keep them in the fridge. They won't last long, though because this is a pairing that will bring you much needed bliss. 'Til next time, my fellow eaters!

Happiness is a 10 pound brownie cheesecake combo.