Cheesecake swirled red velvet brownies! Yes you heard it right. I have combine two of the world’s best foods into one. If you are a brownie lover this one is for you. If you are a cheesecake lover, trust me you won’t regret making this… and if you are a red velvet lover, you’ll be in heaven after the first bite!
Hey everyone!
I wanted to share this red velvet brownie recipe real quick! It wasn’t really planed but I had to share with with you guys’ because of how amazing it turned out.
A couple of days ago, a friend asked me if I could make something special and deliver it to his girlfriend for valentine’s day. I couldn’t back away from the opportunity to make something special for someone other than my sister or boyfriend.
So after giving it some thought, I decided to make a red velvet brownie with cheesecake swirls on top because the person I was giving them to loved red velvet in general.
So next time you want to wow someone, definitely make these red velvet brownie hearts or squares!
What is so special about these heart cheesecake swirled red velvet brownies?
They are chewy and melt in your mouth! Also they are one of the things that I make and deliver as a special order for valentine’s day… yes, they are that good, and yes you too can have them by following this simple recipe.
These red velvet brownies are a favorite across the board. They are rich and fudgy because of the chocolate brownie layer, but also have a nice and light aspect to them because of the tangy cream cheese or cheesecake layer.
The two parts of this dessert work amazingly together to bring your taste buds a little party in
Need more brownie recipes? Check these out…
- easy chewy brownie with cocoa powder
- Brownies with cake mix
- Bakery style brownies without cocoa powder
What is red velvet?
Have you ever wondered what red velvet was? or maybe what is red velvet flavor?
Well… You are not alone! I’ve had the hardest time putting my hand on what red velvet cake tastes like… Chocolate? Chocolate and cream cheese frosting?… or maybe it just tased like red... whatever that is!
Here is the truth about red velvet flavor, especially nowadays, it is a flavor that combines both chocolate and vanilla flavors. The chocolate flavor is not as strong as your regular chocolate cake but it is still there. Now with the addition of the vanilla extract, you get an amazing balance of chocolatey notes and light vanilla essence.
So next time someone asks you what red velvet tastes like, drop some knowledge on them! It is a light flavor that combines both vanilla and chocolate notes. Add to that the incredible and iconic cream cheese frosting to balance the cake flavors with an incredible tang and you’re all set!
Tools needed to make this red velvet brownie recipe
Ingredients for these red velvet cheesecake brownies
Ingredients for the red velvet brownies
- Butter- Just like any good old brownie, we need good quality butter!
- Granulated sugar– We used white granulated sugar to keep the brownies lighter.
- Eggs– Use room temperature eggs.
- Vanilla extract– you always need vanilla extract to elevate your brownies. Red velvet brownies might need vanilla even more though! So don’t skip it.
- Red food coloring– I used gel food coloring for these red velvet brownies.
- White vinegar– Wanna know the secret as to why use white vinegar in red velvet brownies? keep reading…
- Cocoa powder– A little cocoa powder goes a long way in this recipe.
- Flour– Just enough flour to keep these red velvet chewy and delicious.
What red food coloring should I use?
I used this wilton red food coloring!
Why do I need white vinegar for my red velvet brownies?
When I was trying to transform my cocoa powder brownie recipe into a delicious red velvet brownie, I did some research. To my surprise most of the red velvet recipes online used white vinegar, obviously I had no clue why… But after some deep digging I figured it out.
I knew that the white vinegar was used to activate baking soda in red velvet cakes but in this recipe we are not using and leavening agents. So the reason why we use white vinegar in red velvet brownies is to make the red food coloring pop even more.
When you mix red food coloring with cocoa powder, it looses some of it’s vibrancy. But after adding the white vinegar and baking the brownies you will notice the red pop out a little more again!
Ingredients for the cheesecake swirl
- Cream cheese- The cream cheese will give us that beautiful tangy flavor that works so well with the red velvet brownie!
- Egg white– You can use an egg yolk instead of an egg white and it would work well too. I went for the egg white to try and keep my cheesecake swirls as white as possible.
- Granulated sugar– Just a little sugar needed here to enhance the cream cheese flavor.
- Vanilla extract– vanilla extract… always use vanilla extract. It’s one of the most important pillars of baking.
How to make these marbled red velvet cream cheese brownies?
red velvet brownie layer
In a large bowl combine the melted butter, brown sugar, and granulated sugar, and whisk for 2-3 minutes.
After whisking the butter and sugar for a couple of minutes it will look like this.
Add in the 2 eggs and the vanilla extract and whisk again until combined.
It will look a little like this.
Lastly add the white vinegar and the red food coloring and mix to combine.
This wet mixture will be red and vibrant.
Sift the flour, cocoa powder, and salt into the wet mixture and gently fold. Do not over mix.
don’t worry if the red is not as vibrant anymore. It will lighten up again in the oven!
Spread the red velvet brownie batter on the prepared 8×8 baking pan , saving about ¼ cup of batter for topping.
cheesecake layer
In a small bowl, beat the cream cheese, sugar, egg, and vanilla extract. Continue mixing until smooth.
The texture should be smooth.
combine the two
Spread the cheesecake mixture over the brownie batter, top it with the ¼ cup of brownie batter that we saved before.
Using a knife of a wooden skewer, gently drag it across the top of the red velvet brownies to create beautiful swirls.
Bake the brownies.
Tips for the best cheesecake swirled red velvet brownies!
Make sure to follow these tips when making your awesome red velvet brownie bites!
- Do not over-mix– Over-mixing is the enemy in many recipes, this red velvet brownie recipe being one of them. When you add in the dry ingredients, mix just until you can’t see them anymore
- Do not overbake- There is something so special about these delicious melt-in-your-mouth red velvet cheesecake brownie bites. So to keep them nice and ooey gooey, avoid over-baking them. They will continue baking as they cool, so keep that in mind.
- You don’t have to cut these brownies into little hearts. I did it because I made these as a valentine’s day treat. You can easily cut them into 16 little squares just like any other brownie recipe 🙂
Cheesecake Swirled Red Velvet Brownies recipe
Cheesecake red velvet swirled brownies
Ingredients
- ½ cup butter melted
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- ½ cup brown sugar
- 2 eggs
- 2 teaspoon vanilla
- 2 teaspoon white vinegar
- 1 tablespoon red food coloring
- 3 tablespoon cocoa powder
- ¾ cup flour
- ¼ teaspoon salt
cheesecake swirl
- 8 oz cream cheese softened, you can microwave it for 10-15 seconds to soften it even more.
- 1 egg
- ¼ Cup granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
- First preheat the oven to 325F, then spray an 8X8 inch baking pan with nonstick cooking spray and line it with parchment paper. This step will allow you to pull out the brownies easily when baked.
Make the red velvet brownies first
- In a large bowl, combine the melted butter, the brown sugar, and the granulated sugar. Whisk for 2-3 minutes. Add in the 2 eggs, the vanilla extract, vinegar, and food coloring, and whisk again until combined.½ cup butter, ½ cup granulated sugar, ½ cup brown sugar, 2 eggs, 2 teaspoon vanilla, 2 teaspoon white vinegar, 1 tablespoon red food coloring
- Sift the flour, cocoa powder, and salt into the wet mixture and gently fold. Do not over mix.3 tablespoon cocoa powder, ¾ cup flour
- Spread the red velvet brownie batter on the prepared 8×8 baking pan , saving about ¼ cup of batter for topping.
Make the cheese cake swirl mixture
- In a small bowl, beat the cream cheese, sugar, egg , and vanilla extract. Continue mixing until smooth.8 oz cream cheese, 1 egg, ¼ Cup granulated sugar, 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- Spread the cheese cake mixture over the brownie batter, top it with the ¼ cup of brownie batter that we saved before.
- Using a knife of a wooden skewer, gently swirl it across the top of the red velvet brownies to create beautiful swirls.
- Bake the brownies for 33-35 minutes, you want the edges to be set and the center to be slightly jiggly. Allow the brownies to cool down completely before you try to cut into them. I chill them in the fridge for 1-2 hours before slicing.
- Moisten your sharp knife with a wet paper towel and slice, cleaning the knife between each slice. You can also cut these into heart shapes.
Notes
- in the fridge for up to a week
- in the freezer for up to 2 months
Nutrition
If you enjoyed this red velvet brownies cheesecake bites, please let me know in the comments below 🙂 !
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LK
I don’t see the amount of salt to add anywhere. Gonna guess at it!
Chahinez
It’s optional but just a pinch is all you need 🙂
Homa
These look delicious! I am making them today and have a silly question: how do you cut them into hearts? Given that you mention we should wet and wipe the knife for each square cut, I was wondering if they would stick to a heart-shaped cutter. Thank you!
Chahinez
I chilled my brownies first before using the cookie cutter and that helped 🙂
His
Salted or unsalted butter?
Chahinez
You can use either!
Catalina
these are so so so good!!!
the cheesecake makes them so soft yet the amount of sweetness is perfect!
def doing them again!!!!
Chahinez
I’m thrilled you liked the recipe! Happy baking!😁
Sarah
hello. loved the receipe but I had an issue the second time I made it the cheesecake batter sank into the brownie batter. can you help please
Chahinez
I believe that might be because the brownie batter was too thin and the flour may be off. Try using a kitchen scale next time instead of measuring cups for better accuracy.
Alyssa
I think this is a stunning dessert and I commend you for it. I gave it four stars just because of the errors I encountered while working through the recipe.
– in the cheesecake topping, you have 1/4 tbsp of sugar, but your Instagram reel looks like 1/4 cup
-also in the cheesecake topping, the steps section says egg white, while your video you use the whole egg, yolk and white included.
-lastely, in the brownie recipe steps there is no mention of the brown sugar to be added, but you do mention it in the ingredients section.
Again, I think this is a stunning recipe, but if someone like my boyfriend who doesn’t have much baking experience were to try to make this recipe the way it is currently written I think it would be quite confusing.
Chahinez
Recipe card has been fixed, thank you for the tips 🙂