Cheesecake Brownie

FOR THE BROWNIE LAYER:

Cream together the butter and 250g of the sugar. When pale and fluffy, add 3 eggs, beating after each addition. Melt the chocolate and add to the mixture, then pour in the flour and baking soda. Pour into a greased and floured dish. Lining it with greaseproof makes life easier if you plan on removing it from the dish in one piece.

FOR THE CHEESECAKE LAYER:

Beat together the cream cheese and the remaining 150g sugar, then add the last 2 eggs and the vanilla. In your hands, squash half the berries and gently stir into the mixture. Don’t overmix now or it won’t look as pretty and swirly. Pour over the brownie layer and smooth the surface. Dot with the remaining berries. You can also plop on a few tablespoons of reserved brownie mix for a chocolate swirled effect (stir through gently with a knife tip).

Bake at 375F for 40-50 minutes. Make sure it’s completely cold before cutting into small squares: it’s very rich. I use a 12″ rectangular stoneware dish and it makes about 12 squares.

You can use any berries you like. Raspberry and strawberry are great with the vanilla essence. I like adding a little lemon zest to the cream cheese mix if I’m using blackberries or blueberries. A mixture would be very pretty, too.