Maple Cheesecake Brownies

I know I've missed a few posts these last two weeks and I should say I have been studying because I have a week left of uni for the semester, but I haven't. I've been watching tv.

In good news though, I have one week left of this semester, followed by a week long internship at the Courier Mail (QLD's state newspaper where I will hopefully get to write some stories, so look out fellow QLDers) and then I'm going home to see the family for six weeks. It's going to be great.

I cannot believe I have not posted the recipe for these brownies yet. I really want to do them justice and tell you all about how wonderful they are, but as it is getting late and I have plans tonight, this will be short and sweet.

They are wonderful. I truly mean that. I made these a few weeks ago and I've been craving them since.

They are super rich, dense and incredibly fudgy. They practically melt in your mouth. The richness of the brownies contrasts with the tang and tart of the cheesecake - it's an amazing combination.

If you give these a go one day, you will not regret it.

Makes 12-16 brownies.

For brownies:

150 g dark chocolate

½ cup butter

1 cup maple syrup

½ cup brown sugar

3 eggs

1 tsp vanilla

1 cup flour

1 tsp salt

½ tsp baking soda

For cheesecake:

200 g cream cheese

½ cup sugar

1 egg yolk

1 tsp vanilla essence

What to do:

Preheat oven to 160 degrees Celsius and grease a regular sized brownie pan.

Melt chocolate, butter and maple syrup together. You can simply do it in the microwave in a large, heatproof bowl if you want.

Add the brown sugar, whisking it in to the liquids.

Add the eggs and vanilla into the same bowl, at once, whisking some more.

Sift the flour, salt and baking soda into the bowl together and stir together with a spatula. Stir very well, making sure to get rid of most of the lumps.

Now make the cheesecake mixture. In a separate, smaller bowl, combine the four ingredients and beat together with a stand or handheld mixer until light and fluffy. The mixture should be white and light.

To assemble the brownies, place half of the brownie mix in the prepared pan. Place dollops of the cream cheese mixture on top and then cover the mixture with the remaining brownie batter. Try to cover the cream cheese as best as possible. Again, dollop the second half of the cream cheese mixture on top. Using a knife or skewer, swirl the mixture around the top of the brownie to create a pattern.

Bake for 40-50 mins. Mine was in the oven for approximately 41 mins. When a skewer inserted into the edge of the brownies comes out clean and when inserted into the middle of the brownie has moist crumbs stuck to, the brownies are done.

Cool in pan for a few minutes. Place in refrigerator until chilled. These are best served cold. This will take at least three hours. You also need the rather soft cream cheese mixture to set before cutting, otherwise the brownies will split. Make sure the brownies are cold when you cut them!

Eat and enjoy.