Red Velvet Cheesecake Brownies

These are beautiful and delicious. A perfect treat for Valentine's Day. Or any other day. Of course, there's no shortage of good Valentine's Day desserts; chocolate is the usual suspect for this holiday, and I especially like molten chocolate cakes, chocolate cherry cake, rich mocha cake and mocha cheesecake bars.

I wanted to try something new, and I thought red velvet was an especially inspired choice for this holiday.

Start by making the red velvet layer. In a large mixing bowl, combine the sugar and melted butter.



Whisk well then add the vanilla



cocoa



red food coloring



salt and vinegar,



whisking well after each addition. Lightly beat the eggs in a small bowl



and then add them to the cocoa mixture.



Fold in the flour.



Save out 1/4 cup of the batter for the top layer,



then spread the batter in a greased 8-inch square pan.



For the cheesecake layer, combine the sugar, egg, vanilla



and cream cheese



and beat until well combined. Carefully spread the cream cheese layer over the brownie layer.



Dollop the remaining red batter over the cream cheese layer



and drag a knife through the batters



to swirl.



Bake for 30 minutes



then cool completely on a wire rack. Refrigerate overnight then cut into bars.

Find more inspiration at Cooking Thursday, It's a Keeper Thursday, Full Plate Thursday, Recipe Swap Thursday, Foodie Friday, Food on Fridays, Friday Food, Friday Potluck , What's Cookin' in the Kitchen and Fun with Food Friday, Crazy Sweet Tuesday.

Red Velvet Cheesecake Brownies

Red Velvet Layer:
1 stick butter, melted
1 cup sugar
1 tsp. vanilla
1/4 cup cocoa
Pinch salt
1 Tbsp. red food coloring
1 tsp. cider vinegar
2 eggs
3/4 cup flour

Cream Cheese Layer:
8 ounces cream cheese, softened
1/4 cup sugar
1 egg
1/2 tsp. vanilla

Pour melted butter into a large bowl and add the sugar, vanilla, cocoa, salt, food coloring, and vinegar, in that order, mixing between additions. Whisk the eggs in a small bowl and stir it into the cocoa mixture. Fold in the flour until lightly combined. Save 1/4 cup of the batter for the topping, then pour the rest of the batter into a greased 8" baking pan.

For the cream cheese layer, blend together the cream cheese, sugar, egg, and vanilla in a medium bowl. Gently spread the cream cheese layer on top of the brownie batter in the pan. Dollop the remaining brownie batter over the cream cheese layer. Using a table knife, drag the tip through the cream cheese mixture to create a swirl pattern. Bake the brownies at 350 for 30 minutes. Remove to a cooling rack and allow them to cool completely. Refrigerate overnight before cutting to serve. Makes 12 brownies.