Ingredients
- Cooking spray
Cheesecake topping:
- 8 ounces reduced-fat cream cheese (Neufchatel)
- 1/3 cup sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 large egg
Brownie Layer:
- 2 ounces semisweet chocolate, coarsely chopped
- 3 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 2 tablespoons canola oil
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 1/2 cup unsweetened Dutch-process cocoa powder
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt
- Pinch cayenne pepper
- 3/4 cup packed dark brown sugar
- 1/4 cup granulated sugar
- 1/2 cup lowfat buttermilk
- 2 large egg whites
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
Directions
Position the rack in the lower third of the oven and preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
Line an 8 by 8-inch baking pan with foil so it hangs over the edges by about 1-inch. Spray with cooking spray.
Cheesecake topping: In a medium bowl and using an electric mixer at medium speed, beat the cream cheese until smooth and creamy, about 1 minute. Beat in the sugar and the vanilla until very smooth, 1 to 2 minutes. Beat in the egg until well blended. Set aside.
Brownie layer: Put the chocolate, butter, and oil in a small microwave-safe bowl and heat at 75 percent power for 30 seconds. Stir and microwave again until melted and smooth, about 30 seconds longer. (Alternatively, put the chocolate, butter, and oil in a small heatproof bowl. Bring a small saucepan filled with 1 inch or so of water to a very slow simmer; set the bowl over, not touching, the water, and stir occasionally, until melted and smooth.)
Combine the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, salt, and cayenne in a medium bowl.
Combine the brown sugar and granulated sugar in a large bowl. Whisk in the buttermilk, egg whites, and vanilla. Add the chocolate mixture and whisk vigorously until fully incorporated and the batter is thick and glossy. Gradually add the flour mixture and stir just until it disappears.
Reserve 1/2 cup brownie batter and set aside. Scrape the remaining brownie batter into the prepared pan. Pour the cheesecake mixture evenly over top. Drop the reserved brownie batter in large dollops over the topping. Draw the handle of a wooden spoon through the two batters to create a swirled effect.
Bake until the top is just set, 40 to 45 minutes. Let cool completely in the pan on a wire rack. Lift brownies out of the pan by the foil and peel off the foil. Spray a knife with cooking spray and cut into 2-inch squares.
Copyright 2009 Television Food Network, G.P. All rights reserved
Nutritional analysis per serving: 1 brownie. Calories 200; Total Fat 10g; (Sat Fat 4 g, Mono Fat 3 g, Poly Fat 1 g); Protein 4 g; Carb 27 g; Fiber 1 g; Cholesterol 30 mg; Sodium 180 mg
Taste Rating: 5
These weren't terrible, but you can definitely tell that some calorie sacrifices were made. The cream cheese topping was really good, but the brownie itself was kind of dry and cake-like. You definitely need a glass of milk with it. Other than the dry-ish texture, the taste itself wasn't bad!
Easy Rating: 2
Ok, so this is a biased rating. I pretty much hate baking. The measuring and the mixing and the blah blah blah...it's just not fun to me. I like to just kind of throw a bunch of stuff together and say "Ta-da!" and baking doesn't really work like that. In fact, my roommate was really confused when she walked in and saw me with a mixer. Plus this recipe used like 4 different bowls between the dry ingredients, chocolate mixture, cheesecake topping, and sugar/milk mixture, so the cleanup took for ever.
Overall rating: 4
This recipe can't really be considered HEALTHY, because its nutritional value is about zero. But as far as desserts go, you really can't go wrong with a 200 calorie dessert. It definitely is in need of some extra oomph, so I think I would find a boxed brownie recipe next time instead of making it from scratch. They make some "light" versions of a Betty Crocker brownie mix, so that might be worth a shot.
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