Red wine brownies with cheesecake swirl are a perfect combination of chocolate, a subtle hint of red wine, and a rich cheesecake batter.
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Red wine brownies with cheesecake swirl were supposed to be red velvet cheesecake brownies. I’ve been planning on posting them this weekend (you know, because of Valentine’s Day) for months, then I looked at Pinterest and at my BlogLovin’ feed and realized that everyone else and their brother had already posted a recipe for some sort of red velvet something this week. I’d been wanting to make a bundt cake version of the red wine cake from The Smitten Kitchen Cookbook for a while now and needed a dessert for a work lunch, but iced bundt cakes don’t really travel all that well and brownies do, so I did a little reading and came up with these.
Red velvet is one of my very favorite cakes, probably more because of the thick layer of cream cheese frosting than anything in the actual cake. Because of its red color, of course, it’s a standard Valentine’s Day dessert. But really, isn’t red wine a little more Valentine’s Day than red velvet?
Honestly, the truth is that I don’t care. Philip and I started dating the week before Valentine’s Day sixteen years ago (sixteen years, what? How old am I again?!?!?!?!) so we were a little too early in our relationship to worry about Valentine’s Day that first year. The next year we decided that we’d rather celebrate our dating anniversary, and then after that we decided that Valentine’s Day was just not really our thing. And despite the fact that ladies that Philip has worked with have told him that no matter what I say, I REALLY DO want him to buy me a Valentine’s gift, I really, really don’t.
Unless he wants to give me these red wine cheesecake brownies. I mean, these are pretty fantastic. They’re dense and rich and extremely moist. The red wine doesn’t overwhelm, but you definitely taste it in the background and it pairs perfectly with the chocolate. Plus, how can you go wrong when you swirl cheesecake batter into chocolate?
These red wine brownies with cheesecake swirl are basically perfect.
Do you celebrate Valentine’s Day? If so, what are your plans?
Mary
Yield: 16-32 brownies
The brownie batter is adapted from The Domestic Rebel . The cheesecake batter is from Smitten Kitchen .
20 minPrep Time:
35 minCook Time:
55 minTotal Time:
Save Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 cup semi-sweet or bittersweet chocolate chips
- 8 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 1/4 cup Merlot
- 2 large eggs
- 3/4 cup granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/4 cup cocoa powder
- 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
- pinch salt
- 8 ounces cream cheese at room temperature
- 1/3 cup granulated sugar
- 1 large egg yolk
- 1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line an 8×8 pan (or 9×13 pan, if you are doubling the recipe) with foil or parchment paper. Spray the foil or paper with nonstick cooking spray.
- Place the chocolate chips and the butter in a medium saucepan set over medium-low heat. Cook, stirring frequently, until completely melted. Stir in the red wine and allow to sit for one minute.
- Whisk the eggs into the chocolate mixture. Add the vanilla and sugar and whisk to combine. Whisk in the cocoa, flour, and salt until completely incorporated. Pour the brownie batter into the prepared pan and set aside.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together all of the cheesecake batter ingredients until smooth (there may be a few lumps). Drop spoonfuls of the cheesecake batter all over the brownie batter. Drag a knife through the cheesecake batter until well-marbled.
- Bake the brownies for 30-35 minutes. Remove from the oven and cool in the pan for 15 minutes, then use the parchment or foil like a sling to remove the brownies from the pan. Cool completely then cut into squares and serve.
Print the recipe for red wine brownies with cheesecake swirl!
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