Baking Mad Monday: Cream Cheese Marbled Brownies

Two desserts rolled into one! My Creme Cheese Marbled Brownies need no further introduction...

Makes 9 squares

Ingredients:

150g unsalted butter
200g dark chocolate, broken into pieces
1 tsp vanilla
250g golden caster sugar
3 eggs
100ml espresso
100g plain flour
Pinch of salt (optional)

For marble topping:

150g cream cheese
60g caster sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 egg, beaten

Method:

1. Preheat the oven to 170°C/fan 150°/gas mark 3. Grease a 20cm square tin with butter and line with non-stick baking paper.

2. Melt the butter and chocolate in large heatproof bowl set over a smaller pan of just simmering water. Once melted stir in the vanilla, remove from the heat and leave to cool.

3. Stir the sugar into the butter and chocolate mixture, then whisk in the eggs until you have a glossy mixture. Add the coffee, beat until smooth then sieve in the flour and salt and fold to combine.

4. For the marbling mixture, in a bowl beat the cream cheese until smooth and then stir in the sugar and vanilla, followed by the beaten egg.

5. Spoon the brownie mixture into the lined tin then top with the marble topping mixture, using a knife to cut through the topping mixture and create a marbled effect. Be careful not to over mix or the marbled effect will be lost.

6. Bake for 25-30 minutes, but don't overcook as you want your brownies to be nice and soft, not dry. You can cover the tin with foil for the last 10 minutes of cooking if the top is over-browning. Remove from the oven, allow to cool in the tin then cut into squares. Best served warm.

Enjoy! E x