Ingredients

Red Velvet Brownie Base

  • 1 cup white sugar
  • ½ cup unsalted butter, melted
  • ¼ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
  • 1 tablespoon red food colouring
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1 teaspoon distilled white vinegar
  • ¼ teaspoon salt
  • 2 large eggs, slightly beaten
  • ¾ cup plain flour

Cheesecake Filling

  • 250g cream cheese (at room temperature)
  • ¼ cup white sugar
  • 1 large egg
  • ¼ teaspoon vanilla extract

Method

  1. Preheat the oven to 175° C. Grease a 20cmx20ch baking pan
  2. For the brownie base: Whisk sugar and melted butter in a large mixing bowl; stir in cocoa, red food colouring, vanilla extract, vinegar, and salt, one at a time – mixing well after each addition to avoid lumps.
  3. Mix in the 2 eggs until thoroughly combined
  4. Stir flour into cocoa mixture until combined
  5. Set aside 1/4 cup batter. Pour remaining batter into the prepared baking dish
  6. For the cheesecake filling: Beat cream cheese in a bowl using an electric mixer on medium speed until light and fluffy
  7. Add the sugar, egg and vanilla extract
  8. Continue to beat for 3-4 minutes until well blended
  9. Spoon cream cheese mixture in dollops over the batter in pan; gently smooth tops of dollops even with batter using a knife or offset spatula. Do not overmix
  10. Drizzle reserved 1/4 cup of batter over the dollops of cream cheese mixture. Drag a knife or skewer through the batter and cream cheese mixture to create swirls
  11. Bake in the preheated oven until top is dry and the edges have started to pull away from the sides of the pan, about 30 to 35 minutes
  12. Cool completely before cutting into bars; store covered in refrigerator.

Makes 12 serve