Blackberry cheesecake brownies that will have everyone begging for seconds. A rich brownie base, tangy cheesecake and sweet blackberry swirl!
Hello there! Sarah from Broma Bakery here. I’m so excited for my first guest post today! A little about myself: I live in Michigan, I do yoga, I love to eat, and my favorite food is brownies.
Yes, brownies. They are perfect in every way. Fudgy, moist, chocolatey, and oh-so-satisfying. I’ve loved brownies ever since I was a little girl. In fact, in my family there was hardly a day when there was no brownie mix in our pantry. I quite literally grew up on the stuff.
So as an introduction, I knew that I had to share these blackberry cheesecake brownies with you all. It’s like sharing a little piece of my heart!
Blackberry Cheesecake Brownies
These blackberry cheesecake brownies felt perfect: a rich brownie base topped with tangy cheesecake, all swirled with tart blackberries. I kept reaching for little bits of fallen brownie during this photoshoot because I just couldn’t stop eating them!
Plus, who doesn’t love dessert that looks gourmet? At least I would venture to say that these do! No one will know that you actually made these babies in your PJs!
How to Swirl Cheesecake Brownies
Swirling brownies doesn’t take a lot of talent but you should know how to do it properly otherwise the swirls just disappear or you end up with holes in your batter.
Place your swirl batter in a window pattern as dollops on top of the cheesecake batter. For example, if you have three dollops in a row, the next row would have two dollops in the spaces between the first dollops. It’s just like when a choir stands to sing and the second row stands in the spaces the first row made.
Now take a toothpick or small knife and place it down in the center of a dollop and drag the mixture through more dollops. Resist the urge to keep swirling, stop once a nice pattern has been created and you can see both the cheesecake and the blackberry.
How to Make Cheesecake Brownies from Scratch
To make cheesecake brownies from scratch you only need basic ingredients like butter, sugar, eggs, flour, cocoa etc. Mix the dry ingredients separate from the wet ingredients to help everything be combined evenly.
How to Store Cheesecake Brownies
Do Cheesecake Brownies need to be refrigerated? That’s often the first question we get about how to store cheesecake brownies. Technically it’s best to refrigerate cheesecake, but sugar actually acts as a stabilizer so these cheesecake brownies do not need to be refrigerated. In fact, refrigeration can often dry out brownies.
To store cheesecake brownies, merely cover the pan with aluminum foil or place the brownies in an airtight container on the counter for up to 3 days.
Can Cheesecake Brownies be Frozen?
Brownies can be frozen successfully, though we are a little hesitant on freezing cheesecake brownies as they can sometimes “sweat” a little upon thawing. You can still eat them, they will just be a little moist on top. You can freeze the brownies for up to 3 months, making sure that they are wrapped tightly with plastic wrap and foil to reduce the risk of freezer burn.
Are Wild Blackberries Safe to Eat?
There are many, many types of wild edible berries.
Wild black berries are safe to eat and provide a delicious late summer treat!
Just beware of the thorns on the blackberry bushes, they can be brutal!
Can Blackberries be Frozen?
Most Berries, including blackberries freeze well and can be used frozen for smoothies or thawed for use in baking and sauces.
Blackberry Cheesecake Brownies
Blackberry Cheesecake Brownies
Description
Ingredients
For the brownies
- 3/4 cup cocoa powder
- 1 1/2 cups sugar
- 2 eggs
- 12 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
For the blackberry puree
- 6 oz fresh or frozen blackberries
- 1/4 cup granulated white sugar
- 1/4 cup water
For the cheesecake
- 8 ounces cream cheese, softened
- 1/4 cup greek yogurt
- 1 large eggs, room temperature
- 1/4 cup sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
Instructions
- Cook blackberry puree by combining all ingredients in a small saucepan over medium-high heat for 8-10 minutes.
- Use a whisk or spoon to help break down the blackberries.
- Once cooked, place a fine mesh strainer over a small bowl and, using a spatula, squeeze through all of the liquid and dispose of the solids.
- Let cool to room temperature.
- Preheat oven to 325°F.
- Line an 8″x8″ baking dish with parchment paper and set aside.
- In a microwave-safe mixing bowl, melt the butter.
- Stir in sugar, eggs, vanilla extract, and salt.
- Once combined, fold in cocoa powder and flour.
- Pour the brownie batter into the baking dish, spreading evenly to the edges.
- Combine all cheesecake ingredients in a standing mixer fitted with a whisk attachment.
- Cream for 2-3 minutes on medium-high speed.
- Pour over brownie batter, spreading evenly to the edges.
- Drizzle the blackberry puree on top of the cheesecake in dollops and swirl using a fork, knife, or toothpick.
- Try to swirl only into the cheesecake batter, not the brownie batter.
- Bake for 1 hour, or until the cheesecake begins to turn golden and a knife inserted in the center of the brownies comes out mostly clean.
- Place in fridge and allow to cool for at least 2 hours but up to overnight.
- Cut into 9 large squares.
- Store brownies in the fridge in an airtight container for up to 5 days.
Notes
Nutrition
Recommended Products
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Laurel
I would encourage you to study food safety. Your recipe looks amazing, but it is not safe to be left out on the counter. In order for sugar to stabilize dairy products, you would need a 3 to 1 ratio of sugar to dairy. I had to study this for my Licensed Home Bakery.
Sweet Basil
Hi Laurel! Thank you so much for the feedback! This was guest post by another blogger. I should revisit the recipe and see about reworking it. Thanks again!
Judy
Instead of making the blackberry mixture I was thinking os using store bought jam. Any reason this wouldn’t work?
Sweet Basil
Hi Judy! I’ve found that jam is just a little too thick. If you want to thin it out a little, a store bought jam will work great.
Fui
What’s the metric measurement for 12tbsp of unsalted butter?
Sweet Basil
Hello! I’m so sorry about that. It hadn’t converted in our conversion tool properly. It will be 168g of butter. The recipe card should be correct now. Enjoy!
Diane Cobiskey
I used a lil bit of low fat sour cream in place of the yogurt, and my berry syrup was kinda thin. But they turned out deliciously amazing.
Sweet Basil
Thank you so much for the tip!
Diane Cobiskey
The blackberry cheesecake bars are amazing.
Sweet Basil
Thank you so much Diane!
Renee Bouley
Turned out amazing! I used a Giradehli brownie mix and raspberries in place of blackberries. Baked for 55 minutes at 325.
Sweet Basil
Yummmm! That sounds amazing! Why are Ghiradelli brownies so dang good?! I’m so glad you enjoyed this recipe!
Melodie
I’m actually in the process of making this recipe. The blackberry purée is very thin. I’m proceeding but there is no way I’ll be able to “dollop” the purée. I’ll drizzle and see what happens.
Should the purée be thin? Thanks!!
Sweet Basil
Hi Melodie! The puree will be more like the thickness of a syrup than a jam. A drizzle will work great! How did they turn out?
Ashley Eberhart
I made these using a box of triple chocolate brownie mix because I have had a very difficult time finding a comparable scratch recipe.
The cheesecake layer was delicious, but it still wasn’t as set as I’d like, so I wonder if it was due to the fact that I had O% fat vanilla yogurt (the flavor was great!) and needed some yogurt with a higher fat content. I added some sour cream to it to help thicken it up just a little bit, which helped.
All in all, they disappeared magically at the dinner for which I’d made them, and I will definitely be making them again!!
Sweet Basil
Hi Ashley! I bet having more fat in the cheesecake layer would definitely help! I’m so glad you enjoyed them! Thank you for the feedback!
Carter Van Noy
Is there really supposed to be salt in the cream cheese layer? I’m pretty sure I put in the correct amount but it was soooo salty.
Sweet Basil
Hi Carter! Yes, the recipe is correct as written. You can always reduce the salt if you want. We like how the 1/2 teaspoon of salt enhances the sweetness of the brownies.
Carter Van Noy
Thanks. I doubled the recipe and must have added a Tablespoon of salt instead of a teaspoon.
Also, the blackberry puree was pretty runny. Do I just need to cook it longer? It was so runny that there was no way to use it all if I wanted it to look swirled. I assume it is supposed to be pretty thick in order to “dollop” it.
Sweet Basil
Yes, it should be pretty thick…almost like a jam. It sounds like you need to cook it a little longer so it reduces more.
T
Hi, just tried this recipe and we’re pretty confused about how it came out. The brownie is over cooked yet at the same time the cheesecake never set. The brownie also came out very light and airy rather than fudgey as described. We were wondering what we might have done wrong, been struggling with brownies lately and trying to break the streak.
Sweet Basil
Yikes! I have no clue how this could have happened! I’m sorry it didn’t turn out well!
Michelle
Blackberry brownie Cheesecake bout to go in the oven!!
Sweet Basil
Yesssss! Best day ever!
Zoe
Hello! I have made this recipe before and it is amazing! Can I make the blackberry puree a couple days in advance and keep it in the fridge?
Thanks!
Sweet Basil
Hi Zoe! Yes absolutely!
Allison
H
i guys ,question.Have you guys made this because on the desc it says 1 eggs and then on the directions it says eggs again.Is it one egg or how many eggs,could you please ask/find out from your guest who posted this recipe so I can make it because I loove blckberrys and this blckberry puree you can eat it in so many things! Can you please take a sec Carrian and answer me thank you.
Allison
I love brownies and I love black pure yum! Thanks guys.
Alison
Awesome dessert. Familiar yet unique. I followed the recipe like directions on a test and it turned out well, though the brownie portion was a little TOO fudgy for my boyfriend who compared them, with displeasure, to a protein bar. I do think the lower layer was a little distracting. Next time I may bake the brownie layer for a bit before adding the cheesecake or simply use less of the brownie batter so it’s more of a fudge crust.
Karolyn Yoakum
Looking forward to trying these. Thanks… Follow you on Face Book. Like your blog.
Sweet Basil
Thank you so much!
natalie schoenfeld
The brownies are delicious!! I poured the entire blackberry mixture on the cheesecake mix and it was waaaay too much. I would start with a quarter cup of blackberry juice. You can always add more if needed. And if there’s extra, use it for pancakes. Or add it to margaritas.
Sweet Basil
Natalie, um yes! On pancakes!!
jyssica
Store brownies in fridge for 5 days? Does this mean I have to wait five days to eat them?
Sweet Basil
Sorry, no it just means that you can store them for up to 5 days. 🙂
Robea
My daughter and I baked a double batch and they are INCREDIBLE. Making another double batch or a staff function.
Sweet Basil
So glad to hear that!
Miranda
I made these and the topping went brownish purple after one hour cooking 🙁
Sandra
So I first want to say that these were delicious.
But I had some issues. There was not enough cream cheese topping to cover no matter how thin I spread it and I used the 8×8 pan you called for. Next I use the parchment paper and the brownies stuck. I baked them for over the hour called for cause at the one hour mark the middle was jiggly. I put them in the refrigerator over night cause they were dinner today (valentine’s) so they were good and cold. But I could not lift out the parchment paper cause it was stuck (I have never used parchment paper to bake with before). So I cut them in the pan and the cheesecake portion just balled up under the knife. The brownies were not done and the berry sauce just ran into a blob on top and wasn’t the pretty swirls you got. When I tried to swirl the sauce in, the cheesecake topping just didn’t swirl.
BUT……they were still delicious. We ate them anyways and I will make them again but with some of my own changes to maybe get them to turn out this time.
Gabi
Made these for the big game last night, and they were DEVINE!!! I followed the directions to a T, and they came out perfectly. The fudgiest brownies I have ever had, so moist and creamy. And the topping was super delicious as well. I cut them into 16 smaller pieces as they were so incredibly rich. And suffice it to say, I ate every last bit of the edges that I trimmed off before placing the brownies in a container for storage. Thank you!
Sweet Basil
YAY!!! So so happy to hear that!
Lori
OOHHH EEMM GEEEE, these are beyond delicious. I didn’t even want to share them, lol. Thanks hunni 😉
Barbara @ Barbara Bakes
These look amazing Carrian!
Danica
Great recipe! It’s actually in the oven right now. I was wondering how much the measurement for the puree should be. It came out to 3/4 cup for me (cooked it covered). When I poured it on it just seemed like too much.
Sweet Basil
If you make the texas sized muffin tin you can get 4-6 depending on how full you fill each cup. I usually like them a little bigger so I get 5. 🙂
Sarah
I made this recipe today it’s actually in the oven now. The purée was kinda runny and just seemed like too much when I poured it on top. Did I do something wrong?
Salena
Can the cheesecake brownies be frozen and can I use mulberries instead of blackberries?
Sweet Basil
Hi Salena,
Unfortunately cream cheese doesn’t come back from the freezer very well, so they wont be as good if frozen. Any berry works:)
Michelle
Thinking of making g these. Can Stevia sweetener be used in place of sugar?
Sweet Basil
Hi Michelle! That is a great question! I haven’t ever tried it and I don’t bake with sugar substitutes often. Usually it will say on the bag of Stevia if it can be used in baking and what the ratio is for replacing sugar.
Doug
Store brownies in the fridge in an airtight container for up to 5 minutes.
Heather
Do you use sweetened or unsweetened cocoa powder? What can you substitute for greek yogurt?
Sweet Basil
Hi Heather,
Unsweetened and you could use plain yogurt or butter, but the greek yogurt will give the best results.
Alison
same amount of sour cream can sub for Greek yogurt; sour cream is common in traditional cheesecake recipes
Frederike
Hi Sarah,
I tried your recipe today and it turned out to be soo tasty, we love it!! I actually tried it with blueberries – delicious!
All the best from Germany.
kate sardim
My family does not like cream cheese as they do not want anything tangy in a filling. Your blackberry cheesecake brownies look so fantastic and I am wondering if I can substitute mascarpone cheese for the cream cheese. Will they still look the same and taste similar? If not is there anything else I can use instead.
Sarah | Broma Bakery
Hi Kate! Though I’ve never tried, I’m sure you could substitute mascarpone for cream cheese. I would substitute an equal amount. If the mixture looks runny once you add in the other ingredients, try adding a few tablespoons of flour to bulk up the consistency. Let me know how this helps and happy baking!
Haley
Could you make a version with a no bake cheesecake layer?
Sarah | Broma Bakery
That’s a great idea, Haley! As no-bake cheesecakes are quite different, I do not have a recipe that would substitute for this one. My suggestion: take your favorite no-bake cheesecake recipe and substitute it in for this cheesecake! Bake the brownies, let them cool, then spread on the cheesecake and swirl it with the berries. Happy baking!
elo
hello, thank you for sharing this! it was delicious! i would like to make it a second time, however, i’d like to double the cheesecake portion (cuz it was just so good). how would that change the baking time? thank you for your help!
Sarah | Broma Bakery
Thanks, Elo! Yes, that would change the baking time! This time will depend on what size pan you use, and on the thickness of the brownies. Because I have not tried, I cannot say for sure. I would bake them and start checking around 1.5 hours for done-ness. You’ll be looking for the cheesecake to be set in the middle with little jiggle when you move it around. Try the knife test suggested in the directions. Hope this helps and happy baking!
Stephanie Pass
These look mouth-watering delicious! I think I’m going to have to grab some blackberries out of the fridge and eat them right now, lol.
MK
Plain greek yogurt or vanilla? I must make these this weekend- they look heavenly!
Sarah | Broma Bakery
You can use either! I used plain, but I often use vanilla and plain interchangeably. Happy baking, MK!
Angela
How long does it need to cook this recipe?
Sarah | Broma Bakery
Hi Angela. The brownies bake for one hour!
Brielle @ Breezy Bakes
These are so beautiful. Those colors are so intriguing! I bet these taste absolutely divine. Yum! Pinning!
Gaby
These are absolutely gorgeous! So rich and creamy and delicious!!!
Andrea @ Chocolate & Sea Salt
These are stunning! And I’m sure they taste even better than they look. Pinning 🙂
Sweet Basil
Aren’t they awesome?!
Melissa
Hi Sarah and Carrian,
Those BlackBerry cheesecake brownies look truly AMAZING! ♥
And i want to bake them in a 13 x 9″ pan. In this case should i duplicate the récipe and the baking time or how should i proceed?
Thanks for your help in advance! ☼
Sarah | Broma Bakery
Hi Melissa! I would double the recipe for a 9×13 pan. Your baking time should be similar, but slightly longer. I would begin to check on the brownies at 1 hour, and continue to check every 5 minutes or so. Hope this helps, and happy baking!
Meriem @ Culinary Couture
Now this is a combination I need to try!
Emily @ SageRecipes
The color is so wonderful and brings me a bit closer to spring! Lovely to see Broma Bakery here!
Liz @ Floating Kitchen
These are just spectacular! I absolutely love Sarah and Broma Bakery. So happy to see her here hanging out at Oh Sweet Basil! XO