The other day I wasn’t feeling particularly well. When most people feel sick they curl up on the couch, or in bed, and rest until they feel better. But for me, for some reason, I get the urge to cook. This usually leads to either making soup, my go to remedy for when I feel sick, or baking something so bad it’s good. This is a case of the latter.
The funny thing is, in these situations, I rarely feel like eating what I’ve made afterwards. Well, not immediately anyway, but the act of baking, and baking something so sinful makes me feel better.
The urge started with brownies. Rich, chocolatey and indulgent. Nothing wrong with that right? Then came the decision to stuff the brownies with a chocolate bar. So off to the shop I went and quickly settled on Snickers. Although I rarely (read once every 2 years or so) indulge in a Snickers, I enjoy them when I do. I think for me it’s the contrast of textures. The chewy nougat, the sticky stretchy caramel, the crunchy nuts and then the chocolate coating that melts in your hands, particularly on a hot Queensland day. Armed with an obscene amount of Snickers I headed to the counter and paid for my bounty, ignoring the looks of the shop assistant who was clearly wondering what I was doing with 10 Snickers bars.
Back home the brownies came together in a flash, thanks to my favourite, I need some chocolate sustenance in a hurry, brownie recipe courtesy of the wonderful Nigella Lawson. Batter in the pan I then smushed the Snickers into the brownie batter, wondering if Nigella would approve. She would, wouldn’t she? I’m sure she would. She understands that sometimes a girl just needs a sugar fix.
Then before I put my sinful concoction in the oven I decided I needed a cheesecake topping. I’m not sure what it is about cheesecake lately, but I can’t seem to get enough of it. Which is strange because once upon a time I actually didn’t like cheesecake. Once the cheesecake was on top I then, finally, swirled in some chocolate through the cheesecake mix. Totally over the top, totally diet unfriendly and totally decadent all the same.
If you are on a diet these little babies will be out of the question, perhaps you can just drool over them instead, but when you want something sinful there quite frankly isn’t anything better than something truly, madly and completely over the top as these brownies.
So tell me, do you think Nigella would approve?
Snickers Cheesecake Brownies
Ingredients
- BROWNIE BASE:
- 200 g of dark chocolate 70% cocoa solids
- 200 g of butter
- 160 g of caster sugar
- 3 eggs beaten
- 100 g of ground almonds
- 50 g of ground hazelnuts
- 10 snickers bars
- CHEESECAKE TOPPING
- 400 g of cream cheese at room temperature
- 100 g of caster sugar
- 2 eggs
- 100 g of dark chocolate melted
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 170 degrees celsius (340 farenheit) and line a 20cm by 30cm baking tin with baking paper.
- Melt the chocolate and butter gently over a low heat in a saucepan and set aside to cool a little. Add the beaten eggs to the melted chocolate mixture, along with the ground almonds, hazelnuts and sugar mix to combine.
- Pour the mixture into the prepared baking tin. Unwrap the Snickers and smush into the batter, ensuring they are coated, but not sitting on the bottom.
- To make the cheesecake topping place the cream cheese and sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment and beat until combined. Add the eggs and beat until smooth. Pour over the top of the brownie mixture and then drizzle with the melted chocolate, using a toothpick to create swirl patters.
- Bake for 25 to 35 minutes or until the edges of the brownie are starting to lightly crispen. Let the cheesecake brownies come to room temperature before refrigerating and cutting into squares.
