Pumpkin Cheesecake Brownies

My second pumpkin dish in a row :) This is exactly the opposite of the Roasted Pie-Pumpkin spicy chutney I made a few days back. Time for something sweet, and something chocolate!
It just made me realize how versatile the pumpkin as a vegetable is, very few vegetables could boast of being that, tasting good in a dessert as well as a hot and savory dish.

Two thumbs up to Adam from whom I adapted this recipe... I made this the very same day he did the post. Well, it did take some time for me to post it, due to blah, blah, blah... but nevertheless here it is.
The only sad thing was I did not have any ice cream to go with it that day. Warm soft chewy brownies with cold vanilla ice cream melting on top. My taste buds just go bonkers over it.
But otherwise, it was great by itself.

Just a quick tip, whatever kind of brownies you are making, it is advisable to use a spatula to mix all the ingredients together. Using a hand mixer will incorporate air into the mix, and the brownie will end up like cake. Brownies are naturally dense, so keep them thick and soft.

I did make some small changes with the flour, cream cheese, butter, and sugar, so I have given the recipe below for the brownies you see in the picture.
If you like pumpkins and chocolate, this is your kind of dessert.

Pumpkin Cheesecake Brownies

Ingredients:

For the Pumpkin Cheesecake layer:

Fat free cream cheese - 8oz.
Pumpkin puree - 3/4 cup
Egg yolk- 1 (you will use up the white for the brownie part)
Sugar - 1/4 cup
Cinnamon powder- 1/2 tsp
Ginger powder - 1/2 tsp
Nutmeg powder- 1/8 tsp

For the Brownie Layer:

Whole wheat pastry flour - 1/2 cup
Unsalted butter - 2 oz.
Sugar - 1/2 cup
Espresso - 1 tsp
Semisweet chocolate chips - 4 oz + 4 oz
Eggs - 1 whole, and 1 egg white
Vanilla - 1 tsp
Baking powder - 1 1/2 tsp
Walnuts - 1/2 cup (chopped)

Method:

Preheat oven to 350F.

Grease a 8" square pan and set aside.

Take the softened cream cheese and sugar and cream together with the help of a hand blender. For about 4-5 minutes.
Add pumpkin puree and the egg yolk. Then the cinnamon, nutmeg and ginger powder goes in. The resulting mixture will be somewhat thin, you may want to check the consistency as you add the pumpkin puree. Stop when you think it gets too watery.
I used about 3/4 cup and the batter was still a little thin.
Refrigerate this mixture until you make the brownie layer. It does help to thicken slightly.

For the brownie, melt the butter and add 4oz. of chocolate chips to that and keep stirring. I did this in a microwave, checking at regular intervals. Chocolate burns faster in a microwave. Keep stirring till it is glossy and let it slightly cool.



Now add the sugar, keep mixing. Then add eggs and vanilla and mix well with a rubber spatula.

In another bowl, sift together the whole wheat pastry flour, espresso and baking powder.

Toss the dry ingredients into the chocolate mixture, mix until all the dry ingredients are incorporated.
Add the walnuts and the rest of the chocolate chips (4oz.)and fold in.

Take the greased pan, pour in the brownie mix, then pour the pumpkin cheesecake mix on top.



Bake for about 45 min. Check the middle with a toothpick. Bake until it comes out clean. Do not overbake.





This goes to:

Aparna's Blog anniversary
and
Art You Eat #5 - Autumn Edition