These rich and chocolaty Spicy Cream Cheese Brownies have a fiery swirl. It's a dessert with a little heat and a lot of chocolate!
If you love chocolate and you love when food has a kick, have I got a brownie for you!
These Spicy Chocolate Cream Cheese Brownies are rich and sweet, but that's not all: they also have spicy, cream cheese swirls that deliver a little cayenne heat in every bite. My other name for them is Chocolate Brownies EN FUEGO!
Here's another chocolate treat with heat: Dark Chocolate Bark with Almonds and Currants!
Why you'll love these goodies
It's all the decadence of rich brownies with a little spice to balance out the sweetness.
You'll be amazed at how easy it is to make brownies from scratch. Their indulgent flavor is worth experiencing any time of the year.
🔪 How to make Spicy Cream Cheese Brownies
Step 1: Make the brownie batter
Whisk together the dry ingredients. Then mix together the melted butter, sugars, and eggs. Blend the wet and dry mixtures together.
Step 2: Make the cream cheese mixture
Blend softened cream cheese with an egg, sugar, and pepper.
Step 3: Assemble the layers
Spread half the brownie batter in a prepared baking pan. Spread the cream cheese mixture over this, followed by the rest of the brownie batter. Swirl the layers together.
Step 4: Bake!
Bake the brownies for about 45 minutes. Allow them to cool, then slice and serve!
Once they're cool, cut yourself a slice, sit back and enjoy the deep chocolate flavor followed by a spicy tingle on your tongue as the cayenne fights its way to your taste buds. EN FUEGO!
Find the recipe for the Spicy Cream Cheese Brownies below, and here are a few other sweet treats to tempt you:
💬 Have you made these spicy brownies? Gimme your feedback: click the stars to rate this recipe and leave a comment for me below.
Spicy Cream Cheese Brownies
Ingredients
For the brownie batter:
- ¾ cup all-purpose flour, unbleached
- 1 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
- 2 teaspoons instant espresso coffee
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 cup unsalted butter, melted
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1 cup packed brown sugar
- 3 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- 4 large eggs
For the cream cheese swirl:
- 8 ounces cream cheese, softened
- 1 cup confectioner's sugar
- 1 large egg
- 1 teaspoon ground cayenne pepper
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
Make the brownie batter:
- Preheat the oven to 325° F. Spray the bottoms and sides of a 9-inch x 13-inch baking dish with nonstick spray.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, cocoa powder, instant espresso and salt. Set aside.
- Mix together the melted butter, granulated sugar and brown sugar. Mix in the 3 teaspoons of vanilla extract. Add in the 4 eggs, mixing after each egg is added.
- With the mixer running on low, slowly add in the dry mixture. Once the dry ingredients are mixed in, increase the speed to medium and beat the mixture for 2 minutes.
Make the cream cheese layer:
- Place the softened cream cheese, confectioner's sugar, the 1 egg, cayenne pepper, and 1 teaspoon of vanilla into a separate medium-sized bowl. Beat the ingredients together until they're smooth.
Assemble the brownies:
- Pour half of the chocolate batter into the prepared baking pan and spread it to cover the bottom of the pan.
- Spoon all of the cream cheese mixture over the brownie batter in an even layer.
- Top this layer with the rest of the chocolate batter. Pull a rubber spatula through the layers to create swirls of cream cheese batter in the chocolate.
- Place the pan in the oven and bake for 40-45 minutes. It should be baked through with the center just set - a tester inserted into the center should come out with a few crumbs.
- Place the pan on a cooling rack and let the brownies cool for about 30 minutes before slicing.
- Slice the brownies and enjoy. They can be stored tightly wrapped for up to three days.
- Makes 24 brownies.
Nutrition
Originally published in 2014.
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