chocolate, raspberry and cream cheese brownies

chocolate, raspberry and cream cheese brownies

• 8 Sept 2025

We've had a very wet winter here in Sydney, so one rainy Sunday I decided to do a spot of baking. I picked up my copy of Beatrix Bakes Another Slice and browsed through the book. I was intrigued by the brownie recipe which used ingredients with which I was familiar but the technique used was wildly different.

The brownies are made from pantry staples and cream cheese, all of which I had in the kitchen, so I decided to make a small batch. Just as I was about to put the brownies in the oven, I topped them with some frozen raspberries to make the fruity 'adaptrix', a Natalie'ism.

Here's the recipe for you (in Natalie's own words) adapted from here, which makes a 17-cm square tin of brownies. For all my recipes I use a 250ml cup and a 20-ml tablespoon, unsalted butter and 60g eggs. My oven is a conventional gas oven so if your oven is fan forced you may need to reduce the oven temperature by 20°C. If you'd like to make a larger batch please refer to the original recipe.

Chocolate, raspberry and cream cheese brownies - makes 12 bite-size brownies

Ingredients
Cooking oil spray 
100g egg (2 eggs) 
150g raw caster sugar 
55g good bittersweet chocolate (around 50-60% cocoa)
120g unsalted butter 
45g plain flour, regular or gluten free
30g Dutch (unsweetened) cocoa powder 
heaped ¼ tsp sea salt flakes
90g good extra-dark chocolate (around 70% cocoa)
55g full-fat cream cheese, softened to room temperature
50g frozen raspberries

Method
Heat the oven to 170°C, conventional. Lightly spray a 17-cm square, 5 cm deep cake tin with cooking oil and line the base and sides with baking paper. Ensure any flappy paper edges are trimmed flush with the tin or secure them with clips.

Combine the egg and sugar in the bowl of an electric stand mixer. Using the paddle attachment beat on speed 4 (below medium) for 8 minutes until you have a thick and pale foam.

While the mix beats, weigh the bittersweet chocolate into a small heatproof bowl. Heat the butter to bubbly hot (stovetop or microwave) and pour it over. Stir until the chocolate has melted and is smooth.

 
Scrape the warm chocolate/butter mix into the egg mix and beat for 5 minutes on speed 5 (medium) - it will look like a fluffy and flowy chocolate mousse. While it mixes weigh the flour and cocoa together and sift into a small bowl. Weigh the salt flakes on top. Chop the extra-dark chocolate into fine shards and add 65g to a separate bowl. Tear up the cream cheese into small hazelnut-sized chunks to sit on top of the chocolate. Set aside.

Stop the mixer and tip in the sieved dry ingredients. Beat on speed 2 (above low) for 1 minute until the flour is absorbed. Take the bowl off the mixer and stir in the chocolate and cream cheese. Some cream cheese lumps will remain and some will smear through, lightening the batter slightly all of this is good. Scrape the batter into the prepared tin and smooth the top with an offset spatula. Press the frozen raspberries (fresh ones will scorch) into the top after smoothing the batter and then scatter the remaining extra-dark chocolate on top.

If you find a few too large nuggets of cream cheese when scraping and smoothing, massage them into the ideal size with the tip of your offset spatula. Bake for 25-30 minutes (mine took 40-45 minutes at 170°C, conventional) until the top of the brownie is slightly puffed, has a noticeable cracked border about 2 cm from the edge and fine fissures further across the surface. My Perfect Squidge Temperature (PST) hits at 95°C (205°F), with sticky clumps of mottled paste (not liquid chocolate).

Bake for 5 - 10 minutes longer if you want a more cakey brownie (internal temperature 100°C/210°F). If you want super-gooey filling, cook it for 5-10 minutes less, but you will definitely have to chill before cutting. Internal temperature taking is genius for brownies - no matter the batter, recipe or oven, you can always get the squidge right.

Cool at room temperature for around 30 minutes before cutting with a hot, damp knife, or chill it for a creamy fudge texture. The first warm bar, with still-molten chocolate chunks, is one of the greatest kitchen gifts bestowed upon a home baker. The brownies can be kept covered in the fridge for up to 2 weeks. Allow the brownies to soften to room temperature or zap to re-soften before eating.

Adaptrix

It's a bit nutty
Add 60g roughly chopped (to about the size of your pinky fingertip) lightly toasted nuts, keeping a smattering to sprinkle on top. Pecans and walnuts are faves for the mellifluous texture. Avoid almonds, as they are too jarring against the soft brownie texture. Hazelnuts get a hall pass if chopped to a medium coarseness (half pinky fingertip). Heads up, they are very, very good with the Mocha Adaptrix.

Mocha
Coffee, more than salt or vanilla, will elevate the chocolate flavour - I add this for adults. Add 3g of instant coffee powder to dissolve with the hot butter.

The big chill
Score maximum brownie points and make the batter, then delay the bake. After smoothing the batter into the tin, chill overnight, uncovered is fine. Bake as above - just increase the time by 10+ minutes to allow for the cold start. Some baking boffins swear this melds the ingredients to make a better brownie. I just like that I can mix, rest and bake for easy warm brownie joy.

As promised, these brownies were very rich and squidgy, so I cut them into 12 small pieces. I shared the brownies with my neighbours and they were big fans.

See you all again next week with some more baking from my kitchen.

Bye for now,

Jillian