The best of all desserts.
These mocha cheesecake brownies are every bit as decadent and rich as they appear. They’re incredibly dense with a thick layer of sweet cheesecake and plenty of mocha flavor. If you love coffee, if you love chocolate, if you love brownies, if you love cheesecake, and—heck! if you love dessert—you must whip up a batch.
We’ll begin with the brownie layer. Now, I’m not going to try to convince you that my homemade brownies are better than box brownies (they are) but I AM going to tell you that my homemade frosted brownies recipe is one of the most popular recipes on my blog. And homemade brownies really aren’t that difficult to make.
To make homemade brownies, you have to start with really quality ingredients. My brownie recipe has butter, pure chocolate (key to the best flavor!), sugar, eggs, vanilla, flour, cocoa powder, espresso powder, and a little salt. About the chocolate? I’m talking about pure chocolate, not chocolate chips. Pure chocolate sold in bar form in the baking aisle. For the sugar? Sometimes I use brown and white granulated sugar, but since this brownie recipe has a sweet cheesecake layer, I only use white granulated sugar and I slightly reduced the amount.
I don’t like to use too much flour in my homemade brownies because I like to keep them as dense and fudgy as possible. More flour equals a cakey brownie. A little bit of cocoa powder intensifies the chocolate flavor. Don’t leave it out. You can use natural unsweetened or dutched cocoa. Espresso powder gives the brownies their mocha flavor. You can find espresso powder in most major grocery stores in the coffee aisle or purchase it online. If you pick up a new jar, know that you’ll use it often your baking. It’s fantastic in recipes like chocolate cake, mocha blondies, and Guinness chocolate cupcakes. Here are all of my recipes using espresso powder if you need ideas.
Notice how there is no leavening agent in these brownies? I do not add baking powder or soda to my brownies because I prefer them as dense (not airy or cakey!) as possible.
And, finally. The eggs. Eggs are crucial to making the very best brownies. I’ve told you once, I’ve told you a million times… eggs do hundreds of things in baking. From binding, to adding richness, to tenderizing, to providing structure and lift. My homemade brownie recipe uses 3 large high-quality eggs, which give the brownies a tight crumb, rich flavor, and the ultimate fudge-like texture.
Think a chocolate truffle meets chocolate fudge. That’s the texture of the homemade brownie layer.
The cheesecake layer! Super simple here: just brick-style cream cheese, sugar, 1 egg, and vanilla extract. I also add a fun secret ingredient: white chocolate chips. The white chocolate chips melt in the cheesecake layer as the brownies bake. And it tastes absolutely divine. They give the layer that little something extra. I added them at the last minute and, as it turns out, it was the best brownie decision ever.
The cheesecake layer is spread between two layers of brownies. So, you’ll spread half of the brownie batter into the pan, followed by the cheesecake, then the remaining brownie batter. Halving the brownie batter for the layers doesn’t have to be exact. It’s ok if there isn’t as much batter for the top layer—just do your best to spread it around on top of the cheesecake layer. It’ll taste good no matter how you layer it.
A sprinkle of mini chocolate chips on top of everything seals the deal: the amount of chocolate in these brownies is OUT OF CONTROL.
Moist, rich, and fudgy with coffee flavor and an absurd amount of chocolate… these mocha cheesecake brownies are the QUEEN of dessert.
Try my Nutella swirl cheesecake bars, coconut cheesecake brownies, or mint chocolate chip cheesecake brownies next. You are welcome.
Indulgently rich and fudgy homemade mocha brownies are layered with white chocolate chip-studded cheesecake. They're moist, rich, and fudgy with coffee flavor and lots of chocolate!
