Red Velvet Cheesecake-Swirled "Brownies"

Red Velvet Cheesecake-Swirled "Brownies"

I wanted something special for the first football game of the year, and since it was also meant to celebrate a few special birthdays, I thought "red velvet." Pretty much everyone likes it, but it looks impressive, and it's easy. That said, layered cake with creamy cheese frosting is not going to hold up well to September's heat and humidity in Miami! So I did some research, and of course, found some "red velvet brownie" recipes. I wanted the cheesecake component, and none of the recipes I found had what I wanted as a balance of simplicity and impressiveness, so I cobbled a couple of recipes together. This is the result!

Brownie base:

• 1 Box Duncan Hines Red Velvet Supreme Cake Mix
• 3/4 cup melted butter
• 1/2 cup water
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1 egg 
• 2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips (1 standard bag) 

Cheesecake layer:

• 2 8-ounce pkgs cream cheese, softened
• 2 eggs
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla 

Heat the oven to 325. Mix the cake mix, melted butter, vanilla, water and egg until thoroughly combined and there are no dry lumps of cake mix left, about 3 minutes. Take 1/2 cup batter out of the bowl. Stir in chocolate chips and spread evenly into a lightly greased 9x13 baking pan.

Beat the cream cheese until smooth and beat in the sugar and then the eggs, one at a time. Stir in

vanilla. Pour over the brownie layer. Drop the reserved 1/2 cup batter on top of the cheesecake layer in random small spoonfuls, then swirl with the tip of a sharp knife until well-marbled.

Bake on the center rack at 325 for 40 minutes and check doneness. They may need up to 55 minutes to bake. Cool completely before cutting, and refrigerate if desired, up to a day ahead, before serving. Refrigerate leftovers.