By Maida Heatter
- Total Time
- 2 hour 30 minutes
- Rating
- 4(395)
- Notes
- Read community notes
The year: 1983. The place: Williamsburg, Va., where representatives from across the globe — and “some of the biggest and brightest names on the American culinary scene” — gathered. The Times’s own Craig Claiborne planned the menus; Paul Prudhomme, Wolfgang Puck and Zarela Martinez cooked; and Maida Heatter provided dessert. Among her offerings were these, chocolate cheesecake brownies, “a formidable new creation” for the time. Here, a layer of pecan-studded brownie meets a sheet of chocolate cheesecake. Make them for a group — or for yourself to eat over time. They freeze well, and can just as well be served frozen.
Featured in: All-American Menus for the Economic Summit
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Ingredients
Yield:16 square brownies or 32 bars or triangles
- 4ounces (1 stick) unsalted butter, plus butter for greasing the pan
- 2ounces unsweetened chocolate
- Pinch of salt, if desired
- 1cup sugar
- ½teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 2large eggs
- ⅓cup unsifted all-purpose flour (bleached or unbleached)
- 1cup toasted pecan halves (see note)
- ½cup packed shredded coconut
- 8ounces cream cheese, at room temperature
- ½cup sugar
- 2tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
- ½teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- A few drops almond extract, optional
- 2large eggs
- 1tablespoon flour
- Cocoa powder, either sweetened or unsweetened, optional
The Brownie Layer
The Chocolate Cheesecake Layer
Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving (16 servings)
294 calories; 21 grams fat; 10 grams saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 7 grams monounsaturated fat; 2 grams polyunsaturated fat; 25 grams carbohydrates; 2 grams dietary fiber; 20 grams sugars; 4 grams protein; 75 milligrams sodium
Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
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Preparation
Step
1
Adjust a rack one-third up from the bottom of the oven and preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
Step
2
Prepare a 9-by-9-by-1¾-inch pan as follows: Turn the pan upside down. Center a 12-inch square of aluminum foil over the pan and fold down the sides and corners to shape the foil. Then turn the pan right side up. Place the foil in the pan and gently press it into place. Place a piece of butter in the pan, heat it in the oven to melt and then brush it all over with a pastry brush or spread it with crumbled wax paper. Set aside.
Step
3
To prepare the brownie layer, place the chocolate and butter in a 2- to 3-quart heavy saucepan over low heat and stir occasionally until melted. Stir in the salt, sugar and vanilla. Remove from heat and stir in the eggs one at a time. Add the flour and stir well to mix, then stir in the pecans and coconut. Turn the batter into the prepared pan and smooth the top. Let stand.
Step
4
To prepare the cheesecake layer, beat the cheese in the small bowl of an electric mixer until it is soft. Add the sugar, two tablespoons cocoa powder, vanilla and almond extracts, eggs and flour, one at a time, beating until incorporated after each addition.
Step
5
Pour the cheesecake mixture in a ribbon over the top of the brownie layer. Smooth the top. Then marbleize the two mixtures slightly as follows: Insert the handle end of a teaspoon almost but not completely to the bottom in one corner of the pan and, with the flat side of the handle, cut through the batter in a wide zigzag pattern. Smooth the top again.
Step
6
Bake for about 40 minutes until a toothpick gently inserted in the middle comes out clean.
Step
7
Cool to room temperature. Then place in the freezer for about one hour until firm.
Step
8
Cover with a piece of wax paper and, on top of that, a cookie sheet. Turn the pan and cookie sheet upside down, remove the pan and peel off the foil. Cover with a cutting board or another cookie sheet and then turn upside down again, leaving the cake right side up.
Step
9
Cut into 16 large squares or 32 bars or triangles, wiping the blade with a damp cloth between cuttings. These may be wrapped individually in clear plastic wrap. But if they are not going to kept cold, using a sieve, sprinkle cocoa over the tops before wrapping to prevent sticking. Store these in the refrigerator or the freezer. They may be served frozen.
Tip
- To toast the pecans, place them in a shallow pan in a 350-degree oven for about 10 to 15 minutes. Cool completely before using.
Ratings
4
out of 5
395
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Cooking Notes
NYCDeke
In heaven these are handed out to all upon entering.
I eat only one triangle (1/32nd of the pan) a day, and spend the following 24 hours looking forward to my next one.
Maryann H
It's time for all NYTimes baking recipes to be given in gram amounts. It results in much more accurate baking results and allows easy scaling of recipes. I would be willing to make an exception for amounts in teaspoons and tablespoons, as it is hard to measure those accurately ;-)
Marle Kelly Kennedy
Her original recipe called for an additional 4 ounces of semisweet and 1/4 cup flour not 1/4 Any ideas why it was changed? I dont know which way is a better way to go?
akalei384@bluewin.vh
hey, how about us expats living abroad? would it be too much of an oversight for you to also mention metric measurements???
Vicki
I recognize Maida Heatter’s inimitable writing style in this recipe and love to see it. She would not approve of any cut backs in the amount of chocolate used.
Marle Kelly Kennedy
Woops... I meant original recipe says1/4 cup flour not 1/3. Did the newly published recipe forget to add 4 ounces of semisweet chocolate?
victoria
Should I use sweetened coconut or unsweetened coconut?
Janice P.
Have to agree with Chris Cav. These weren't very chocolate-y, and not particularly memorable.
Maryann H
The taste of chocolate in recipes depends on the quality of chocolate used. Try Guittard or Valrhona chocolate.
John
These are quite possibly the WORST brownies I've ever had. Not sweet. Mixing the cocoa into the cream cheese makes it indistinguishable from the not-so-chocolately brownie. A waste of time and ingredients.
Tommie
I substituted the chocolate cheesecake for a peanut butter cheesecake by omitting the cocoa powder and adding 1/2 cup of peanut butter and 1/3 cup creme fraiche. I also substituted peanuts for the toasted pecans. A nice little variation.
BeverlyCY
This is an old recipe. I think the NYT now uses metric in almost all its newer recipes.
Alice
Is that sweetened or unsweetened shredded coconut? And what about substituting walnuts for pecans?
Sandra
Absolutely delicious.
Michelle
Easy to follow directions and delicious end result. The cheesecake layer helped balance out the chocolatey brownie.
Jodie
Used hazelnuts instead, and added semi-sweet chips. A new family favorite.
Homer
My favorite brownie! I started making these without the coconut as I usually don't add anything other than lightly toasted nuts to brownies but decided to give them a try as written. I will not go back to the no-coconut version now. Totally shocked that there are people who don't like these in the comments!
Mia
Really liked this and found them chocolatey enough. Cut the sugar in half but I always do that :). Still tasty and sweet and I found the cream cheese layer made them moist. Pretty hard to eat frozen though --- fridge was best! Or the counter :)
gourmeteveryday
Double the chocolate AND the cocoa. Ran out of time to do the fancy flipping but it was fine. Modern day hack: use parchment paper in the bottom and just lift the whole thing out of the pan.
Hafiza
I used Maida Heatter’s original recipe for the brownie base, doubled the chocolate cheesecake layer, adding 3/4 cup melted chocolate to it. When the dessert was done baking and cooled off, I covered its surface with melted white chocolate and finished it off with a decorative swirl of dark chocolate.
Hafiza
Hi, does anyone have all the ingredients in Maida Heatter’s original recipe? Did it have 1 cup of sugar or less? Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks
Ann O’Neill
So aside from the gripe about not getting amounts in grams, there are only 2 ounces unsweetened chocolate and 2T cocoa powder for an entire two layer dessert? A CHOCOLATE dessert? I don’t need a degree from Johnson & Wales to figure out the result won’t have much chocolate flavor.
BC
How long do you mix it when the eggs are added? This last time I made it, it was more dense so wondering if I did something different or wrong.
jewelryjeff
I tried this recipe using unsweetened coconut. I'll try it next time with sweetened, which is moister than unsweetened. As delicious as these were as soon as they came out of the freezer, they were even better the next day.
HhLocke
Doubled the unsweetened chocolate to 4 oz for the brownie base with good results. Otherwise made as directed. These actually tasted better the following day after sitting in the fridge. The brownie part was slightly too crunchy the first day.
Jmdnp
These were perfect for our Father’s Day cookout - served with dusted cocoa on top and vanilla ice cream - a big hit on a hot day! It made a really rich, fudgy brownie (so keep refrigerated) but still developed a nice crust on top - and the brownie layer with the coconut and nuts adds nice texture as well! Although not over the top chocolatey - my husband and son-in-law who are chocoholics loved them as is! I might add a little extra cocoa next time.
Luther
These are crazy good! What a terrific recipe for what are the best brownies I've had. Followed the recipe as written. Absolutely perfect in every way. To change anything here would border on the criminal. Definitely need to be kept refrigerated. Great rich flavor. Really like the rich chocolate taste in both the layers. Can't believe more people haven't fixed these. Thanks so much.
Kimberly
I have to confess, I never made these with the coconut but I do plan to try it someday. I make these and freeze for a party when I don't have time to bake a dessert the day of an event. I do the fancy cut - big squares then cut those into 2 triangle halves- and put the "ugly edges" in a baggie. I pull the ugly edges out later for a snack- no defrosting- as they are just that good! I am also an advocate for metric measurements for EVERYTHING even though I am in the US.
Natalie
This was popular. Lots of chocolate favor (I used King Arthur Dutch cocoa and Baker's unsweetened chocolate) and not too sweet. I skipped the coconut and added slightly more flour. I was not able to swirl the brownie and cheesecake layers and that worked out for me. I liked the two distinctive layers.
Catherine DiNardo
Wow was this good! I added an extra 1/2c sugar to the brownie base and used unsweetened shredded coconut. Also kept the layers separate, without marbleizing . Since it is cherry season, made a cherry sauce that I swirled on the plate with a small triangle of the brownies atop. They were a big hit at our casual lunch party!
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