It’s that time of year where most people are excitedly waiting for pumpkin spice everything to make its annual appearance. Meanwhile, I am over here hanging on to the last few weeks of summer, hoping that the warm days of August will stick around a little longer. Don’t get me wrong, I love fall just as much as the next gal, but I am so not ready for cooler nights and having to turn the heat back on. Plus, I wouldn’t exactly call myself a fan of Pumpkin Spice (GASP!). I would much rather stick to the sweet flavors of summer, especially when it means I can bake incredible treats like mini strawberry cheesecake fudge brownies!
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I don’t know about you, but there are few things in this world that I find more decadent than a rich, dark fudge brownie, except perhaps the smooth creaminess of a sweet and tangy cheesecake. After baking the insanely delicious Blackberry Cheesecake Brownie from Broma Bakery while I was pregnant with my little one, I immediately went to work on creating my own version of this incredible recipe.
I can’t even begin to tell you how many batches I made while I was pregnant. This is the type of treat a pregnant woman’s dreams are made of!
After a number of trials and errors in the kitchen, including many burnt desserts, I finally managed to come up with the perfect recipe. These bite-sized strawberry cheesecake fudge brownies give you the exact amount of flavor you want, without leaving you feeling like you have over indulged. Unless of course, you are anything like me, who eats half the batch before they have had a chance to cool. Trust me, they are way better when they have had the chance to cool down. I just happen to be incredibly impatient.
Another great thing about this dessert is that you can substitute almost any fruit in place of the strawberries – well certainly any berry. This treat is just as delicious when made with raspberries, blueberries and even cherries! (we are so lucky to have two cherry trees in our backyard).
Now, I do have to make a few quick notes before getting to the recipe for strawberry cheesecake fudge brownies.
- The pictures I posted show cute little muffin tin liners. Do not use these. The paper will rip and stick to your brownie. I recommend preparing your mini muffin tin with a non-stick spray instead. Or use small squares of parchment paper.
- I do not own a stand mixer (though one day this beautiful blue KitchenAid mixer will be mine
). Using a stand mixer to combine the ingredients for the cheesecake portion of this recipe would be a much more efficient use of your time than trying to do so by hand. Creaming these ingredients by hand is not a good time.
- These brownies are damn delicious! While I always encourage sharing, because you know – sharing is caring, I would be careful who you share these with, or you won’t have any for yourself!
Now, without further ado….
Incredible Mini Strawberry Cheesecake Fudge Brownies
The perfect pairing of decadent rich, dark fudge brownie and the smooth creaminess of sweet strawberry cheesecake, in a bite-sized treat
Ingredients
Strawberry Puree Ingredients
- 1 cup fresh or frozen strawberries
- 1/4 cup water
- 1/4 cup sugar (more or less to taste)
Brownie Ingredients
- 6 Tbsp unsalted Butter, melted
- 1 Large Egg
- 1 tsp Vanilla Extract
- 3/4 cup Sugar
- 1/4 tsp Salt
- 6 Tbsp Cocoa Powder
- 1/4 cup Flour
Cheesecake Ingredients
- 1 Large Egg, room temperature
- 1/4 cup Vanilla Greek Yogurt
- 1/4 cup Sugar
- 1/4 tsp Salt
- 1 Pkg Cream Cheese (8ounces), softened
Instructions
Strawberry Puree
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Combine all ingredients for the Strawberry Puree in a medium sized saucepan. Cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, for approximately 10 minutes. The strawberries should easily break down when pressed. Once the puree has finished cooking, use a fine mesh strainer to strain the liquid into a small bowl. Allow the liquid to cool while preparing the brownie and cheesecake.
Cheesecake Brownie Preparation
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Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Prepare your mini muffin tin by spraying with a non-stick spray, or use parchment paper/liners. In a large bowl, combine butter, vanilla, sugar, salt, and egg. Once combined, fold in flour and cocoa powder.
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Spoon a small amount of brownie batter into mini muffin tin - just under half full as your brownies will rise. Place brownies into the oven and cook for 9-10 minutes.
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As the brownies are cooking in the oven, in a large bowl combine all cheesecake ingredients. Cream together until smooth (approximately 3-4 minutes if using a stand mixer).
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Remove brownies from oven once the timer has gone off. Spoon cheesecake mixture on top of brownies, filling each space. Using a small spoon, drizzle Strawberry Puree on top of cheesecake mixture. You can swirl the strawberry puree into the cheesecake mixture by using a toothpick.
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Place muffin tin back into the oven and continue to cook for 10-12 minutes until the edges of the cheese cake begin to golden. Depending on the oven, you may want to start checking at 8 minutes or so. You can also insert a toothpick into the center and if it comes out mostly clean you know they are done.
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Allow cooling for at least 10 minutes before removing from tin. Continue to cool in the refrigerator for at least 1 hour. Store in an airtight container.
Recipe Notes
- As mentioned above, you can substitute any berry in place of the strawberry. Feel free to be as creative as you like!
- These can be made in a regular muffin as well, although I can not confirm cooking times. I would suggest cooking the brownie for at least 15 minutes before adding the cheesecake and cook the cheesecake anywhere from 12-15 minutes as well.
- This recipe makes 3 dozen mini strawberry cheesecake fudge brownies.
If you are looking for more fun summer recipes check out my Summer Strawberry Peach Salsa recipe and my Copycat Earls Warm Potato Salad Recipe!
Also, I would love to hear from you, so comment below with your favorite dessert!
Thanks for the head’s up about not using the liners. Good to know. Pinning this!
It could very well have been the liners I chose to use, but they kept sticking to the bottom of the brownie. I don’t know about you, but eating paper is not on the top of my list! haha! Parchment paper works great – at least it won’t tear and stick to the brownie.
Yum!! These look incredible!!
Thank you!
Omg! Just looking at these picture makes my mouth water! I looked at the recipe and I have all those ingredients! I really want to make this now! Looks so delicious!! And bite size is perfect !!!
If you have the ingredients you should absolutely make these! I promise you will not regret it and they are sure to be a hit. If you make them I would love to hear what you think!!
These look so yummy! Especially to a girl like me who is a huge fan of cheesecake; )
Cheesecake is basically what dreams are made of (at least for me!). Trust me, these little treats are absolutely delicious!
OMG this looks like heaven on earth!! I love strawberry cheesecake! I am def going to have to try these out ASAP with the kids!
I’m definitely pinning these! My husband loves cheesecake!
They look so cute and very yummy!! and I love bite size stuff – keeping the recipe for later.
These look so good!!! Love that you can use frozen strawberries in them.
you can use basically any frozen berry! They are super versatile!
Wow, This really looks yummy and I would love to try this now, Perfect for my stress reliever.
They certainly do help with stress! In my opinion at least 🙂
These look so good. My whole family loves cheesecake.
These look sooooo yummy!! I am going to make these for our camping trip next week!
Did you end up making them? How did they turn out?
OMGoodness!! These look beyond amazing! I wkll be pinning these to try when i get chance.
BTW I’m in the UK where there isn’t the whole pumpkin spice craze so I have never tried it *double gasp*
You aren’t missing out on much! unless of course, you love pumpkin and chai tea! I used to work at Starbucks, which essentially started the whole craze, and I could just never get into it.
If you end up making the brownies you should let me know how you like them!
My 2 favorite desserts in one dish! I’m definitely making this recipe this weekend!
You should make sure to tell me how they turned out!
I love strawberry cheesecake fudge!! So yummy if I knew about this last year when I was pregnant I would have had them every day
They are dangerous that is for sure. Whenever I make them, they never last very long!
Thanks for a tasty idea!
I stink at most tiny desserts, but my brownies usually turn out so perhaps I’ll try these.
These ones are surprisingly easy! you can also make them a little larger and just increase the cooking time!
OMG These are Incredibly cute and mouth watering… I will surely try these out.
Let me know how you like them! I promise they are super delicious!
I’m with you, I’ll take cheesecake over pumpkin anything, any day, any time!! These look YUM!!
Right?! Cheesecake is basically magic in my books!
I will try this recipe.
These little morsels look delicious. I have a few cupcake wrappers but use silicone wrappers for everything so I’m good to go minus strawberries and cream cheese.
They look so delicious. I’m looking for some nice recipes because I’m going to visit my husband nephews and I want to bake sth with them:)
Oh goodness! I am not a good cook but I have pinned this post because I must try it. Looks amazing.
They are surprisingly easy to make. Hopefully, I was clear enough in my instructions. Trust me, if you make them – they will be a hit!