Saturday, May 25, 2013

Coconut Cheesecake Brownies Recipe

updated: 6/3/13

I wanted more coconut flavor, so it occurred to me to add some sweetened shredded coconut. I was pretty pumped with the results. It's a totally optional ingredient, though, if you don't like the texture. I've also added a note about the pan.




This summer I have four high school or college graduation parties to attend, and I needed a new dessert to add to my repertoire.

With my girls getting older, they're able to play together more (my 7 month old is standing up on her own now, and every time she gets up it looks like she's about to run after my 2 year old). It gives me a few more minutes to get things done throughout the day - and little more time to bake (she said with a devilish grin!)

So since I do love to bake (I'll be honest, I love food - I just wish it didn't show lol) I was pretty excited when it occurred to me to combine two of my favorite recipes - and the results were delicious!

The first part of this recipe sounds simple enough, it's a brownie recipe - but not just any brownies. (No, I can't write anything without a little background story...) My husband and I love watching Food Network, and I think Alton Brown is the man, and I was so sad when I saw that there would never be a new episode of Good Eats again. One of the best recipes I've ever learned from watching Good Eats is Alton's cocoa brownie recipe (in the Art of Darkness II: Cocoa episode). I will never make brownies from a box again because of this recipe.

Then comes the second part of my dessert mash-up. This past Mothers' Day my mom made one of the most delicious (non-chocolate) pies I've ever had. She got the recipe for this Piña Colada Icebox Pie from her boss - it was printed out, but of course I had to find it online and pin it. It's heavenly (and rich!) with a cookie and coconut flake crust, a layer of pineapple, a layer of coconut cheesecake, topped with coconut whipped cream. It was a big hit at the first grad party of this summer, and I highly recommend it.

I was making three of the Piña Colada pies (two for back-to-back parties and one to keep at home she grinned again) and I ended up with extra coconut cheesecake mix. That's when it hit me...........make the brownie batter and combine them!!

And then the heavens opened and a choir of angels rejoiced - okay, okay, I am exaggerating, but it felt pretty momentous at the time.

So, finally, here's the recipe:
(The recipe that follows quotes from both Alton's recipe and the Piña Colada pie recipe. Also, please read the note about the pan you're using before you start.)

Cocoa brownie batter
Ingredients:

4 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 cup sugar
1 cup light brown sugar
1-1/4 cups cocoa
1/2 cup flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 sticks (8 ounces) melted butter

Coconut cheesecake mix
Ingredients:

1 8 ounce package cream cheese, softened
1 cup cream of coconut (make sure to shake/mix it well before you use it)
1 large egg
1/2 cup sweetened shredded coconut (optional)

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 300 degrees F.
2. Grease pan.
3. Prepare brownie batter as follows:
4. Beat all 4 eggs at medium speed until fluffy and light yellow. Do not over-beat. Add vanilla.
5. Sift all dry ingredients together in one bowl.
6. With the mixer on low speed, mix the dry ingredients - about 1/3 of it at a time - into the eggs until combined.
7. On low speed, slowly pour in the melted butter until combined. Set brownie batter aside.
8. Prepare coconut cheesecake mix as follows:
9. Beat cream cheese until smooth.
10. On low speed, slowly pour in cream of coconut until combined.
11. Add egg and shredded coconut and mix until just combined.
12. Pour about 1/2 of the brownie batter into the pan and spread to form a base layer.
13. Spoon remaining brownie batter on top of base layer, either in stripes or in a checkerboard pattern, leaving empty spaces in between.
14. Pour coconut cheesecake mix between brownie batter, into empty spaces.
15. Drag a knife back and forth across the pan (once) and up and down the pan (once) to create a marbled effect.
16. Bake at 300 degrees F for 40-45 minutes, or until a wooden toothpick inserted into the center of the pan comes out almost clean. (If you like your brownies more firm and less fudgy, bake until the toothpick comes out totally clean.)
17. Let cool on rack.
18. ENJOY!

Basically you're making the cocoa brownies and marbling in the coconut cheesecake. If you want to see the brownie batter made step-by-step, I highly recommend watching the Good Eats episode. Alton can explain why doing all the same steps really makes a difference in how they turn out.

Just in case you're curious, I use all-purpose flour, table salt, Hershey's cocoa, Coco Lopez cream of coconut, and Philadelphia cream cheese. (No one is paying me, those are just my personally preferred brands.)

About the pan... when I make brownies I always use the Perfect Brownie Pan (as seen on TV) - one of the most useful gifts I've ever received. I admit that before I used it I was skeptical, but it is the perfect brownie pan, just make sure you Pam the heck out of it. I can't speak for any results when using brownie mix from a box, but from-scratch brownies come out amazing with this pan. While I've never tried the method that Alton uses in the episode, I have no doubt that it's also amazing - Alton has never led me astray.

The Perfect Brownie Pan is ~11in x 7in. If you're using a pan this size, you should half the coconut cheesecake mix (or half the brownie batter if you'd rather have more coconut), since everything won't fit in that pan without making a mess. While I haven't tried it, my best guess is that a 9in x 13in pan would use all of the brownie batter and cheesecake mix.

image from http://www.asseenontvbazar.com/kitchen-products/perfect-brownie-pan/

I also wanted to mention the cream of coconut. Until my mom needed it to make the pie the first time, I had literally never heard of it. I had no idea that it's used to make Piña Colada cocktails/smoothies. My mom searched all over her local grocery store, but they don't carry it (she lives in a small town). Luckily, the liquor store there does carry it. I live in a city, and the grocery store had several cans in the International section. While I didn't need to try it, I found out from Googling that you can substitute with sweetened condensed milk with coconut extract added to taste if necessary.

I'm so glad that I had this ah-ha! moment, and I hope you enjoy - feel free to share how yours came out, too!

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