Fudgy Cheesecake Brownies

Preheat the oven to 350 and butter a 9 x 9 cake pan, line it with parchment and butter the parchment.  Melt the butter over low heat in a small pot (or carefully in a glass bowl in the microwave), then remove the pot from the heat and stir in the chocolate until it’s melted and well combined with the butter.  Put the eggs and sugar in a large bowl and use a hand-mixer (or a whisk, if you’re feeling tough), and beat them together for a minute or so until frothy.  Scrape in the chocolate and butter, mix well, then sift in the flour, cocoa and salt and beat it all together until well combined.  Pour all but about a 1/2 cup into your prepared pan and start on the topping.

In a separate medium bowl, beat together the 4 topping ingredients until the mix is smooth – I just rinsed my hand mixer, but again, feel free to attempt using a whisk.  Spoon the topping over the batter in the pan, drizzle the last 1/2 cup of batter over top and then use the tip of a knife to weave your way all over the top, spreading the topping, blending it with the batter (and making a fancy design).  Bake for about 45 minutes.  You want the brownies to barely jiggle in the middle when you give the pan a wiggle, but this is a guessing game.  Allow the brownies to cool completely before cutting – these also freeze beautifully!