Lemon Swirl Cheesecake Brownies Recipe

How to make it

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• For the crust:
• Preheat the oven to 325° and position a rack in the center.
• Butter a 9-inch-square nonstick baking pan or glass baking dish.
• In a food processor, pulse flour with sugar, lemon zest and salt.
• Add butter and pulse just until a soft, crumbly dough forms. (Don't overdo it or your crust will be tough. The mixture should look like coarse meal)
• Press dough evenly over the bottom and about ½ inch up the side of the pan.
• Bake the crust for 20 minutes, or until golden and firm.
• For the filling:
• In a small bowl, dissolve cornstarch in water.
• In a medium sauce-pan, whisk egg yolks with ¾ cup sugar and lemon juice.
• Whisk in cornstarch mixture and cook over moderate heat, whisking gently, until sugar is dissolved and lemon mixture is hot, about 4 minutes.
• Boil over moderately high heat for 1 minute, whisking constantly, until mixture is thick and glossy.
• Strain lemon mixture into a heatproof bowl. Stir in the lemon zest and let cool.
• In a large bowl, using an electric mixer, beat cream cheese with remaining 1 cup sugar until smooth.
• Beat in flour until blended (but don’t overmix).
• Add eggs, 1 at a time, beating well between additions.
• Add sour cream and vanilla and beat until batter is smooth.
• Pour cream cheese batter over crust and smooth surface with a spatula or the back of a spoon.
• Drop dollops of the lemon mixture on the cheesecake batter and carefully swirl it into the batter; take care NOT to cut into the crust.
• Bake cheesecake for about 40 minutes, or until golden around the edge and just set.
• Remove from oven and run the tip of a knife around the edge to loosen the cheesecake from the side of the pan.
• Allow to cool for at least an hour, then refrigerate until thoroughly chilled.
• Cut into 16 bars and serve.
• NOTE: Use the back of a table knife to gently swirl together the lemon mixture and the cheesecake batter. Take care not to swirl too much – each mixture should remain distinct so that you get a nice white and yellow pattern on top.
• (By the way, I just purchased a really cool La Forme square springform pan from Chef's Resource. With this pan, you never have to dig the first two or three squares out to allow access to the rest of the brownies. It's a great thing to have if you make a lot of brownies and dessert bars. La Forme makes a rectangular springform pan as well.)

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