I haven't been blogging much or posting recipes lately, for that I apologize....life has gotten in the way. Jade sent me a recipe a few months ago that was similar to this, but as always I had to modify it. True red-velvet cake has either vinegar or buttermilk in it. I also don't believe in artificial coloring so I used beet juice instead of red food coloring. If you want to know the history of red velvet cake you can read this. I made this a couple of weeks ago and we rated it a 3.5 out of 5 stars. I over swirled mine, but even with that the flavor would be the same. I think I would add a little more chocolate next time. Let me know what you think. A Votre Sante!
Ingredients:
1/2 cup butter
2-oz dark chocolate, coarsely chopped
1 cup sugar
2 large eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 Tbsp beet juice
1 Tbsp white vinegar
2/3 cup all purpose flour
1/4 tsp salt
8-oz cream cheese, room temperature (I used light)
1/3 cup sugar
1 large egg
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
cocoa powder for dusting
Directions:
Preheat oven to 350F. Spray or butter the bottom and sides of a glass 8 inch baking dish.
In a small, heatproof bowl, melt butter and chocolate together. I used the mircowave for this, starting with 30 seconds then adding 10 seconds at a time until it was melted. (Mine only took 50 seconds total). Stir until combined and very smooth. Set aside to cool for a few minutes.
In a large bowl, whisk together sugar, eggs, vanilla extract, beet juice and vinegar. Add chocolate mixture and stir until smooth. Add flour and salt and stir until just combined and no streaks of dry ingredients remain. Pour into prepared pan and spread into an even layer.
To prepare cheesecake mixture, beat cream cheese, sugar, egg and vanilla extract in a medium bowl until smooth. Distribute the cheesecake mixture in 8 dollops over batter in the pan. Swirl in with a knife or spatula. Bake for 35-40 minutes, until brownies and cheesecake are set. A knife inserted into the cheesecake mixture should come out clean and the edges will be lightly browned. Dust with cocoa powder. Let cool completely in pan before cutting.
