Brownie Cheesecake
Creamy, versatile Brownie Cheesecake with a chocolate crumb crust, a 4-ingredient batter, and brownies mix-ins. Smooth, satisfying, and crack-free!
Servings: 12
Calories: 566kcal
Equipment
- 9-inch springform pan
- electric handheld mixer or stand mixer
Ingredients
Chocolate Crust
- 1 ½ cups graham cracker or chocolate animal cracker crumbs (5 ounces; from 2 ½ cups of chocolate animal crackers)
- 5 tablespoons butter (70 grams; melted)
- 3 tablespoons sugar (45 grams)
- ⅛ teaspoon table salt
Cheesecake Filling
- 24 ounces cream cheese (3 packages, completely at room temperature)
- 1 cup sugar (200 grams)
- 1 teaspoon vanilla (5 grams)
- 4 eggs (200 grams)
- 2 cups brownie cubes (completely thawed, if previously frozen)
Ganache
- ¾ cups chocolate chips or chopped chocolate (4.5 ounces/130 grams)
- 4.5 tablespoons heavy cream (2.25 ounces/68 grams)
Instructions
Chocolate Crust
- Grind animal crackers until fine in food processor if you haven't already. Add melted butter, sugar, and salt and process until well combined. (You can also mix this together in a bowl if you already have crumbs.)
- Gently pat along the bottom and press 1 inch up the sides of a greased 9- or 9.5-inch Springform pan with 3-inch sides. The height doesn't need to be perfect. Bake for 8-10 minutes at 350F. Set aside briefly while you make the batter.
- While you make the batter, place a metal pan on the bottom rack of your preheated oven, and heat about 1 cup of water on the stove.
Cheesecake Filling
- Beat (your completely softened) cream cheese with an electric or stand mixer at medium speed for about 4 minutes. Don't skimp! You need proper aeration.
- Scrape down the bowl, and add sugar and vanilla. Beat at medium speed for another full 4 minutes.
- Scrape down the bowl again. Add eggs on low speed, 1 at a time, scraping down the bowl and beating for 1 minute per egg each time - so, another 4 minutes.
- Gently fold in brownie bites with a rubber spatula. (You can also do this with your stand mixer, briefly on low speed.)
- Pour batter into the crust. Tap the pan on the counter several times to release air bubbles from the batter. Place pan on top of another baking sheet (to minimize drips from the seams of your pan).
- Place your cheesecake and baking sheet on the oven's middle rack. Pour preheated water from your pot or teapot into the preheated metal pan on the oven's bottom rack, being very careful to avoid letting water drip onto the oven door's glass (which would crack). Also, don't burn yourself!
- Bake the cheesecake at 350F for 45 minutes, until the cake is set 2-3 inches from the edge but still wobbly and damp looking in the center. It will keep cooking as it cools. Do not overbake.
- Cool in the oven with the door propped open with a wooden (not metal or plastic) spoon. Remove it after 1 hour, when you can remove it with your bare hands.
- Cool at room temperature for another hour. After these two hours of cooling time, refrigerate for at least 2 hours before making the ganache.
Ganache
- Remove the completely chilled cheesecake from the fridge while you make the ganache.
- Place chocolate and cream in a microwave safe bowl. Microwave in 15-second bursts, stirring after each one, until chocolate is melted and smooth. At 1 minute, switch to 10-second bursts.
- Spread over cheesecake. Let ganache set for 30 minutes before serving or refrigerating.
Serving and Storage
- Remove from refrigerator 15 minutes before serving. Store leftovers tightly sealed in the fridge, since cheesecake absorbs flavors.
- Cheesecake is best in the first few days after it's made, but is still good up to 5 days later. After that, the taste is still good, but the texture firms up and changes.
Notes
Pat your crust into the pan lightly, or it will be hard to cut.
Cream cheese must be completely softened, or your cheesecake will have lumps.
Completely mix the cream cheese as above for the best texture and baking results. Do not overbeat the eggs beyond what's listed above; you don't want to beat air into the eggs.
From a 9-inch pan, you'll need about 2 rows of brownies.
I use leftover brownies that I've frozen and then thawed. I've also used fudge that I've frozen and thawed. Cookie crumbles, chocolate chips, graham crackers, and pieces of cake also work great. Whatever add-in you use, bring it to room temperature before adding.
I use a steam method to prevent cracks instead of using a water bath, as most recipes call for. This, combined with slow and gradual cooling, reduces cracks.
Leftover cheesecake may be tightly wrapped in plastic wrap and then foil, and frozen.
Recipe adapted from Smitten Kitchen, with instructions enhanced from Dorie Greenspan's Baking. Calorie count is an estimate only.
Recipe revised 11/18/2025.
Nutrition
Calories: 566kcal
