To me, brownies are the Plain Jane of the dessert table. I'll usually pass over those stodgy squares for something more pert, like lemon squares or a cup of pudding. But add something creamy to the top of a brownie, or perhaps some tart fruit, and I'm all in. These brownies are all dressed up and ready to catch someone's eye: Their thick, fudgy bottom is studded with raspberries and topped with a sweet, creamy goat cheese swirl.
Together, the dark chocolate and the creamy topping make these far more irresistible.
I've always been a fan of goat cheese in desserts; its mellow funkiness is more interesting than plain cream cheese. I use both here — cream cheese to make sure the topping is creamy enough, and goat cheese for serious flavor. Raspberries are a classic pair with goat cheese, and I love them with chocolate, so I swirled them into the topping, and baked them into the brownies themselves.
And now, let's talk about those brownies. The brownie base here is thick and fudgy, although not the melt-in-your-mouth candied texture I usually prefer. The base needed to be a bit sturdier to hold up all that creamy, fruity goodness. But the texture is still on the moist, dense, and fudgy side, getting even moister as the brownies sit overnight underneath that topping. No cakey, crumbly brownie here. (Because, in my book, a "cakey brownie" is just another way to say, "failed brownie.")
You can use fresh raspberries or frozen; both are quite good. If you use frozen, defrost them before using.
And there you have it: A brownie that will get even my attention on the dessert table: Dark chocolate, with a swirl of cream and hot pink. A Valentine, from me to you.
Dark Chocolate Brownies with Raspberry Goat Cheese Swirl
Makes about 30 small brownie squares
Raspberries
2 cups raspberries, lightly mashed
2 tablespoons brandy or Kirsch
Brownies
8 ounces unsweetened chocolate, chopped
2 ounces bittersweet chocolate, chopped
3/4 cup (12 tablespoons) unsalted butter, cut into chunks
1/2 cup milk
2 cups sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
4 large eggs
1 cup flour
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
Raspberry Goat Cheese Swirl
8 ounces goat cheese, softened at room temperature for an hour
4 ounces cream cheese, softened at room temperature for an hour
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened at room temperature for an hour
1 egg
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon almond extract
Heat the oven to 350ºF and lightly grease a 9x13-inch baking pan (or any 3-quart dish, like the gratin dish I use here) with butter or baking spray. Place the raspberries in a bowl and stir in the brandy or Kirsch. Set aside.
Melt the chocolate and butter until liquid in a 3-quart (or larger) saucepan over low heat. When the chocolate is completely melted, remove from the heat, whisk in the milk, and cool for about 5 minutes. Stir in the sugar and vanilla. Stir in the eggs one by one. Add the flour, baking powder, and salt and fold in until just combined. Fold in about half of the raspberries and spread this brownie batter in the prepared pan.
In the bowl of a stand mixer (or with hand beaters, or by hand with a heavy whisk) beat the goat cheese with the cream cheese, butter, egg, sugar, and almond extract until light and fluffy. Gently fold in the other half of the raspberries and their juices. Drop the goat cheese mixture on top of the brownie batter in spoonfuls, then swirl it through the batter with a knife. Bake for 30 minutes or until just barely set. The top will be just turning light brown. Let cool for at least 10 minutes before slicing.
Store at room temperature, well-covered. The flavor and texture of these brownies really bloom when you let them rest overnight.
More Brownies from The Kitchn
• Look! Brownies Baked in Egg Shells
• How to Get a Crunchy Top on Brownies
• Extra-Dark Brownies with Sea Salt & Lime
• One Bowl Mascarpone Brownies
• Gooey and Fudgy: Hershey's Ultimate Chocolate Brownies
(Images: Faith Durand)





Mick Haigh Bowls fr...

Comments (30)
Faith, this recipe is going to be the death of me - IT LOOKS SOOO YUMMY!
i almost just drooled on my keyboard.
then i scrolled down to see the 67 page recipe with 45 ingrediants. wahhhh :( if someone wants to bake these and ship them to me i'd be very grateful.
**ingredients
i'm so upset i can't spell
Now now - there's not even a third of 45 ingredients here. ;) Some are listed twice, since I separated out the different components of the brownies, to make things simpler. It looks longer than it is. You can skip the almond extract in the topping, too, and just use vanilla, if that's what you've got. You can do it!
Oh yum! I want to eat these for dinner!
So say I didn't want to use goat cheese, could I straight up replace the 8 oz of goat cheese with 8 oz of cream cheese?
How dare you, Kitchn. How dare you.
@RGS_ yep, totally. These would be great with all cream cheese as well.
Awesome thanks.
you talked me into it. i'm going to attempt these tonight.
i dont have any brandy around, could sugar be used just to get the jucies flowing?
@CCB12 good idea - absolutely! You can also just fold them in without macerating at all -- they'd be fine that way too.
faith. this look insane! I don't have the will power for a whole plate of those around but they are perfect for the next special occasion!!
@Sprouted Kitchen, thank you! And yes - these went straight off to the office with my husband. Hungry grad students are very useful, in this line of work. :)
These look amazing! Thank you so much for this recipe
well, that solves valentines day.
YOU PASS UP BROWNIES FOR LEMON SQUARES?!
The dish looks delicious. Want to try it one of these days for my family in our gatherings. You might also want to visit www.gourmandia.fr and www.everythinglemon.com for more exciting recipes that you'll surely love. Enjoy!!
Egad. I'm so hungry I can't even speak.
Wow, these look amazing! I love chocolate and raspberries together and am intrigued by the addition of goats cheese, which is something I simply adore.
Ha ha! All the drawbacks I had -- frozen berried instead of fresh, no brandy at home, sub almond essence, use all cream cheese instead of goat's -- just got answered. Now I have to make them. Perfect for our housewarming BBQ in two weeks (so of course I gotta test the recipe...)
I've been berried... meant berries of course. This is what this recipe does to you.
That looks awesome and right on time :) We have a huge brownie addiction in my house, but I'm tired of the plain kind. This recipe looks just perfect, and I can make half just simple way ( for kids) and other half with extra brandy for grown-ups ! Brilliant :)
I'm going to make these for my husband's b-day and he is going to just die... raspberries and goat cheese are two of his favorites... I'm sure he's never had them together and he'll never expect such a thing! Thanks for the inspiration!
I tried this last night but was very disappointed. While the brownie tasted rich, the goat cheese was too overpowering. The flavor didn't blend with the chocolate. I think using cream cheese alone would have been a better choice. I would try this recipe again, but omit the goat cheese.
And I prefer cake-y brownies. Oh well.
I made this last night and unfortunately it didn't bake all the way through because the dish I used was too small, area-wise and too deep. I gave up after it had been baking for an hour, because I had to get to a party, with or without the dessert. I'd suggest a long/wide casserole dish rather than just any 3-quart dish. I did manage to sample the edges, which did cook through. Delicious!
I made these last night...definitely taste better after a day of sitting in the pan. Do not cut until a day later. YUM, YUM, YUM!
I made these last night...agree about letting them sit overnight, although they still tasted very good right out of the pan.
A couple things - It took an hour for them to bake as opposed to half an hour, and due to a comment I saw about the goat cheese being too overpowering I switched the goat cheese and cream cheese proportions and the swirl tasted great. Also since I didn't have unsweetened or bittersweet chocolate, I used semisweet morsels, which worked just as great. Delicious!
After making these brownies, I never want the kind from the box again! They were a huge hit at my office bake sale. I also omitted the brandy, goat cheese and almond extract, since the chocolate and raspberry are such assertive flavors on their own.
I think the flavors here are spot on, but I also had trouble getting mine to bake all the way through. I let them go for 45 minutes and pulled them out still a bit early. I used a standard 9x13 pyrex dish, so I think maybe the recipe needs to be amended. Nonetheless my somewhat gooey brownies were a huge hit! Thanks!