Chocolate Cheesecake Swirl Brownies (Dairy free, vegan, GF)

Recipe inspiration courtesy of: Ela Vegan

 

Photo credit: Ela Vegan

 

Ingredients:

Chocolate Layer:

• 3/4cup rice flour or all purpose flour if you aren’t gluten free
• 1/4cup tapioca flour or cornstarch
• 2flax eggs or chia eggs *see instructions below
• 3/4cup date sugar or brown sugar
• 1/2cup cocoa powder
• 1/3cup nut/seed butter of choice (e.g. cashew butter)
• 2/3cup coconut milk or oat milk (or any nut milk you like).
  • *Pro tip! If you don’t have liquid nut milk on hand, mix together 2/3 cup of hot water with 4 TBSP of Coconut Cloud creamer powder (any flavor).
• 1tsp vanilla extract
• 1/4tsp baking soda
• 1pinch of salt

 

Cheesecake Layer:

• 1(12.3 oz) package silken tofu (use firm silken tofu or soft regular tofu)
• 4-5tbsp Erythritol or cane/granulated sugar
• 2tbsp cornstarch
• 2 1/2tbsp coconut oil
• 1tsp vanilla extract
• 3-4tbsp lemon juice or lime juice (to achieve that “cheesecake” taste/tang)

 

Directions:

• To make the flax eggs (or chia eggs), put 2 tbsp ground flax seeds (or chia seeds) into a small bowl, add 5 tbsp water and mix with a whisk. Set aside for 5 minutes.
• Preheat the oven to 360°F and line a 7x7 inch or 8x8 inch baking pan with parchment paper.
• Add all ingredients for the chocolate layer into a big bowl and mix well with an electric hand mixer until combined.
• For the cheesecake layer: Blend all ingredients in a high-speed blender or food processor until completely smooth and creamy. An immersion blender should work fine too.
• Use 2 different tablespoons to dollop the brownie batter and the cheesecake batter into the pan.
• Bake in the oven for about 30-45 minutes or until a toothpick comes out almost clean (not wet but not dry either). So test the center after 30 minutes, then after 35 minutes, etc. Do NOT over-bake the brownies! I have a gas oven and it took about 40 minutes until they turned out perfect. But they might be done after only 35 minutes or even less with a different oven (or different sized pan). So pay close attention.
• Let cool completely before you cut it into bars. The brownies taste best on the second day, so don't eat them all on the first day!