Esmeralda Stone

My newest book is fighting me. Or, more to the point, I’m fighting with myself, trying to get the beginning of the book right. And not perfect, just introducing the characters in the right way, without making too much happen all at once. It’s only going okay, so I did what any sensible writer does when they’re stuck, and I made brownies.

But not just any brownies. These are the sour cherry cheesecake brownies that Emily makes for Oz in Lasting Remains. And as Oz finds out, these brownies really are like crack. There’s something about the tartness of the cherries, the creamy tanginess of the cream cheese, and dark, decadent chocolate that works so perfectly, it’s difficult to stop eating them.

The original Sour Cherry Cheesecake Brownie recipe came from Judy Rosenberg’s “The Rosie’s Bakery All-Butter, Cream-filled, Sugar-Packed Baking Book.” If you aren’t familiar with this book, and you’re a fan of desserts, I highly recommend picking up a copy. I have yet to make a bad recipe out of this book.

Here’s what you need to make these brownies:

Cheesecake filling:
8 ounces cream cheese at room temperature
1/4 cup sugar
1 tablespoon sour cream
2 large egg yolks

Brownies:
3 1/2 ounces unsweetened chocolate
12 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 1/2 cups sugar
2 large eggs at room temp
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
3/4 cup drained canned pitted sour cherries

So, that’s what the recipe calls for. I divert on a few things. We very rarely keep baking chocolate in the house. We just don’t use it enough and it can get funky. But we always have unsweetened cocoa powder. I substitute three tablespoons of cocoa powder plus one tablespoon of vegetable oil for each ounce of baking chocolate. For this recipe, I used 10 1/2 tablespoons of cocoa and three tablespoons of oil. And I used a mix of Ghirardelli’s 100% cocoa Dutch-Process and King Arthur’s Black Cocoa Powder.

I also used frozen sweet and tart cherries. I try to get mostly the tart cherries, but I throw in a few sweet ones, too. I cut them up (because one of our sons doesn’t like the big chunks) and I probably use over a cup. I prep the cherries first so they have time to mostly thaw out and I squeeze the juice out of them (just in my hand) before adding them to the brownies.

I do add vanilla, but I’ll be honest, I don’t think it’s necessary. And I cut the sugar back in the brownie ingredients. I think I added about a cup and a quarter this time, but I think I’ll cut it again the next time I make them. Oh, and I use salted butter because that’s what we generally have in the house.

So, the way I put these together (which is not exactly how the book tells you to do it) is after prepping my cherries, I put the ingredients for the cheesecake filling in a bowl and whip it until it’s smooth.

Then I chop up the butter and add it to a large saucepan, along with the vegetable oil. Once the butter starts melting, I add the cocoa and mix. Once it’s combined and the butter is mostly melted, I pull it off the heat, mixing every now and again until all the butter is melted. Add your sugar and mix until it’s all combined. (It’s going to look grainy, but that’s okay.) I let it cool for three to five minutes. While this is cooling, go ahead and lightly grease a 9×9 or 7×11 baking pan. I use butter to do this.

After your butter/cocoa mixture is mostly cool, add the vanilla (if you’re adding it), and mix. Then add the eggs one at a time, mixing until each egg is full incorporated. Then add your flour and stir it in until it’s completely combined. The brownie batter should now be a thick, fudgy consistency that doesn’t stick much to your rubber spatula or the pan.

Spread half the brownie batter into the baking pan. Smooth the cheesecake filling layer over the brownie batter, and then sprinkle the cherries over the cheesecake filling. (Remember, if you used frozen cherries, squeeze out the juice. Mine were still slightly frozen when I spread them and it was still fine). Dollop the rest of the brownie batter over the cherries and carefully spread it over the cherries so everything is covered.

Bake on the middle rack at 325 degrees (F) for about 50 minutes. My middle was still a little underdone at 50, so I let it go another three minutes. But test the brownies with a wooden toothpick and pull them out when the toothpick is clean.

After the brownies have cooled, I cover the pan and store them in the refrigerator because of the cream cheese. They also freeze beautifully and are just as good out of the freezer.

So there you have it – the brownies from Lasting Remains. Not quite the exact recipe from The Rosie’s Bakery book (I almost always play with recipes), but pretty damn close.

May your weekend be filled with chocolate, cherries, and non-frustrating beginnings!

E.S.