I actually took my husband’s advice last night. He told me to take a break from chores, cleaning or anything baby-related and sit down to read a random book. He did not think I was going to do it because I tend to be concentrated on tasks on hand.
He was surprised to see me lounging on the couch last night. He was so happy I took his advice. I started reading My Sister’s Keeper by Jodi Picoult. I might be the last person reading this but it was recommended to me and I luckily found it at a garage sale for 0.25 cents. How about that? I have to say it is a VERY good read and I believe I will be done with this book in 2 days. Anyone read it or watched the movie?
Anyway, after a quick dinner last night I decided to to get to making dessert. I was inspired by the Secret Recipe Club when I saw a recipe for Red Velvet Brownies and decided I was going to veganize them and make them OUR dessert for the evening. YUM! Actually I wanted an excuse to use my Natural Decorating Colors from India Tree.
I know I have seen recipes for red velvet desserts using beets as the colorant but I liked the fact that these colors are made from all natural ingredients, like red cabbage, beet and turmeric. Amazing! I hope now you can see why I was excited to use them.
The recipe calls for the brownies to be made in a 9×9 pan but I only had a 10×10 pan for the moment since the others were occupied with casseroles. I actually liked them thinner brownies because it meant I could half 1 1/2 pieces. Ha ha ha, lousy excuse, eh?
My cream cheese topping did not swirl as much as the original recipe but I believe it had to do with not having a thick enough brownie layer so I will try it with the 9×9 dish next time.
Can you believe you do not need eggs to make this dessert set? Flax seed meal played a great part even for the cream cheese topping. Try it! This would be perfect to go with National Coffee Day on Thursday, so have a pan ready.
Who wants to know who won? Random.org chose number 6 and 20, so here are the winners:
Please send me your mailing address ASAP so I can mail them today! Thanks!
Red Velvet Cheesecake Brownies
adapted from Sweet as Sugar Cookies
makes 9 brownies
Red Velvet Layer:
3/4 cup whole wheat-wheat flour
1/4 cup cocoa powder
Pinch kosher salt
1 stick Earth Balance margarine, at room temperature
3/4 cup sugar
2 eggs or 2 flax seed “eggs” (2 Tbsp flax seed meal + 6 Tbsp water)
1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 tablespoon all-natural red food coloring
Cream Cheese Layer:
8 ounces Tofutti cream cheese or regular cream cheese, softened
1/4 cup sugar
1 teaspoon all-natural red food coloring
1 egg or 1 flax seed “egg” (1 Tbsp flax seed meal +3 Tbsp water)
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Butter an 8 by 8-inch baking pan, and set aside.
Brownie layer: Sift together the flour, cocoa powder, and salt and set aside.
Add softened margarine to the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachmend. Add the sugar and beat until well-combined. Prepare the flax seed “eggs” and set aside for 5 minutes for it to set a bit. Beat in the flax seed “eggs”, vinegar, vanilla, extract, and food coloring into the margarine/ sugar mixture, making sure to mix completely before each addition. Add the dry ingredients and mix until just combined. Pour the batter into the prepared baking pan.
Cream cheese layer: In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the cream cheese, sugar, “egg”, and vanilla until smooth. Gently spread the cream cheese layer on top of the brownie batter in the pan. Using a skewer or the tip of a knife, drag the tip through the cream cheese mixture to create a swirl pattern.
Bake the brownies for about 30 minutes until set. Remove to a cooling rack and allow them to cool completely
before cutting.
