STEEMIT CULINARY CHALLENGE #43 : Pumpkin Cheesecake Brownies (Gluten Free & Refined Sugar Free) - Sweet Entry

Oh gosh, it's already time for SCC again. Time flies so fast! When I read the announcement of the new theme two weeks ago, I thought I have quite a large time to prepare my entry but in reality, I dont have a lot of time to well prepare my entries. Last week, I was busy with the wedding cake preparations and I couldn't think about something else. My focus was on the cake and I am now relieved because it's done. My wedding cake was a huge success :-)

This week's judge is very special, it's @woman-onthe-wing, the great person behind the success of Steemit Culinary Challenge. I've been learning a lot from her. Each time I submitted my entry for SCC, she always give me helpful and constructive input which I really appreciate. This week's theme is very special because we celebrate her son's, Sky, second birthday. Happy birthday Sky! I'm wishing you all the best in the world :-)

Okay, now let's talk about my entry. My first entry started with the sweet dish. Today I made one of my favorite snack. It's brownies!!! But this time, it's not a classic brownies but it's Pumpkin Cheesecake Brownies. Since this isn't my usual type of brownies that I usually make, I got the recipe from this blog and I modified it a little bit. I replaced the egg for the cheesecake swirl for more pumpkin purée because I read that both are interchangeable, CMIIW.

Pumpkin Puree

Ingredients

• 1 small Sugar Pumpkin

Methods

• Preheat oven to 200°C. Line baking tray with parchment paper or silicone baking mat. Set aside.
• Slice off the top of the pumpkin, lay it upside down and cut it in half. Scoop the seeds out. Dont throw the seeds out, you may bake it and have it for snack time or for another use.

• Put it in a baking tray skin side up. Bake for 35-40 minutes or until soft.

• Pull off the skin of the pumpkin flesh. Cut the pumpkin flesh into big chunks. Throw the chunks into a food processor and pulse until smooth.

Pumpkin Cheesecake Brownies

Ingredients

• 170 gr dark chocolate coarsely chopped (72%)
• 112 gr coconut oil
• 150 gr coconut sugar
• 2 eggs
  -64 gr almond flour
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 tbsp cocoa powder

For Cheesecake Swirl

• 115 gr cream cheese at room temperature
• 50 gr coconut sugar
• 175 gr pumpkin purée
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp ground nutmeg

Methods

• Preheat oven to 170°C, line baking pan with parchment paper overhanging to the sides (I used 8 inch round pan), set aside.
• Using hand mixer or whisk, place all the ingredients of Cheesecake Swirl in a bowl. Mix them until well combined. Set aside.

• In a double boiler, melt the coconut oil and the chocolates. Once melted, take off from the heat. Leave it to cool for about 5-10 minutes.

• Add in the coconut sugar, mix it well then add in the eggs, one at a time. Then add in the vanilla extract. Mix again. Using rubber spatula, fold in almond flour, salt and cacao powder.

• Spread half of the brownie batter at the bottom of the baking pan. Then spread 2/3 of cheesecake swirl batter on top of it followed by the remaining brownie batter. Using ice cream scoop, dollop the remaining cheesecake swirl batter onto brownie batter, and swirl it with knife.

• Bake for 30-35 minutes or until tooth pick comes out clean. Leave to cool and better leave overnight in the fridge to set.

Oh yummm.. These brownies turned out as good as my classic brownies and it's healthier (than my classic brownies of course). It's 9 am in Brussels and I have just had it as my breakfast :-D

I'll be back very soon for my second entry, the savory dish. What will I be making? Stay tuned! :-)

If you like this post, please dont hesitate to upvote and resteem. Thank you for reading :-)

Cheers,

All content and photos are original and mine. Photos were take with Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ1000.