There was a time when I was obsessed with everything red velvet. And I was especially smitten with the idea of combining red velvet cake with cheesecake.
There are many ways to combine them. One of my old recipes consisted of baked cheesecake that was frozen then sandwiched between layers of cooled red velvet cake. All three layers were covered with cream cheese frosting then topped with red velvet cake crumbs. I pulled the recipe from the blog when I started supplying cheesecakes to a local cafe.
I don’t sell cakes anymore so I had been thinking of making the cake again and reposting the recipe. But that is something for the future. For now, I have a variant of the red velvet and cheesecake combo. The EXIF data of the photos say I baked these squares on August 27, 2013. I’m republishing the recipe because this is a dessert that looks and tastes like it belongs perfectly on the holiday table.
This dessert consists of two mixtures. The first is the red velvet cake mixture which has the consistency of brownie batter. The mixture is divided into two portions. One goes on the bottom of the baking pan; the other portion goes on top of the cheesecake. It’s not a pourable batter — the first portion has to be spread in the pan to form an even layer.
The second is the cheesecake mixture which has cream cheese, eggs and sugar. No cream. While this mixture is pourable, you will still need a spatula to spread it so that it completely covers the red velvet layer.
Then, you take the second portion of the red velvet mixture, and drop it by spoonful on top of the cheesecake. Take a thin blunt knife or a skewer, dip into the layers then drag to create swirls.
Those swirls won’t look so pretty at this point. In fact, the combined mixtures will look lumpy and uneven. But, don’t worry, because when heated in the oven, everything softens and flattens, and blends perfectly.
Adapted from a recipe by Sunny Anderson.
Red velvet cheesecake squares
Ingredients
Red velvet batter
- 1 cup butter softened to room temperature (see notes)
- 2 cups vanilla sugar (see notes)
- ½ cup cocoa powder
- ⅛ teaspoon salt
- 2 tablespoons red food color (see notes)
- 2 teaspoons white vinegar
- 4 medium eggs
- 1 ½ cups all-purpose flour
Cheesecake batter
- 500 grams cream cheese softened to room temperature
- ½ cup sugar
- 2 medium eggs
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350F.
- Line the bottom and sides of two 11 x 7 inch baking pans with non-stick baking paper.
Make the red velvet layer
- Beat the butter and sugar until light colored and smooth.
- Mix in the cocoa powder, salt, red food color and vinegar.
- Add the eggs, one at a time, mixing after each addition.
- Add the flour in three or four batches, mixing after each addition.
- Take a cup of the batter and set aside.
- Divide the remaining batter into two equal portions.
- Spread one portion on each of the two prepared pans.
Make the cheesecake layer
- Beat the cream cheese, sugar and eggs until smooth.
- Divide the mixture into two portions.
- Pour one portion into each pan over the red velvet layer.
Create the swirls
- Drop the reserved red velvet mixture on top of the cheesecake in both pans.
- Dip a skewer or a thin blunt knife into the batter then drag from top to bottom, and then sideways, until the dollops of red velvet are embedded into the cheesecake batter.
- Bake at 350F for 30 minutes.
Cool and cut
- Take the trays out of the oven and place on racks. Leave to cool completely.
- Slide each uncut red velvet / cheesecake combo (do not peel off the paper) into a container, cover tightly and chill for several hours or overnight.
- Cut each slab into 18 squares.
