This brownie pumpkin cheesecake is a delicious combo of brownie bottom cheesecake and pumpkin cheesecake brownies – the best of both worlds! It’s just as well that the holidays line up with Fall, because when the weather gets cooler and the leaves change color, all I can think of is delicious desserts and fun cocktails. Not that I need another reason to bake desserts of course. One thing I enjoy more than I ever thought I would since moving to the US is Halloween! 🙂 It’s one of my absolute favorite times of the year and I can only imagine how much fun I would’ve had if I celebrated it as a kid. It also puts me in a creative mood to come up with fun, spooky Halloween recipes, and then it’s double the fun! 🙂 Tell me again, why is it not a national holiday?? My husband and I don’t really celebrate Thanksgiving in the traditional sense – except for the fact that we use it as an excuse to bust out our Thanksgiving favorites. A few of our favorite Fall desserts are pumpkin cheesecake, pumpkin roll cake, pumpkin scones, and of course good ol’ pumpkin pie!
Pumpkin and chocolate are a perfect dessert pairing
Over the last few years, it’s become a tradition of sorts for us to celebrate Fall by pairing pumpkin and chocolate in a dessert. Last year, we made these delicious pumpkin cheesecake profiteroles with a chocolate glaze that were a wonderful bite-sized treat and served as an alternative to pumpkin pie in our Thanksgiving spread. I’ve also previously shared these pumpkin rice krispie treats and this chocolate and pumpkin self saucing pudding that pair these two classic flavors. This year I wanted an upgrade on my pumpkin cheesecake, and this combination of decadent fudgy chocolate brownie with creamy, tangy, spiced pumpkin cheesecake was all that and more! Is it a pumpkin cheesecake brownie? Or a brownie pumpkin cheesecake? I’d say it’s the best of both worlds and absolutely decadent! Another fun project that I’ve taken up this year – teaching my hubs how to bake cakes! 🙂 He has baked a few occasional treats like choux pastry and cream puffs before, but never a cake or a cheesecake, so I decided to start him at the same place where I started – with a baking mix. I started baking with my mom when I was in kindergarten, helping her out in the kitchen, and while she always baked from scratch, she’d often get me my favorite baking mixes to get me involved as well. I still remember the first things I baked were chocolate cupcakes and chocolate bundt cakes, using these baking mixes. It’s a Fall flavored, Halloween themed Brownie Pumpkin Cheesecake, and a no-holds-barred indulgent treat, because that’s what a cheesecake is supposed to be. 🙂
Brownie pumpkin cheesecake recipe notes
The brownie mix is very easy to make. We made it according to package instructions except that we did not add the orange, white and black Halloween funfetti to the mix. In addition we also added extra chocolate chips to make the brownie bottom super fudgy. Clearly the colored funfetti would not show in the brownie mix since that was the bottom layer, so we opted to sprinkle those on top of the brownie pumpkin cheesecake instead. I love the burst of color they add to this dessert, plus the crunch from the funfetti is also great! The pumpkin cheesecake layer is just as easy. One important thing to remember when it comes to cheesecake is that – you NEVER want to overbeat your cheesecake batter. This can be one of the main reasons for a cracked cheesecake. Another reason is the baking temperature and sudden temperature changes in particular. You can check out my New York cheesecake recipe or my pumpkin cheesecake recipe for lots more tips and troubleshooting info on baking the perfect cheesecake! When making cheesecake, I always cream the cream cheese with sugar well, before adding eggs and other additions. These are then mixed through only until just combined. That way I avoid overbeating the batter. The pumpkin cheesecake here is wonderfully creamy with just a hint of sweetness. Since there’s a brownie bottom, I didn’t want the cheesecake to be too sweet, but it has just the right amount of sweetness to be enjoyed on its own too.
A note about the pan I use
I have used 8 inch and 9 inch pans to make this. If the sides of your pan are less than 3 inches in height, you will need to insert a parchment paper collar to make sure the sides are high enough for your cheesecake (like I have here). If you have a high side cake tin, then use that instead. If you have a high side Springform cake pan, even better. But definitely line it with parchment paper to make it easier to release the cheesecake from the pan. If you use an 8 inch cake pan, this recipe will give you a cheesecake layer that’s a little larger than the fudgy brownie layer. With a 9 inch cake pan, the layers will be more equal since the cheesecake spreads out a little more. But that’s just a minute detail that doesn’t take anything away from how indulgent this treat is! For more information on how to make cake pan conversions, you can check out my cake pan conversion chart. I also coated the sides with some white chocolate ganache, but that’s completely optional! I just like the smooth sides that the ganache creates and how it adds to the aesthetics of this dessert. If you have a sweet tooth, that white chocolate ganache is perfect. If not, you can leave it out altogether. This brownie bottom pumpkin cheesecake with chocolate fudge sauce truly is the best of both worlds. A very chocolatey, rich, fudgy brownie layer with a touch of coffee flavor, and a creamy, indulgent cheesecake layer with some warming spices, and with all the colors and flavors of Fall – this is perfect for Thanksgiving. Then the addition of the fudge sauce “spider web” and funfetti transform this into a Halloween dessert too! Here’s to some decadent holiday baking this year! 🙂
