Dulce de leche cream cheese brownies

Preparation Time : 1 hour 30 minutes

Cooking Time : 30 – 35 minutes

Serving : 6 to 8 members

Description

This was what I posted in the foodie group home bakers guild for the master chef Mondays post in face book .

Hello talented bakers . This is Hazeena Seyad , a next door , day to day home maker (BAKER – A CLUELESS BAKER ) from Nellai ( Tamilnadu ) who is passionate about cooking and food . But baking and me are far apart from each other as Baking is too precise for me . I cook with a pinch of this and that . Being a ravuthar Muslim ( Tamil speaking Muslim ) where we don’t have a single authentic dish that demands us to bake . Guess that’s where the baking got far apart from me. As a kid at home with a working mom , who seldom cooked for us during holidays and the only things she baked were chilli cheese toast and cauliflower bake in a tiny imported oven that is in working condition till date . Having done my schooling in a boarding school where our daily breads , puffs , tea cakes , cookies to our birthday cakes were baked every day fresh in the school bakery . I grew up with the aroma of baking through out my childhood days . Still all this was not enough to motivate me to try my hands in baking . I started to bake as a newly wedded bride , with all my attempts failing royally , followed with great embarrassment . Baking became a lost story in my mind and system until few years back when I saw Rachel Allen bake a quiche de Lorraine on the telly . Got the recipe from my friend Pallavi who just gave me approximate measurements which worked pitch perfect . Took me nearly 2 years after that to try my hands on cakes and cookies and I realised that Baking makes me focus on weighing the sugar , on sieving the flour That I found calming and rewarding because in fairness , it is sort of magic . You start of with all this desperate stuff such as butter and eggs and what you end up with is totally different and delicious :-)) .

I strongly believe that the little baking i do now a days is because of my best buddy gazeena sulu kunahmed as when we were kids together in boarding school , god infused the baking spark into her , a tiny bit just splashed and got into me as I was near here :-)) . The minute I got to see my name in this season of master chef monday posts , I got dead nervous as I am paired with the most sophisticated bunch of bakers . I just wished dec 16 th would be skipped in the calendar . Broke my head over what to post and finally stuck to this simple dulce de lycée , cream cheese brownies .

Oh, the joy of brownies , The black ones with the oozing fudge, The brown ones with powdered sugar, The white ones with chocolate chips but this one is the ultimate with the goodness of dulce de lycée , cream cheese and brownie . All in one bite Brownie .

Hope this post gets viral as all the other previous master chef Monday posts . Happy baking to all and here’s the recipe .

Brownie ingredients

Dulce de leche/Cream Cheese ingredients

Method for Dulche de Leche

1. Find a heat proof bowl that fits snugly into a heavy pot. Fill the pot about an inch high with water.
2. *Make sure the bowl doesn’t touch the water* Bring the water to a simmer. Empty the can of sweet milk into the bowl and place it over the simmering water.
3. Cover with foil and cook for about 2-3 hours depending on how dark you want the dulce de leche to be.
4. Stir the milk about every 20 minutes or so. Once you have the desired colour, remove the bowl from the heat. Stir until the mixture is smooth and set it aside to cool.
5. You can use the simmering pot of water again for the brownies. Add more water if necessary.

OR

1. Just pressure cook the condensed milk tin with water just above the condensed milk tin for one whistle and then on a very low flame for another 40 minutes .
2. Remove from heat , wait for the cooker to cool down completely and then remove the condensed milk tin . Cool completely and use . ( this is what I do one day in advance or I have 2 tins of dulce de leche stored in my refrigerator all ready always , makes things more easy )

Method for Brownies

1. Preheat the oven to 325F. Line an 8×8 inch square baking pan with foil and lightly spray or butter.
2. Set aside.double boil the chopped chocolate and butter into a heat proof bowl. Stir just until everything is melted as smooth. Remove from heat.
3. Using a large spatula or wooden spoon, stir in the vanilla extract and sugar. One at a time, add the eggs, beating well (using spoon) after each addition.
4. Stir in the flour and salt. Mix vigorously until it becomes shiny and starts to pull away from the sides of the bowl. Set the batter aside.

Method for Cream Cheese

1. In a medium bowl, beat the cream cheese until it becomes creamy (about 30 seconds.) Add the sugar, vanilla, and salt. Beat to combine.
2. Add the egg and beat for about 20 more seconds. Slowly add the dulce de leche. If it’s still warm, add a small amount to the cream cheese, wait a few seconds and beat it in.
3. Gradually add the remaining dulce de leche and beat until completely combined with the cream cheese. Scoop out 1/2 cup of the brownie batter and set it aside.
4. Pour the remaining batter into the prepared pan and spread it around into an even layer. Pour the dulce de leche/cream cheese mixture over the brownie layer.
5. Drop in the remaining brownie batter using a spoon or spatula. With a butter knife, carefully swirl the brownie batter into the dulce de leche.
6. It’s alright if the batter is too thick in some spots. Try not the mix the ingredients too much, just enough to make things interesting. Bake for 35-45 minutes.
7. Or until the center is just slightly film. Don’t worry if it jiggles around, it will harden as it cools off. Remove from the oven and cool completely before cutting.
8. Store in an air right containers at room temperature and can be had for four days .