Nutella Swirl Brownies

My kitchen does not always close because I have an early night. Olivia’s friend Nora was sleeping over last night and they decided to make late night Nutella brownies. I was watching TV in bed when Olivia brought two of these, warm from the oven for Spouse and I to sample in bed. How’s that for service?

Strawberry Compote Topping
2 cups fresh or frozen strawberries
1/2 cup sugar
Combine in a saucepan and bring to a very gentle boil. Thicken with
1 1/2 tbsp corn starch dissolved in
¼ cup cold water
which is added to the strawberries while stirring gently. Boil gently for 1 additional minute, stirring constantly. Cool completely for several hours in the fridge.
Cookie Crumb Crust
In a small bowl, combine:
1 1/3 cups chocolate cookie crumbs
3 tbsp sugar
1/3 cup melted butter
Press into the bottom of a lightly greased or parchment lined 9 inch spring form pan. (Grease bottom only!) Parchment paper is ideal here because it makes it very easy to release the cheesecake from the bottom of the pan.

Cheesecake

Cream together:
3 eight ounce packages ounces cream cheese
1 cup sugar
Add, one at a time
3 eggs
beating well after each addition. Add:
3 tsp vanilla extract
Finally blend in:
1 cup whipping cream
Pour over the prepared base and bake in a bain marie at 300 degrees F for 60-70 minutes. (Learn about using a simple bain marie by clicking here.) The cheesecake does not have to brown at all in order to be fully baked; the surface of the cheesecake should lose any shine when the cake is properly baked. It can still be slightly wobbly just at the center at this point.


Rum Truffle Ganache
The rum truffle ganache is used to cover the cheesecake and to dip the strawberries.
2 cups dark chocolate chips (or semisweet)
1/2 cup whipping cream
3 tbsp dark rum, optional (or 1 tsp rum extract)

Melt together, just until smooth in a double boiler. Do not over heat. Just as it is melted remove from the heat. Dip in:
10 -12 large strawberries

Place the dipped strawberries on a piece of parchment paper or wax paper and chill until ready to garnish. Pour the remaining ganache over the chilled cheesecake and spread very quickly and evenly over the top and sides with a flat spatula. Return the cheesecake to the fridge to chill again.

Vanilla Whipped Cream

2 cups whipping cream
3 rounded tbsp icing sugar (ie powdered sugar, confectioners sugar)
1 tsp vanilla extract

Combine and whip until stiff mounds form. Using a piping bag (or a large Ziploc bag with the corner snipped off) pipe mounds of the vanilla whipped cream all around the border of the cheesecake, to form a sort of well for the strawberry topping. Spoon the Strawberry Compote Topping onto the center of the cheesecake and garnish with the chilled dipped strawberries. Refrigerate until ready to serve.

Notes
Source recipes -Here-