I'm baaaaack! And with a tasty recipe!

I have obviously been blog-MIA, but my summer classes and some new responsibilities that I took on took over my life and I haven't had much time for fun.  But I am back with lots of stuff to share, starting with a tasty recipe for Strawberries & Cream Cheese Brownie "Cupcakes"!

Before you begin the brownie batter, you will need to make the filling so it is ready when it comes time to "assemble."  This time I used a whole package of cream cheese, but had leftovers, so half a package would be plenty (just halve the sugar too).  Mix about 1/8 cup of sugar with the softened cream cheese using a mixer, and then stir in fresh diced strawberries.  Set the filling aside for later.

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Fresh strawberries! Yum!

Completed filling

Now it is time to make the brownie batter!  I got the basic recipe from the Nestle website, but have made a few dietary adjustments.  To make the batter you will need:

1 2/3 C sugar

3/4 C melted butter

2 T water

1/2 C chocolate soy yogurt

2 t vanilla extract

1 1/3 C flour

3/4 C cocoa

1/2 t baking powder

1/4 t salt

Begin by preheating your oven to 350 degrees.  Next you will need to grease and flour your cupcake pan, or use liners.  Cooking spray works, but your brownies are more likely to stick, so I really recommend the old fashioned vegetable shortening with a dusting of flour if you aren't going to use the liners.  If you use liners, I recommend foil for ease when eating.

Next combine the sugar, melted butter, and water using a mixer.  Milk can also be used in place of the water, but doesn't make much of a difference.  Next stir in the soy yogurt and vanilla.  The soy yogurt is a substitute for eggs (1/4 C for each egg), and I like using the chocolate soy yogurt because I'm making brownies.  In baking I have found soy yogurt to be the best egg substitute, plus it gives you some extra protein that other egg substitutes don't.

In a separate bowl, combine the dry ingredients, and then gradually mix them in with the wet ingredients to form the brownie batter.

Dry and wet ingredients before combining

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Completed brownie batter

 

Once the batter is ready spoon a small amount into each cup of the cupcake pan.  I recommend using about one heaping tablespoon.  Next put a small amount of the cream cheese filling on top.

To encase the filling, put another small spoonful of the brownie batter on top.

Complete the process by using a clean spoon to smooth out the top layer of batter and "hide" the filling.  Using the filling in this manner will give you more of a cheesecake brownie when you are finished.  In the future, I may also try making the brownies as "cupcakes" and then using a pastry bag and tip to fill them after they are cooled for more of a fresh cream cheese taste.

Ready for the oven!

 

Pop them in the oven for about 25-30 minutes, or until the tops are firm and dry.

They will need to cool for quite awhile before they are ready for topping.  Due to time constraints I had when making these I used a store bought chocolate fudge frosting and stirred in some diced strawberries.  It tasted fine, but in the future I think I will make something from scratch.

I put a small spoonful of the frosting with strawberries on top of each cooled "cupcake" and then used a half of a strawberry slice as a garnish!

YUMMY!

 

Even though my picture of them didn't turn out too well, the "cupcakes" turned out delish and I got rave reviews at the meeting I took them too.  These are a definite "make again" item!

Check back in soon for more updates on what I've been up to while I've been MIA, and what I'm doing while preparing to go back to school :)