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Brownie Bottom Vanilla Chai Cheesecake

What's not to love about a decadent brownie base, a creamy fragrant vanilla and chai spiced cheesecake, topped with a punchy berry sauce? Perfection. Best made in advance, and can easily be halved.
Course Dessert
Cuisine North American
Keyword brownie, chai, cheesecake, rose harissa, strawberries, vanilla
Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 1 hour 30 minutes
Chilling 4 hours
Servings 12

Ingredients

Brownie Base

  • 1/2 cup unsalted butter, or 115 grams
  • 1/4 cup white sugar, or 50 grams
  • 7 oz dark chocolate, 70% or more, or 200 grams
  • 1/2 cup cocoa powder, or 50 grams
  • 1 cup gluten free cup for cup flour blend, or 115 grams, see Notes
  • 1/2 tsp xanthan gum omit if your GF flour blend already contains xanthan gum
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1/2 tsp baking powder
  • 1/2 cup packed + 1 tbsp light brown sugar
  • 2 large eggs
  • 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
  • 1 1/2 tbsp brewed coffee

Chai Spice Blend, blend together and store in a sealed jar

  • 2 tbsp cinnamon
  • 2 tbsp ginger
  • 1 tbsp cardamom
  • 2 tsp cloves
  • 2 tsp coriander
  • 1 tsp nutmeg
  • 1 tsp allspice
  • 1 tsp white pepper

Vanilla Chai Cheesecake

  • 4 8 oz 250 grams each packages cream cheese, at room temperature
  • 1 2/3 cups sugar
  • 1/4 cup cornstarch
  • 1 tbsp pure vanilla extract
  • 2 extra large eggs, room temperature
  • 3/4 cup sour cream
  • 2 tbsp of the chai spice mixture

Rose Harissa Strawberry Sauce

  • 2 cups sliced strawberries
  • 1/4 cup granulated cane sugar
  • 2 tsp white balsamic vinegar
  • 1/4-1/2 tsp Rose Harissa, or more to taste
  • fresh berries, garnish

Instructions

Brownie Crust:

  1. Preheat oven to 350F/180C. Line the base of a 9 or 10" springform pan with parchment paper, and grease the sides. Set aside.
  2. Place the butter, sugar, and dark chocolate together in a bowl setting over simmering water in a small pot, stirring every regularly till melted, and then cool slightly. Alternately you can use a microwave to melt, on 30 second increments.
  3. Sift the cocoa into a medium mixing bowl, add the flour, xanthan gum if using, salt, and baking powder, and lightly whisk to combine.
  4. In larger bowl, beat together the eggs, brown sugar and vanilla. Stir in the brewed coffee. Add the melted chocolate mixture and beat to combine.
  5. Add the flour mix, and stir to combine thoroughly.
  6. Spoon the batter into prepared pan and spread in a layer across the bottom
  7. Bake for 10 minutes, or until the top is just set. Leave to cool completely.

Vanilla Chai Cheesecake

  1. Set the temperature of the oven to 275° F.
  2. Place 1/4 of the cream cheese (one 8 oz container if using separate packages), 1/4 cup of the sugar and the cornstarch in a large bowl. Beat with a hand mixer. Or use a stand mixer.
  3. Beat on low until creamy, about 3 minutes. Then beat in the remaining cream cheese.
  4. Increase the speed to high and beat in the remaining 1 cup of sugar and then the vanilla.
  5. Decrease the speed to medium high.
  6. Blend in the eggs one at a time, beating the batter well after each egg.
  7. Blend in the sour cream and chai spice blend. Mix only till completely blended. Do not overmix.
  8. Gently spoon the batter over cooled brownie crust.
  9. Give the pan a couple of gentle taps to release any air bubbles.
  10. Bake in the centre of the oven till the outer 2 inches of the edges are set, and the centre is still slightly jiggly, anywhere between 1 hour 15 minutes to 1 1/2 hours. Turn off the oven. Leave the cake in the oven to cool down as the oven cools.
  11. Remove the cake from the oven to a wire cooling rack. After 15 minutes gently run a knife along the outer edge of the cake to loosen it. Keep the pan intact and cool to room temperature.
  12. Cover the cake with plastic wrap and refrigerate until it is completely cold, at least 4 hours or overnight.
  13. Remove the sides of the pan, and place the cake onto a serving plate.

Rose Harissa Strawberry Sauce, can be made while the cheesecake is chilling

  1. Preheat the oven to 375F.
  2. Combine the strawberries, sugar and white balsamic vinegar in a baking dish. Let everything macerate for 15 minutes to let some of the juices release from the berries.
  3. Bake in the oven for 20 minutes or so, till softened.
  4. Let everything cool down and then place into a blender. Whiz till a rough purée is achieved. If lumps of berry are still there, that's good, it will add texture to the ice cream. Stir through the rose harissa, as much as you want. I like the sweet heat to be felt, so I err on the side of 1/2 tsp. Store in a container in the fridge till chilled. The juices will thicken a bit, which is good.

  5. Serve with sauce and sliced fresh berries if desired.

Recipe Notes

Feel free to use regular all purpose flour if gluten is not a concern.

Baking time depends on each oven - check on the cake after one hour, without opening the door, and see if the cake is getting golden. After an hour and 10 minutes check on the colour and texture, the centre of cake should be jiggly. 
Feel free to cut this recipe in half and bake in a 6 or 7 inch springform pan. This will easily give you 6 perfect little slices.  If using a different sized pan, start checking earlier, and still look for the visual cues for doneness.