Last week I was at a convention for work and one of the activities they planned for us was a river cruise. Well. I don't do water. I don't do boats. The whole thing makes me want to throw up. That said I was dragged onto the yacht by my coworkers and proceeded to go on this cruise. The scenery was beautiful and the water was calm but let's be really honest, the desserts were the highlight of the night for me. Chocolate kept me calm enough that I didn't need to have any Xanax and gave me some inspiration for when I got home. We had a cheesecake topped brownie that was so rich and chocolatey that I was in brownie heaven. This is my version, adapted from Duncan Hines, and I think the next time I do it I'm going to do a cookies and cream cheesecake topping. Cause everything is better with an Oreo!
Chocolate Chocolate Chip Cheesecake Bars
Crust:
1 Devil's Food Cake Mix (reserve 1/4 cup mix for topping)
1 egg
1 cube butter
Mix all ingredients together with your hands or a pastry blender until crumbly. Press into a sprayed 9x13 baking dish and set aside.
Topping:
2 eggs
1 8 oz cream cheese softened
1/4 c. cake mix
1 cup chocolate chips
1/3 c. Hershey's syrup
Mix eggs and cream cheese until well blended and smooth. Add cake mix and mix well. Add chocolate syrup and chocolate chips and gently blend together just until mixed. Don't overmix. Pour topping over crust mixture and bake at 325 degrees for 23-25 minutes.
Cool completely before cutting. Garnish with chocolate shavings. Refrigerate until served.
