Caramel Cheesecake-Topped Brownies. Not to get all meta on you, but I really struggled with a name for these bars.
(This might sound ridiculous, but I know you fellow food bloggers understand what I’m talking about!) Names are important. Which would you rather eat: Oreo Truffles, or Smooshed Cookies Mixed With Dairy Product and Mashed Into A Vaguely Spherical Shape? Behold: the power of naming. So here’s the deal with these “Caramel Cheesecake-Topped Brownies.” Most cheesecakes are rich and dense, while the topping on these bars is smooth, creamy, and wonderfully light, the perfect contrast to the fudgy brownies underneath.
Jason, bless his description-challenged heart, described them as “German Chocolate Cake, without the cake…or the pecan-coconut topping,” and no, I don’t know what that means either. All of this babbling is just to say, don’t expect a dense layer of cheesecake on top of these moist brownies! Whatever you call them, they’re darn good…and I’m not at a loss for words regarding that! Print this Recipe! Dulce de leche cheesecake squares. Dulce de leche, where have you been my whole life?
Oh, sure, I knew what you were and I understood implicitly that you were a good thing. I knew that you were practically the national dish of Argentina and I knew I wanted to be the national dish of, well, anywhere, one day but I hadn’t yet taken you into my arms and my belly. I hadn’t yet really tasted you. I am sooo going to have to make up for lost time. The thing is, and I know this sounds a little funny, but I love dairy products–like milk and cream, especially when they’re full fat and super-fresh and hormone free. Dulce de leche is the embodiment of everything I love about dairy products and everything everyone loves about caramel together. And in the 78 days that I have had this dulce de leche cheesecake bar recipe bookmarked, not a single one has passed that I haven’t considered when I’d find an excuse to make it.
Yes, these dulce de leche cheesecake bars made it to a Superbowl party without me. One year ago: Soft Pretzels. Cappuccino fudge cheesecake. Given that it is but two days after one of the most indulgent meals of the year, I suspect the last thing you want to hear about is the most indulgent cake I have ever made, and yet, given the quality of the last two vegetable-focused, lighter dishes I have made — both of which I’d give a resounding “eh” — trust me, what I’ve got going on here is much more worthy of your attention, and your table at some distant dinner party.
So pull up a chair. Because this cake is ridiculous, ridiculous bordering on obscene, so obscene that even a wee sliver of it takes an eating intermission mid-slice just to get through. Perhaps you’ll go get yourself a glass of water, do some stretches or deep yogic breathing, but I guarantee that you’ll do whatever it takes to psych you up enough to take on the second half. Because did I mention the part where this cake is ridiculous?
Let’s start from the bottom. From there, a normal cheesecake would delve into the, you know, cheesecake layer.