Triple Chocolate Cheesecake Bars

A brownie base with a silky smooth cheesecake / mousse filling topped with a thin layer of chocolate ganache.

These bars are cram-packed with delicious indulgent chocolate. They’re not for the faint hearted!

Warning: These may ruin your diet. I did warn you!

Triple chocolate..what could be better? These bars are ultra rich with a gooey, chewy brownie base and are extremely easy and fun to make, you’d be silly not to give them a go!

They have three stages:

Let’s begin with the brownie layer. I opted for a chewy brownie base. Homemade brownies are seriously the best as you can choose how much chocolate you put in them, and if you’re anything like me, you’ll put a lot in them- haha. The more, the merrier for a brownie, I say!

My brownie uses flaxseed as the egg replacer, which also makes them really chewy.

Secondly, the ”cheesecake” layer. I don’t know if I can actually call this cheesecake as it doesn’t have the usual ‘cheesecake’ ingredients , but there is cream cheese so what the heck…it’s a cheesecake – haha!

This layer is super simple and quick to make. All you want is silken tofu, dairy-free cream cheese and chocolate. You’ll want to melt the chocolate and whip it into the mixture. It will be extremely thick and glossy. Thats when you know its going to be AMAZING!

You’ll spread the filling over the brownie (once the brownie has had time to cool down) and top this layer with a ganache.

The ganache step if completely optional but it takes these bars from just normal cheesecake bars, to TRIPLE CHOCOLATE INDULGENCE bars! As I previously said, the more chocolate, the better!

Looking for more chocolate recipes? Look no further:

Vegan Brownie Cookies

Vegan Brownie Pie

Crinkle Brownies

Homemade Chocolate Oreos

Notes*

Tofu: My favourite tofu to use for cheesecakes is silken tofu. It’s soft and makes for a really creamy cheesecake. My favourites are ‘Clearspring Organic Tofu’, ‘Satono Tofu’. Any tofu that comes in a box will be perfect, just make sure you drain the water from the tofu before use. If you don’t, the cheesecake maybe soft but still extremely tasty!

Cream cheese: To be honest, any dairy-free cream cheese will work perfectly in this recipe. My favourites to use are: ‘Violife Cream Original’, Sainsbury’s own ‘Free From Cream Cheese’. Any soft, and creamy cream cheese is great!

Cream: When it comes to ganache, any cream will work from coconut cream, to dairy-free single + double cream.

Preparation: Overnight

Baking time: 20-25 minutes

Serves: 9 – 10

Level: Easy

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Ingredients for the base

4 tablespoons of ground flaxseed + 8 tablespoons of water
140g of dairy-free butter / margarine
300g of caster sugar
120g of cocoa powder
1 teaspoon of baking powder
200g of self-raising flour

Ingredients for the cheesecake layer

500g of dairy-free dark chocolate
60g of dairy-free cream cheese (see notes*)
600g of silken tofu (see notes*)

Ingredients for the chocolate ganache

150g of dairy-free dark chocolate
120g of dairy-free cream (see notes*)

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Method (brownie base)

1. Preheat oven to 180 degrees c fan, and line an 9 x 9 square baking tin with grease-proof paper. Allow the paper to hang either side of the tin. This makes it easier for removing the cheesecake bars when ready.

2. Make the flax eggs.

Add 4 tablespoons of ground flaxseed into a small bowl and add in 8 tablespoons of water. Stir to combine then set aside to thicken. This will take around 10 minutes.

3. In a large mixing bowl, add in the dairy-free butter/margarine, sugar and flax egg. Whisk to combine until light in colour.

4. Add in the cocoa powder, baking powder and flour. Mix until a thick brownie batter.

5. Spoon then spread the batter into the lined tin, making sure to get it as flat as possible.

Smooth out using the back of a spoon or offset spatula.

Place into the middle of the oven and bake for 20-25 minutes. You will know the brownie has baked when you put a knife or skewer down the centre and it comes out clean.

Allow the brownie to cool fully in the tin.

Method (cheesecake filling)

1. Fill a small saucepan 3/4 full with water, creating a bain-marie, place onto the hob over low/ medium heat.

Finely chop the dark chocolate and place it into a heatproof bowl. Place the bowl over the simmering water and allow to melt. Once melted, allow to cool for 10 minutes until its not too hot.

2. Place the silken tofu, cream cheese and melted chocolate into a food processor/blender. Whizz up on high speed for around 5 minutes until smooth.

I use a ‘Kitchenaid Powerplus blender’. It’s best to use a high-speed blender if possible as the mixture is quite thick, and you want it as smooth as possible.

You might need to stop the mixer and scrape down the sides a few times to make sure everything is incorporated.

3. Spread the cheesecake over over the brownie base. Level with a spoon.

Place the cheesecake in the fridge to set. Allow the cheesecake to set fully before removing from the cake tin. This will take around 4-6 hours (I leave mine to set overnight).

Method (chocolate ganache)

1. Place the dairy-free cream into a saucepan. Gently heat until it comes to a light simmer then turn off the heat.

2. Place the chocolate into a heatproof bowl and pour over the hot cream, stir to combine.

3. Spread the ganache over the top of the cheesecake. Place immediately into the fridge/freezer to set the ganache. This will take 15 minutes.

4. Lift the cheesecake out of the tin using the grease proof paper. Heat a sharp knife in some hot water and slice the cheesecake into squares/bars.

To store:

Keep in a sealed container in the fridge and allow to rest at room temprature for 10-15 minutes before serving.

Best enjoyed within a few days of making.