Dirty Chai Cheesecake Brownies
There’s something special about brownies and cheesecake — combining two indulgent flavors and textures feels perhaps a little bit naughty, like maybe you’re getting away with something you shouldn’t. This cheesecake brownie recipe takes things even further, infusing both the brownie and cheesecake with all the flavor of a dirty chai latte: bold espresso, malty tea, silky dairy and cozy, warming spice.
Cheesecake brownies (aka cheesecake swirl or cream cheese swirl brownies) have been around for roughly 65 years. Culinary folklore often credits Marcia McMullen, then an Ohio State University student and General Mills intern, with developing the idea around 1961 as part of a student project. The details of McMullen’s background line up with that timeline, although I haven’t found a definitive General Mills or Betty Crocker source that directly ties her name to the recipe. The concept eventually became closely associated with Betty Crocker’s Cream Cheese Swirl Brownies which modifies their Supreme original brownie mix with a swirl of sweetened cream cheese.
More than 60 years later, Hetal Vasavada gave the classic dessert a chai-and-espresso update in her 2024 cookbook Desi Bakes Her version features an espresso flavored cheesecake swirled into a chai masala spiced brownie base. She notes that “The combination of chai spices, milky black tea, and bitter coffee is stellar,” and I would have to agree.
I actually had no idea that the Dirty Chai Cheesecake Brownie had already been done when I started developing my recipe – also in 2024, mere weeks after Hetal published her recipe. In the science world, this would be considered an example of convergent evolution. I had recently come across a blog post about infusing butter with tea and immediately wanted to experiment with the technique. Chai flavors were everywhere at the time, so I bought a box of chai masala tea bags and infused a whole pound of butter. The butter was incredibly aromatic, capturing both the tannins from the tea and the warmth of the chai masala spice blend.
Brownies seemed like the natural vehicle for this new culinary component as they remain one of my favorite treats to make chocolate pairs well with black tea and warm spices. My Fudgy Brownies recipe already includes espresso powder, by increasing that I could bring in the bold coffee flavor associated with dirty chai. Milky isn’t something you would typically get with a standard brownie, but what if I used a cheesecake batter to bring the silky dairy elements? Well, that led to another round of infusion – this time the heavy cream in the cheesecake batter. It is only a small amount of cream, but a long, gentle, warm steep gives it enough intensity to carry the tea flavor into the cheesecake, especially with another touch of espresso and chai spice.
This recipe takes the classic cream cheese swirl brownie and gives it a slightly more mature flavor update. You’ll still get all the fudgy, chewy, tangy and creamy contrast of the original, but with greater complexity, deeper flavor and plenty of cozy warmth. Make the recipe as written, or check out the shortcuts in the recipe notes — either way, you’re in for an intensely flavorful twist on a classic brownie.
Dirty Chai Cheesecake Brownies
Equipment
Ingredients
Method
- Line a 9×13-inch pan with non-stick foil or parchment.
- In a small saucepan, heat the cream until it just begins to simmer. Remove from the heat, add the chai tea bag, and steep for at least 30 minutes or up to 1 hour for a more intense flavor.Remove the tea bag. If the bag has broken, strain the cream through a very fine-mesh strainer or cheesecloth to remove any tea leaves. set aside to cool.240 ml (1 cup) heavy cream, 1 chai tea bag
- Alternatively, if you plan to infuse the cream ahead of time (a day or two before) you can use a cold infusion method instead. Add the contents of the tea bag to the cold cream, seal tightly and store in the refrigerator for up to two days before straining the cream through a very fine-mesh strainer or cheesecloth to remove the tea leaves.
- Place the butter in a medium saucepan. Break open the masala chai tea bags and add the contents to the butter. Heat gently over low heat, keeping the butter warm and liquid but not allowing it to boil, until it is very fragrant and has taken on a faint greenish hue. For a more pronounced chai flavor, remove the pan from the heat, cover, and allow the tea to steep in the butter for at least 10–15 minutes, or up to 30 minutes for stronger flavor (if it starts solidifying, place over low heat just until liquid again).336 g (1 ½ cups) unsalted butter, 4 chai tea bags
- Strain the butter through a very fine-mesh strainer or cheesecloth, pressing the tea leaves and spices firmly to extract as much butter as possible. Set aside to cool
- Once the infused cream and butter have cooled, preheat the oven to 350°F.
- In a small bowl, whisk together the sugar, chai spice, corn starch and salt; set aside.75 g (5 tbsp) sugar, 1/2 tsp (½ tsp) chai spice, 3 g (1 tsp) corn starch, 1/4 tsp (¼ tsp) salt
- In a medium mixing bowl, beat the cream cheese, sour cream and chai tea infused heavy cream until smooth and creamy, with no lumps of cream cheese remaining.227 g (8 oz) cream cheese, 30 g (2 tbsp) sour cream, 30 ml (2 tbsp) chai tea infused heavy cream
- Add the sugar mixture and beat on low speed just until evenly incorporated. Avoid overbeating; you don’t want to incorporate excess air into the cheesecake batter.
- Add the espresso powder, vanilla and egg and mix on low speed just until smooth and combined.1/2 tsp (½ tsp) espresso powder, 5 ml (1 tsp) vanilla, 1 egg
- Set the cheesecake batter aside while making the brownie batter.
- Whisk together the flour, cocoa powder, chai spice and salt in a small bowl. Set aside.120 g (1 cup) flour, 24 g (¼ cup) cocoa powder, 1 1/2 tsp (1 ½ tsp) chai spice, 1 tsp salt
- Place the dark chocolate, chai tea infused butter, and espresso powder in a large microwave safe bowl. If your microwave has a chocolate melting feature, use that, otherwise, heat for 1 minute in the microwave, stir and then continue to heat in 30 second intervals, stirring after each interval just until the chocolate is fully melted. This can also be done over a double boiler.340 g (2 cups) dark chocolate, 224 g (1 cup) chai tea infused butter, 2 tsp espresso powder
- While the chocolate and butter are melting, beat the eggs, sugar and brown sugar on low speed until thick and syrupy. You aren’t trying to aerate the eggs; the goal is to use the moisture in the eggs and steady mixing to dissolve the sugars (this is faster with an electric mixer, but can be done by hand). Whisk in the vanilla until combined.5 eggs, 200 g (1 cup) sugar, 110 g (½ cup) brown sugar, 15 ml (1 tbsp) vanilla
- Whisk the chocolate mixture into the egg mixture until a homogenous, glossy mixture is achieved. Rub a little of the mixture between your fingers; it should feel smooth rather than distinctly gritty.
- Add the flour mixture and stir just until it disappears. Reserve 1/4 to 1/3 of the brownie batter for swirling. Use closer to 1/4 for a more cheesecake-forward swirl, or closer to 1/3 for more visible brownie throughout the top (for a more brownie-dominant swirl, you can reserve up to 1/2 of the batter). If you are using the chocolate chips, fold them into the remaining 2/3-3/4 of the batter.113 g (⅔ cup) espresso, mocha or bittersweet chocolate chips
- Pour the larger portion of batter into the prepared pan. Pour the cheesecake batter over the top of the brownie batter in the pan. Pipe or dollop the reserved brownie batter over the cheesecake layer. Drag a butter knife through the batters a few times in alternating directions to create broad swirls. Stop while the cheesecake and brownie are still visibly distinct; over-swirling will muddy the pattern.
- Place the pan in the preheated oven and bake for 35–40 minutes. The edges should look set and may puff slightly, and the exposed brownie portions of the swirl may show a few small cracks. The cheesecake should remain smooth and should not develop cracks. Because the cheesecake layer is thin and the brownies are intentionally fudgy, a toothpick test is not a reliable indicator of doneness. Remove from the oven and allow to cool on the counter for about 30 minutes. Transfer to the refrigerator and chill for at least an hour or until the cheesecake swirl appears to be fully set.
- Remove the brownies from the pan (lift out using the foil or parchment paper) and cut into bars to serve.
Notes
- A larger quantity of cream makes it much easier to fully submerge and steep the tea bag; measure 30 ml of the cooled infused cream for the cheesecake batter.
- Freeze the remainder in 30 ml portions for future batches or other recipes.
- The cream may separate slightly after freezing and thawing, but that won’t be noticeable when incorporated into this cheesecake batter.
- The butter infusion begins with more butter than the brownie batter requires. Some butter is lost during infusion and straining — left behind in the pan, trapped in the tea leaves or strainer, and through evaporation of water from the butter as it warms.
- After straining, measure 224 g of the infused butter for the brownie batter. You will likely have a small amount remaining, which can be refrigerated or frozen for another use.
- Skip the chai infusions and use plain heavy cream and butter instead. The brownies will still have plenty of dirty chai character from the spice blend and espresso, but the flavor will be a little less layered and you’ll miss some of the deeper tea notes the infusions contribute.
- Substitute a boxed brownie mix for the from-scratch brownie batter. Just make sure your boxed mix is for a 9×13-inch pan. If you want to use a boxed mix with the chai infused butter, you absolutely can – just swap the butter or oil required for the mix with melted, chai infused butter.
Private Notes
Nutrition
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