GOOEY BUTTERCAKE

Cheesecake Meets Mousse Meets Brownie

Think you have found the most easy, passionately naughty brownies? Think again.

Paula Dean of the Food Network claims her dessert chefs came up with this recipe; no offense to her, but it's on the back of most cream cheese boxes. There are also versions of this recipe made from scratch -- believe me, the cake mix gets the job done! These brownies are like a homemade baked cheesecake with the texture of a mousse atop a brownie crust. Let's just say I have seen a lot of brownies come and go in my career, and these are the ones the I eat 1/2 the pan of in one day. My husband has almost banned me from buying cake mixes because he fears I will give myself a heart attack. There are endless variations you can make on this recipe.

Preheat Oven to 350 degrees, grease a 13 x 9 inch pan

BOTTOM BROWNIE CRUST

1 Devil's Food Cake Mix
1 Stick Butter, melted(8 ounces)
1 Egg

Mix all of the ingredients together in a bowl, I like to use the paddle attachment on my Kitchen Aid mixer. It will end up a lot like playdough. Press the brownie mixture evenly into the pan.

CREAM CHEESE TOPPING

1 8 ounce package of Cream Cheese, softened (I put mine in the microwave for about 20 sec.)

1 Stick of Butter, melted

2 Cups Confectioner's Sugar

3 to 4 Tablespoons of Cocoa Powder

2 Eggs

1 Teaspoon Vanilla Extract

1. Beat together the cream cheese and melted butter with an electric mixer with a whip attachment until the whip leaves tracks, and it is completely smooth. Scrape the bowl as needed.

2. Slowly add the powdered sugar and cocoa with the mixer on a low speed, and then beat on a higher speed until fully incorporated. Scrape the bowl as needed.

3. Add the eggs one at a time beating after each. Scrape the bowl as needed.

4. Add the vanilla and beat until the mixture is light, fluffy, and you are ready to lick the bowl. But don't, it tastes even better once it is out of the oven!

5. Pour this heavenly cream cheese mixture over the top of the brownie crust you made earlier. Stick pan in the oven and salivate for the next 35 to 50 minutes while it bakes. Pull out the brownies when they are still a little bit jiggly like Jell-O in the middle, and then put the pan on top of a wire rack to cool. Believe me, you'll be back for more!

Note:
YOU can be CREATIVE and make what YOU CRAVE
You don't have to add the cocoa into the cream cheese mixture, and YOU CAN use any cake mix you want for the bottom.

Make them chocolatey, or plain, or pumpkiny, or whatever you like. You can mix in anything from crushed sweetened strawberries to caramel sauce into the cream cheese mixture. Use your creativity and taste buds to make the decadent dessert you crave most.

Here are some of my favorite variations:

-- Marbled: Only put the cocoa in 1/2 of the cream cheese mixture and then swirl the plain and cocoa together

-- Strawberry Surprise: Purée fresh or frozen sweetened strawberries in the blender into a sauce, and then swirl it into the cream cheese mixture, leave out the cocoa if you wish; try out other berries too, or even peaches

-- Blondies: Leave the cocoa out of the cream cheese mixture and use a Yellow Cake mix in place of the Devil's Food

-- White Chocolate Raspberry: Leave the cocoa out of the cream cheese mixture and swirl in melted white chocolate, whole white chocolate chips, or white chocolate flavoring along with whole fresh or sweetened frozen raspberries; you can even use a White Cake mix in place of the Devil's Food

-- Pumpkin Spice: Leave the cocoa out of the cream cheese mixture and add in some canned pumpkin, all-spice, cinnamon, and nutmeg; use a Spice Cake mix instead of Devil's Food