Nutella cream cheese brownies

Yesterday I completed my 1st year in pre-university college. I completed a whole academic year in India.
When I came to know that we will be shifting to India, I was really excited. New campus, new friends, new environment, it all seemed so inviting. It wasn’t until the day I was to leave Qatar that I realised the cons of leaving the country I had grown up in and all the people in it. My first few months in India were really bad. I missed Nada very badly. I hated life in India. No matter how much I tried, I couldn’t and still can’t love my college. The lecturers are good. The friends are wonderful. But that’s it. The institution as a whole is pathetic and it pains me to think that I have to spend another year in the same college. Though I have adjusted a little now, the college still sucks.

 So now that I have got three months of freedom from my college, I decided to celebrate with a nutella cream cheese brownie. But the brownie turned out just like my life- sweet and yet a little salty(from the cream cheese) but as a whole, very enjoyable. I had thought of sending some to my friends, but once I was done with the photography session, almost the whole cake had disappeared. Well, I ain’t complainin’!

 The nutella and cream cheese was supposed to form a swirl over the brownies. But, following some law of physics that I can’t figure out, the swirl “topping” decided to sink and form a bottom layer. So I had a thin bottom layer of salty nutella topped with a wonderful brownie. Yummilicious!

Nutella Cream Cheese Swirl Brownies
Source: http://www.lovintheoven.blogspot.com/

 Cream Cheese Topping:

•  5 oz Cream Cheese
•  2 tbs softened butter
•  1/4 cup granulated sugar
•  1 egg
•  1 tbs flour
•  1/4 cup Nutella

Brownie Batter:

•  3/4 cups all purpose flour
•  1/3 cup Herseys Special Dark Cocoa
•  1/2 tsp baking powder
•  1/2 tsp salt
•  1/2 stick of softened butter
•  1 cup granulated sugar
•  1 tsp vanilla
•  2 large eggs

1. Pre-heat oven to 350'
2. Grease and line a 8 x 8 baking pan with cooking spray.

 Cream cheese frosting:

1. Cream together butter, sugar and flour. Add cream cheese and mix/blend until smooth. Scrape bowl and add the egg and beat until the topping is nice and creamy. Scrap bowl and add Nutella, beat about one minute or until the nutella is mixed into the cream cheese mixture completely.
2. Set topping aside and mix brownie batter.

Brownie batter:
1. Sift flour, cocoa, salt and baking powder into a medium sized bowl.
2. In a small bowl cream sugar and 1/2 stick of butter, add eggs one at a time, beat well then add vanilla.
3. Fold egg, sugar, butter and vanilla mixture into the bowl of dry ingredients.
4. Spread 3/4 of the brownie batter into the bottom of an 8 x 8 baking dish.
5. Randomly dollop the cream cheese topping over the brownie batter.
6. Bake for 40-60 minutes or a skewer come out with a few ccrumbs when inserted.
7. Let it cool before serving.

I am sending this in to Divya's Easy Cooking to celebrate it's 3rd anniversery.