Brownie Sundae Cheesecake

When a recipe for Brownie Sundae Cheesecake popped up in my Facebook sidebar, I knew I had to try it!  I pinned it and when the next Pinterrest Challenge rolled around, I got busy.

The crust is not your ordinary crust.  Made from scratch from Nilla Wafers, cocoa powder, butter, and powdered sugar, I personally think a regular Oreo crust would be much simpler - and just as good.  This was tasty, though.  And don't worry - the rest is AMAZING.

To make the crust, mix 1 1/2 cup of the cookies, 6 T of powdered sugar (I used 3), 6 T cocoa powder, and 1 stick of melted butter.  Press them into a 9" springform pan and bake for 8-10 minutes at 350.  Cool.

Make a batch of brownies as directed, any kind you like.  I used a dark chocolate mix and baked it with half oil, half applesauce.  I figured I'd cute out some fat wherever I could - and it still tasted fantastic!

While the brownies and crust are cooling, mix up the filling.  Mix 4 blocks of softened cream cheese, 1 c. of sugar, 4 eggs, and 1 t. of vanilla until smooth.  Break 1/4  to 1/2 of the brownies into bite-sized pieces and spread them across the crust.  Pour the filling over the brownies - there will be a lot of it.

Pour some sundae syrup over the top of the cheesecake.  I used a hot fudge chocolate variety (though it wasn't hot) and then swirl it into the cheesecake.

Bake for 50-55 minutes.  This cheesecake will puff up everywhere!  It looks like a giant popover but it will settle down when it comes out of the oven.

Let the cheesecake cool.  When it has, take off the pan edge, cover, and chill.  Serve cold.

Doesn't that look yummy?