Keto Cream Cheese Brownies- Only 1 Net Carb!!!

A dessert we had often as kids but actually never made in my adult life, funny enough. So I set out to figure out a keto version to transport me back to childhood. I used my fudgy keto brownie recipe and added a delicious cream cheese custard layer and to make it even more decadent I added a few Lily's salted caramel chocolate chips to the top before I baked them and they were even more delicious! And it only added half a carb per brownie and they are not small brownies!

What makes brownies so good is the insane amount of sugar in them, that's what gives the crackly top on regular brownies. I looked up regular brownie recipes and for a 9x13 pan of brownies there was upwards of 3 cups of white/brown sugar in the recipe. The monkfruit/erythritol I used was a powdered version which is 2x sweeter than granular, if you have less of a sweet tooth, like many keto people you can cut down the amount of powdered sweetener or cut out the allulose which I added to cut down the amount of erythritol in the brownies. Allulose is less sweet than monkfruit, stevia or erythritol so if you don't use allulose I would only add a small amount more of erythritol or monkfruit.

The whey protein isolates I've tried were Isopure dutch cocoa, Isopure cookies and cream and Perfect Keto chocolate, they all worked great. The Perfect Keto adds 4 carbs to the brownies while the Isopure is zero carbs. You can use unflavored whey protein isolate but I would take out 2 Tbs. of whey protein and add in two more tablespoons of cocoa powder and maybe some liquid stevia to add some sweetness because the chocolate protein powders have added sweetener.

I use coconut flour in most of my baked goods because I have a nut allergy in the family and it is just so much easier to not worry about if I can bring them leftover desserts from experiments or video shoots. Plus I don't prefer the texture that almond flour gives to most keto baked goods. But if you want to swap out the coconut flour for almond flour you need 3 times the amount of almond flour for the coconut.

The cream cheese portion of the brownies is pretty simple, just cream cheese, powdered sweetener of choice, vanilla extract and 2 eggs. The powdered sweetener I used was monkfruit/erythritol, but you can use any powdered sweetener you prefer. The biggest trick is to just make sure you are nice and whipped up before throwing together your brownies. I whip up the cream cheese mixture while I'm waiting for the butter and sweetener in the brownies to whip up nice and fluffy.

I added Lily's Salted Caramel chips to the top of the brownies but you can add any kind and any amount to the batter or just on top. Just know it will change the carb count on the brownies. I added 3 ounces of chips to just the top of the brownies and that added .5 Carbs per brownie, if sliced into 12. I like my brownies smaller because that allows me to add more stuff to the top like making a decadent brownie sundae out of them, mmm!

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Keto Cream Cheese Brownie Recipe:

16 Tbs. Salted Butter (softened) (1 Cup/8oz.)

160 g Allulose (about 1 Cup, can use any sweetener you like but allulose is less sweet than others)

144 g Powdered Monkfruit/Erythritol Sweetener (about 1 1/4 Cup)

4 Eggs (room temp.)

1 Tbs. Vanilla Extract

62 g Chocolate whey Protein Isolate (Isopure and perfect keto work well about 2 scoops)

30 g Coconut Flour (about 1/4 Cup)

48 g Dutch Cocoa Powder ( 1/2 Cup)

1 1/2 tsp. Xanthan Gum

If not using salted butter add a 1/2 tsp. of salt to the dry ingredients

8 oz. Cream Cheese (softened)

2 Eggs (room temp)

68g Powdered Sweetener (1/2 Cup + 1 Tbs.)

1 tsp. Vanilla Extract

Additional chocolate chips (optional)

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degree, spray and line a 9x13 pan with parchment paper at least along the long side

2. With a hand mixer or a stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment beat the soft butter and sifted sweetener together for 5 minutes, scraping down the bowl a few times

3. While that is whipping weigh/measure, sift and whisk dry ingredients together

4. In another bowl whip up the cream cheese with the sweetener until fluffy and well combined

5. Add one egg at a time scraping the bowl as you go, whip until well combined and add vanilla extract, set aside

6. Once butter and sweetener are fluffy, add one room temperature egg at a time scraping after each addition then add the 2 teaspoons of vanilla extract

7. Add the dry ingredients into the mixing bowl and mix to combine slightly, when not quite fully mixed take the bowl off and finish mixing by hand (add chocolate chips if using)

8. Spread batter evenly into the parchment lined 9 x 13 pan leaving a cup or so batter out to top the brownies, add the cream cheese layer and swirl down into the brownie batter a little, dollop the remaining batter around and spread out, swirling it into the cream cheese (top with chocolate chips if using)

9. Bake for 24-28 minutes, spinning half way through, do not over bake, remove from oven when they are no longer jiggly, let cool completely on the counter before slicing, can leave in the pan to cut or run a spatula around the short sides and lift out with the parchment paper once cool

10. Can freeze in a ziplock freezer bag for a month or keep in the refrigerator for a few weeks. I would only keep it on the counter for a few days, especially if it's hot out

They are best at room temperature or slightly warmed up (especially with keto ice cream on top!) My favorite keto ice cream recipe- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SdGEDdZQ30s

But I have many many flavors on my YouTube channel Ketoupgrade.

Macros: 1/12th with no extras (I cut mine into 16)

290 Calories

25 g Fat

22 g Total Carbs

3 g Fiber

18 g Sugar alcohol

1 g Net Carb

10 g Protein

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